Obama to visit four states for damage control on energy issues

“The president has approved dozens of pipelines,” Mr. Obama’s top campaign strategist, David Axelrod.

The Washington Times reports:

President Obama hits the road this week to try to shake off two persistent political liabilities — Keystone XL and Solyndra — and their ongoing damage to his re-election hopes.

Instead of shying away from these two political hot potatoes, Mr. Obama seems determined to try to change the public’s mind about them — or at least explain how they fit into his stated “all of the above” approach to energy.

It won’t be an easy task, especially with voters worried that rising gas prices could thwart the economic recovery and political opponents charging that Mr. Obama is more committed to developing clean-energy alternatives in the long term than trying to expand drilling and increase supply immediately.

The president on Wednesday and Thursday will travel to three presidential battleground states — Nevada, New Mexico, and Ohio — as well as the Republican stronghold of Oklahoma…

“Pres. Off to Oklahoma to celebrate southern leg of keystone — this is a calculated slap, and stings,” tweeted environmentalist Bill McKibben, who helped lead protests against the proposed pipeline. “Solomon proposed splitting the baby — Obama always actually tries to do it”…