Today Hillary Clinton at last unveiled her position on a policy that she had repeatedly dodged in front of members of the media. She’s against the Keystone Pipeline (via Politico):

I think it is imperative that we look at the Keystone Pipeline as what I believe it is, a distraction from important work we have to do on climate change. And unfortunately from my perspective, one that interferes with our ability to move forward with all other issues. Therefore I oppose it,” Clinton said at a campaign event in Iowa.

Talk about perfect timing too. She announces this just as Pope Francis, who arrived earlier this afternoon, lands at Andrews Air Force Base for his six-day visit in the United States. This is the Holy Father’s first trip to America, so I guess you could see why the Clinton campaign would use him as media cover.

The delays on the project have cost us about  $175 billion in economic activity, and Clinton was caught at a New Hampshire town hall meeting saying–rather un-seriously–that we would know her position on the project when she’s elected president. This could impede her outreach, if there was any planned, to voters in coal country.

Let’s not kid ourselves — Clinton has probably always been against this project. Her party is full of left-wing environmentalists who detest this economic project at all costs. They would have made life more miserable than it already is for the former first lady whose polling numbers have plummeted thanks to her email fiasco that was entirely self-inflicted. The last thing she needs is a bunch of greenies trolling her events. Greenies who have proven they can sink a Democrat’s presidential ambitions.

Back in 2000, Al Gore was hesitant to give a position on an airport project near the Everglades. He said he would announce where he stood after the Clinton administration’s review, which enraged the tree-hugging vote. They decided to cast their ballots for Ralph Nader, which amounted to over 90,000 votes. We all know how that turned out in the end.

UPDATE: There’s the Bernie factor too.

Why did Hillary come out against the job-creating, popular Keystone pipeline she was previously “inclined” to support? Bernie. Sanders.

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) September 22, 2015