On Sunday night, 60 Minutes’ Steve Kroft asked President Obama during his interview, “Did you overpromise? Did you underestimate how difficult this was gonna be?” Obama responded, “I didn’t overpromise. And I didn’t underestimate how tough this was gonna be.”

Perhaps the president has forgotten the promises he and his administration made about the nearly $1 trillion stimulus bill they passed through a Democrat-controlled Congress within a month of taking office. In February 2009, Obama said, “It’s a plan that will save or create up to 4 million jobs over the next two years.” And Vice President Joe Biden boasted, “this is about getting this out and spent in 18 months to create 3.5 million jobs and to tee this up so the rest of the good work that’s being done here literally drop-kicks us out of this recession . . . .” And of course key economic advisors Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein published their famous chart predicting unemployment wouldn’t exceed 8% with the stimulus.

In stark contrast to the president’s stimulus bill, which was all added to the nation’s debt, Republicans, a number of Democrats, and labor unions are calling on the president to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime. And unlike the stimulus bill, which relied on vague promises of jobs “saved or created,” the Keystone XL pipeline would create real, American jobs, around 20,000.

And yet President Obama has said repeatedly that he would veto a bill that combines legislation requiring the State Department to make a decision on the pipeline with a payroll tax cut he has spent weeks demanding that Congress extend.

Related:

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D-MO): ‘Make It Go More Quickly’ Q: “My guess is if you send them back a bill that… gave them Keystone… everybody goes home for Christmas.” SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D-MO): “Well, let’s hope we can negotiate something like that… if states’ rights are being protected and if this is going to be something maybe that we can try to jump start the approval process, make it go more quickly.” (MSNBC, 12/14/11)

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): “I’m very much for the pipeline. There is no question about that.” (Rep. Clyburn, MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” 12/14/11)

SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT): “We need to put Montanans back to work and cannot afford further delays to the Keystone XL pipeline…” (“Baucus, Tester Support Keystone XL, But Not GOP Bill,” KTVQ News, 11/30/11)

SEN. JON TESTER (D-MT): “The Keystone pipeline will create Montana jobs and it should not have to wait 14 months for an up-or-down decision…” (“Baucus, Tester Support Keystone XL, But Not GOP Bill,” KTVQ News, 11/30/11)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): “It’s truly a godsend for America to have that supply from a neighbor that is friendly… I can assure you (the Canadian oil) is going to be used somewhere in the world, if it’s not used in the U.S.” (“Democratic Senator Blasts Obama Energy Policy, Says It’s ‘Bouncing Around Like A Ping Pong Bill’,” The Houston Chronicle, 6/8/11)

SEN. BEN NELSON (D-NE): “The pipeline will be built, bringing jobs to Nebraska.” (“TransCanada To Alter Keystone Route,” The Hill, 11/14/11)

SENS. MARK BEGICH (D-AK), MARY LANDRIEU (D-LA) & MAX BAUCUS (D-MT): “…we write today in support of the Keystone XL Gulf Coast Expansion Pipeline, a project that the Department of State has been considering under a Presidential Permit application since 2008. Now more than ever, it is critical that this country move forward with this project.” (“Media Advisory – Fourteen U.S. Senators Urge Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Approve Keystone XL Pipeline,” TransCanada, 3/16/11)

“Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas… counted more than 20 Democrats who would likely support adding the Keystone language to the payroll tax package. And he said he disagreed with Obama’s threat. ‘Look, I think that’d be a mistake on the president’s part,’ Ross said. ‘That’s the kind of economic activity we need. It’s a win-win. It reduces our dependence on foreign oil and creates jobs here at home.’” (“Dems’ Keystone-Payroll Tax Dilemma,” Politico, 12/8/11)

REP. DAN BOREN (D-OK): “At a time when many are without work, it is time that we come together in a bi-partisan way to pass this legislation which will create tens of thousands of new jobs. I commend the Speaker for including the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline that is supported by business and labor. I also believe that this bill should attract votes from both political parties, because it takes initiatives supported by President Obama including the payroll tax cut extension…” (Rep. Boren, Press Release, 12/12/11)

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