Dimension-less Politics

The delay of the Keystone Pipeline is not something that "anyone can reasonably justify", according to eleven Democratic Senators.  The media and the White House have sought to justify the delay on political grounds.  But is the outcome of a mid-term election really of graver consequence to America's interest than energy independence in America, 40,000 new jobs, immediately eliminating existing environmental hazards and excess carbon emissions associated with the rail and road transport of oil, and amity with allies like Canada and Europe (Europe needs the oil now but China would construct a pipeline across Canada to get it)?  Should America's national interest be hostage to politics?  Proportion-less politics (totalitarianism) always puts party and purges before the prosperity and interest of the people--but it was never satisfactory for demagogues, even under isms like Maoism or Stalinism, to use politics as the sole justification for sacrificing the interests of the populace.