Business Roundtable President John Engler sat down with reporters Thursday to talk about regulatory reform, national energy policy, and above all, the economic and national security importance of the Keystone XL pipeline.

There's so much advocacy -- smart, detailed, persuasive advocacy -- going on in support of TransCanada's pipeline that, in some cases, Engler's observations were previewed and then wrapped into the news stories rounding up developments. Fair enough. The Washington Times led with the BRT president's observations, though. (Thanks!) From "Business groups up pressure for pipeline approval":

The controversial Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline deserves U.S. government support and should be the centerpiece of a new national energy strategy, according to a pair of top business spokesmen.

“We don't as a nation have an energy strategy,” said John Engler, president and CEO of Business Roundtable, which includes some of the top executives at some of the nation’s biggest companies. “This is a weakness. I think if you had a strategy, the Keystone pipeline would have to be part of it. I can't imagine that it wouldn't be.”

Politico grabbed the political angle in its Morning Energy update.

LABOR SPLIT OVER KEYSTONE: The Feb. 21 deadline for President Barack Obama to approve or reject the Keystone XL pipeline has left a split between two traditionally Democratic interests: environmentalists who oppose the pipeline and labor unions who relish the jobs it could create. Former Michigan Gov. John Engler says that while this isn’t a big enough issue to turn labor leadership away from the president, it could sway the votes of union workers themselves. “This is more a rank-and-file question,” he said. “This is a guy in the building trades that’s not working but could. This is a welder that can go to work but maybe isn’t working today.” Darren Goode examines the landscape: http://politico.pro/xDhZ6g

Also, FuelFix, the Houston Chronicle's energy blog, "Chamber touts Keystone XL, domestic energy to create jobs."