Why is the pipeline on pause?

Barack Obama has once again delayed a decision on final approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. The move, announced quietly on April 18 as Washington was winding down for the Easter weekend, is clearly designed to avoid a contentious issue until after the November elections. "Approving the pipeline before the election would rankle Obama's allies and donors in the environmental community," the Washington Post noted, "but nixing it could be politically damaging to vulnerable Democrats running this year in conservative-leaning areas."