Everyone who helped slow down TransCanada's "Keystone XL" tar sands juggernaut -- rural farmers and ranchers, Native Nations, organized labor, elders, faith leaders, youth, environmentalists and others who protested at the White House this summer and fall -- should be proud of what we have accomplished. By bravely standing together and uniting our voices against Big Oil, we forced President Obama to react to our demands. His decision to delay a decision on the pipeline until after the 2012 election is a testament to the power of the people.

But let's not kid ourselves: opponents of Keystone XL have "won" nothing, save more time to organize. Now is not the time for victory celebrations, but for redoubling our efforts to beat back this lethal energy scheme. When you have your opponent staggered and against the ropes, you don't back off and let them recover their strength. You keep on coming until you've landed the knock out punch.

President Obama's punt on Keystone XL needs to be called out for what it is: an act of political cowardice. This deeply cynical political ploy was designed to placate both his environmental base and the oil lobby. He shrewdly calculated that throwing environmental groups a bone in the form of more studies would be enough to win back their support. Since when did we start giving presidents a pass on making tough decisions until after Election Day?