Palin calls for 'clean break' from Bush on energy policy

It was billed as a major policy speech on energy policy, a way for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a novice on the national stage, to showcase her expertise.

And there was a lot of that. Speaking at a solar energy company in Toledo, Ohio, Republican vice presidential candidate Palin talked about her fight against the big oil company monopoly in Alaska and her progress on a nearly $40-billion natural gas pipeline that she said would help nurture U.S. energy independence.

We've shaken things up in Juneau. Whatever the good ol' boys are running these days, it's not the state of Alaska. And that's the kind of serious reform that we need in Washington, because the stakes for our country could not be higher.

But then she pivoted, and blamed the Bush administration in part for the oil crisis, saying that "Americans blame Washington for doing next to nothing about our energy problems, and they are right."

Arguing that "three decades of partisan paralysis on energy is enough," she made no mention of the Bush family connections to Saudi Arabia. But she sure took aim at the results, saying:

By relying upon oil from the Middle East, we not only provide wealth to the sponsors of terror, we provide high-value targets to the terrorists themselves. Across the world are pipelines, refineries, transit routes and terminals for oil we rely on. And Al Qaeda terrorists know where they are.

Palin also took a shot at her counterpart, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden. Noting his opposition to coal mining, she parodied the McCain campaign's signature "Joe the Plumber" line. "With or without the green light from Joe the Six-Term Senator," she said, "we will make clean coal a reality."

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Bill Pugliano / Getty Images

Comments

[art redman]

In addition to being an oil expert, Sarah Palin should also be the solar energy governor because Alaska is the "land of the midnight sun."

[Brianp from NJ]

TOM, you hit the nail on the head.. Is anyone else offended by having Palin stand in front of an American Flag? How will she ever give a State of the Union Address if she is President with a straight face..

[paltmaie]

Expertise on a topic is not demonstrated by reading a speech from a Teleprompter. If Palin wants to demonstrate her expertise, she should follow up a speech with a news conference, and be able to answer policy questions.

As a Republican, I am disgusted with our party for foisting this sham candidate onto the national stage. I had considered leaving the party, but will stay and fight for the soul of our party instead. America needs a strong Republican party to advance the principles we used to stand for, I won't stand idly by and let the GOP become the Party of Palin - narrow, divisive, uninformed, and contemptuous of ideas and competence.

[DYLAN RIVIS]

Sarah Palin's ignorant and homophobic diatribes are way beyond the pale, even as her 'handlers' lose control of her and she 'goes rogue', straying uncontrollably from the party line whenever she wants, upstaging Mccain at every turn, a figure without whom she'd still be a first time governor facing corruption and abuse of power charges with the only prospect being a one way ride back to Wasilla in the back of a pickup truck. She makes a mockery of a process with very , very serious consequences, playing to the lowest common denominator because she has no other gambit to employ.

One of McCain's own advisers is quoted (CNN 10/25) as saying "She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone. She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else. Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom." Great material for President, huh ?

Recently Palin made the following statement (CNN 10/25) as she twisted Obama's call to 'spread the wealth' (he meant from the top 5% who own 50 % of it, to the rest of us ).

"It leads to government moving into the role of taking care of you....... kind of moving in as the other half of your family to make decisions for you........ I don't know what to think of having in my family Uncle Barney Frank or others to make decisions for me."

Obviously, by singling out the openly gay Barney Frank she is casting a raft of outrageous aspersions in a manner infinitely way below the level of decorum of a White House contender.

[headache]

Oh man is this a riot. The Democrats have been saying the same thing for the same amount of time, but any time another party says it they are considered stupid, unintelligent or nut cases. Give me a break. It is the same thing every election has been since 1976 with Carter. If you sheeple would get your head out of the sand and actually listen to what is being said you might actually get a clue. It is time to boot both parties out of Washington and start over.

Oh yeah that would mean people might actually have to take responsiblity for their own actions since they won't have the Democrats or the Republicans to give you hand outs or protect you.

[Peter]

What exactly is Palin's expertise in oil??????

For Alaska she has simple solutions. Drill and forget about the environment.

Anyone with common sense would know that drilling is not the solution. It may have to be done to be part of the solution, but it is not the solution.

[la82]

David Hagen,

You are nuts, you write what seems well thought out, but is a very idiotic pemise, no way is this woman qualified, what is wrong with you people that want someone to run the most powerful country in the world to have no more brains then you have yourself? This woman has abused her power, knows nothing about world affairs or even domestic I would argue, I get it, it's someone you can have a beer with... Unreal... Just Unreal, the stupidity.

