Good editorial in Canada’s The Globe and Mail newspaper, calling on President Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline:

"With his re-election, the President should now move quickly to approve the Keystone XL pipeline on its merits alone. Those merits are many, and they serve both Canada and the United States. TransCanada Corp. has proposed a new route that avoids environmentally sensitive areas in Nebraska and reduces potential impact on the vital Ogallala aquifer. The pipeline’s construction will create jobs, secure a hungry market for the heavier crude from the oil sands, decrease North American dependency on overseas oil, and help lower the price of gas in the United States."

The editorial acknowledges pipeline builder TransCanada’s obligation to carefully manage the 1,700-mile project’s construction, as well as its operation – but says the administration must act:

"… the pipeline’s economic benefits for Canada and the United States are too numerous to ignore, and TransCanada Corp. has taken the proper steps to satisfy environmental regulations. The time has come to move forward on this vital project."

The Keystone XL has long looked like a “no-brainer” – the words of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper – and with re-election no longer a concern, approving this true shovel-ready project in its entirety would mean instant jobs, economic growth and strengthening of the United States’ vital energy partnership with Canada. It also would signal that the president meant what he said during the campaign about the need for more American oil and natural gas.

There are no good excuses to continue blocking the Keystone XL. The project has cleared three separate federal reviews, and local environmental concerns in Nebraska have been addressed by re-routing a portion of the pipeline there. In an interview with Energy Guardian, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers’ Charles Drevna said the pipeline and other infrastructure projects are vital to the president’s stated support for all-of-the-above energy:

"In order for the president to say he's for the all-of-the-above and mean it, he has to not only look at the natural resource – the oil, the natural gas, the natural gas liquids – he’s got to look at the facilities that are going to refine or process these things into usable products."

It is time to approve the Keystone XL. More delay means jobs, associated economic growth and revenues for governments all get delayed, too. A new, post-election poll by Harris Interactive shows a strong majority of the American people want the president to get this project going:

No more delays, Mr. President. It’s time. API President and CEO Jack Gerard:

“Americans deserve an energy policy that reflects their views and that will build a stronger, more prosperous, more secure future.  Our elected leaders now have an opportunity to make that happen.”

President Obama can make the Keystone XL pipeline happen himself. The American people want it. Canadians expect it. The project is ready to go. All it needs is the president's nod.