On yesterday’s Special Report, White House correspondent Ed Henry acted as though he got paid by the number of Republican talking points he worked into a report on President Obama's upcoming State of the Union address.  And, maybe, the number of contradictions to those talking points he ignored.

The segment purported to focus on President Obama saying that he will use his pen/executive orders to take action if Congress does not. But Henry moved swiftly to start taking swipes at Obama.

Rather than point out how obstructionist Republicans in Congress have been, the report cut to video of Henry asking White House spokesman Jay Carney, “If the President wants to move quickly to create jobs, why not take that pen today, and approve the Keystone pipeline?”

After a brief clip of Carney’s response, Henry next offered up Republican criticism, followed by a clip of Republican Senator Mitch McConnell saying, “I think it’s time to go in a different direction and there are some job-creating steps that he could take right now.”  Then came a poll Henry said suggested the public agrees. “Tough numbers for a president with a weak report card from the last State of the Union,” Henry happened to note. Right before highlighting the initiatives from the last State of the Union not accomplished.

Eventually, Henry noted that the White House cited Republican obstructionism as a “justification” for the executive action. Henry gratuitously added, “Some of which sounds murky.”

But here’s what Henry didn’t mention when he tried to malign the White House for not approving the Keystone Pipeline: a natural gas pipeline that exploded two days before.

“A natural gas pipeline operated by TransCanada Corp. exploded and caught fire in the Canadian province of Manitoba on Saturday, shutting off gas supplies for as many as 4,000 residents in sub-zero temperatures.”

As the Christian Science Monitor noted, "The pipeline explosion is the latest example of extreme cold testing energy infrastructure across North America.”

But Henry was so busy sticking it to the White House for not approving the Keystone Pipeline - which just happens to be the Republican strategy, too - he didn’t seem to care about any reasons the Obama administration might have for not approving it.

(Thanks to reader kdg for assistance with this post)