Like if I change the tires on my car then it's technically not the same car, or if I paint my house then it's technically not the same house?
You missed my point. If the pipeline follows an alternative route that is yet to be determined, how can Obama—or anyone else—be highly confident of eventual approval? Surely the new route will have issues of its own and will generate its share of environmental activism and litigation.
All told, Obama’s official position on the pipeline just doesn’t wash except as a political ploy to defer discussion until after the election.