General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is there trolling going on here in regards to Obama? Like [View all]MADem
(135,425 posts)First, she should keep her effing mouth SHUT about the topic (which IS what she is doing) for as long as she can while her former boss is in office. That's what a LOYAL former SecState does. Also, if Obama finishes on a high note, he'll be an asset to her on the campaign trail.
Obama has made his decision about this pipeline, for now. But what if he changes his mind? Realistically this is not gonna happen....but who knows what the future might bring? If Putin goes crazy and launches WW3, we'll need petroleum products, for example--unlikely, but never say never.
People will create dramas about what HE said, and what SHE said, and the dramas will be complete lies, but the bottom line is this--she worked on the project, she discussed it with the POTUS, and the POTUS has made a decision. It's not for her to start stirring the Keystone pot while her boss is still in office.
Second, there are people in Congress who want the thing, and people who don't. They're on both sides of the aisle too (we do have states that are very "invested" in the oil industry, still). No sense in ticking those people off any sooner than needs must--some of 'em are bound to be disappointed.
Hillary Clinton spent several years as the nation's top diplomat--she knows how to take a diplomatic stance, AND to stay loyal to her former boss to the extent she can manage so long as he's sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office. In fact, that might be part of what's behind her decision to delay announcing-- she doesn't want to spend a lot of time focusing on differences (and there will, inevitably, be a few--there always are...see Gore after Bill Clinton, e.g.) when Obama is in his Lame Duck/To Hell With You Congress last two years.
These comments from back in November don't sound, to me, like she was in love with the idea:
...she said of the pipeline: This is an issue that has become a proxy for everything it is truly, deeply held opposing positions and people who are for it are adamant that it is necessary and not only necessary but salutary and does help to lead to a closer energy relationship between our two countries.
People who are against it believe it has to be stopped because, when will we ever make the pivot away from fossil fuels if we dont stop now(?) she continued.
Clinton went on to note that people on both sides of the issue may have some facts and not others, even though they may be making their cases in good faith.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/hillary-clinton-keystone-pipeline-no-comment-107899.html#ixzz3QHzfXrRL