President Obama

It was only a short time ago that President Obama said he would veto any Payroll Tax Cut Extension bill if the Keystone Pipeline XL was attached to the bill.

Well…..

This morning the president touted the Payroll Tax Extension Bill albeit a temporary extension (2 months); but what was missing from the presidents short address concerning the extension was that the bill he praised had the Keystone Pipeline XL attached to it.  Yup, that same Keystone Pipeline that he said would bring about the veto of any bill.

I am of the opinion that when you use the threat of the veto you better use it; at this point the GOP already have made up their minds that they can challenge Obama without any repercussions.  And this is exactly what this was about!  I realize the president values the payroll tax cut extension but why talk about using a veto if you’re not going to use it???

Maybe President Obama has something up his sleeve….

Fox News reporter Ed Henry posted on his twitter today:

If Henry is correct nothing REALLY changes as the this bill is not forcing the president to do anything but say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to Keystone sooner than later.  Obama can still say ‘no’ to the pipeline, the question now is what will he decide.  All the facts are not in concerning Keystone Pipeline as there have been many questions surrounding the job creation numbers; Glen Kessler of the Washington does a good job detailing some of the questions about the numbers in his Washington Post Fact-Checker.

Another sign that this is not a ‘cave-in’ by Pres Obama is the reaction from House Republicans who have voiced their displeasure with this deal.  It has been reported that House Republicans let Speaker Boehner know that they do  not feel this is a win for Republicans and that this deal may set the stage for Pres Obama to bash Republicans for not passing a long-term Payroll Tax Extension (year-long extension) during his State of the Union Address.

There is still a chance the House Republicans may revolt against Boehner and not sign-off on this deal; Republican leadership like Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority WHIP Kevin McCarthy are not completely sold on this latest deal.

If this deal falls apart it will without a doubt show how weak Speaker Boehner actually is in the House!

If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!