Don’t trouble yourself trying to figure out whether President Obama is more political than ideological. He’s an expert at straddling both and getting his way without compromise.

Analysts have long debated whether partisan Obama would prevail over ideological Obama in his decision to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline, but in the end, it may be a false choice, as both could win under the overarching dominance of Saul Alinsky-Obama.