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Keystone Foes Try Flattery to Sway Kerry Against Pipeline
By Jim Snyder March 10, 2014

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Political Consequences

Kerry may have kept quiet because he thought he might eventually play a role in the outcome, said Paul Bledsoe, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a Washington-based group that promotes transatlantic cooperation.

The fact that Kerry probably isn’t going to seek office again may mean he’s less concerned about the political consequences of angering environmentalists, an important Democratic constituency, Bledsoe said.

He said the thinks the decision will be made “on the basis of the facts,” and that flattery will be irrelevant. Kerry and Obama will be under pressure though to take additional steps to reduce the risks of climate change.

Michael Webber, deputy director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, said Kerry is likely to take direction from Obama, who has said he’ll make the final call.

“The Keystone pipeline is one of the defining elements of Obama’s energy legacy,” Webber said in an interview. “John Kerry doesn’t have an energy legacy.”

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-03-10/keystone-xl-foes-use-flattery-to-sway-kerry-against-oil-pipeline#p1