I am a Republican. However, I will vote for Obama on Nov. 4. I have no faith in either party that chooses incompetents for the highest offices in the land. I am not convinced that Obama is the best choice for president --but he's smart, articulate and offers a vision he believes in. In the VP spot, Palin offers a vision she truly believes in also --but it's a superficial one without any real substance at all. She's woefully inadequate for the job. John McCain screwed this up. He should have chosen Romney or Ridge..or Lieberman --someone who is bright with a little bit of guts. Even if you disagree completely with their viewpoint --they're smart and the country is in good hands. Reagan wasn't a particularly bright guy --but he had common sense and surrounded himself with good people. Palin would be a disaster if McCain would die in office. What a horror she'd be for America. Such a sad choice, John.

[Mark]

To John Beckman, your arguement for Sara Palin is a thin as her resume. She is not "one of the foremost energy experts" as McCain would have you believe. She merely increased the tax on the oil companies (socialist). She talks in slogans, not with any real depth. The pipeline she keeps yapping hasn't begun and probably won't for 10 -20 years. Why, because she left out of the negotions the companies that own the rights to the natural gas. She has accomplished nothing.
Do you not think that the Obama administration will hire "real energy experts"??

[tony]

For you who aren't old enough to remember (not making fun of you), or have simply forgotten, we had this discussion about energy independence 30 years ago. Jimmy Carter made energy independence the top priority of his presidency because of how we were being backmailed by the OPEC countries. Remember the oil embargoes and the gas price increases back then?

Carter developed a plan that would use our abundance of coal to produce a clean fuel that would be used as a diesel fuel replacement and would produce a fuel for coal burning power plants that had most of the harmful products removed during the process. It wasn't new technology, but an expansion upon what was then existing technology. Again, that was 30 years ago.

We had a presidential election in 1980, and Reagan, Mr. Republican, won. In the spring of 1981 Reagan killed the initiative and the funding. Anybody that denies that fact is simply ignorant, lying or both. Now here we are again. We have the same old tired Republican chant about needing more oil, and only scant support for alternative fuels by most of the party. It was the Republicans who denied the American people the direction and support for alternative fuels, and yes, financial support back then. Now all we hear from them is some idiot in a dress that says "drill, baby, drill". Their convention platform even called for dropping all tax credits and incentives for ethanol.

Speaking of ethanol, have you noticed a drop in the prices of any food product in the past couple of months? Where is all of that chant about ethanol driving up food costs? The fact is that corn is selling for right at half of what it was in July.Another fact is that based upon July corn prices, there was only $.07 of corn in a box of corn flakes. Has the price some down any? Did you know that the Grocery Manufacturer's Association (GMA) uses the same dirty tricks/false advertising firm that the American Petroleum Institute (API) uses. Its pretty clear what is going on and you some mouthpieces, including the idiot in the dress that repeat everything that that group passes along. By the way, I personally do not support corn based ethanol.

So follow McCain and Palin if you want. But you need to be ready to cry yourself to sleep for the next eight years at least because you're gonna lose big time next Tuesday. As far as Palin goes and this talk about the "future" of the party, then the future of the GOP looks mighty bleak. While I may not agree with them, there are many good, decent people of the Republican party that are far more intelligent, skilled, and worthy of the party support than Palin. However, she is a babe and I would do her as long as she kept her mouth shut.

[Ojimua]

how is drill baby drill a departure from past energy policy? sure we havent been drilling, but we would be if not for the long term thinking folks who realize that is not the answer. also "clean coal" has been in every election since reagan but yet somehow it hasnt come to pass. know why? because its a pipe dream based on the fact that we have a lot of coal. coal is not the answer though, it may be a stop gap solution but only in a really small way if we want to make any real changes. this is yet another area where for all her "maverick" talk palin just tows the standard republican line. you know what a maverick would do? break from the party and come up with some other ideas that arent based on failed ones of the past.

and of course my favorite line, joe "the 6 term senator." how many terms has mccain served? more than 6 right. so how can 6 terms mean you are a washington insider but more than 6 terms makes you a "maverick"

everyone is entitled to vote for whoever they want. and i welcome people to have a range of opinions on these issues. but really though, if you're voting mccain/palin how can you not feel like they think you are an idiot. all of their tactics are attempts to prey on the americans who arent actually thinking about any issues but making decisions based on superficial and often straight up erroneous stuff. even palin's presence falls in line with that approach. regardless of what my politics are, i never want to be treated like i'm dumb by the candidates i support or oppose. but then again, those same people voted for another 4 years of bush so maybe they are stupid and maybe i am the fool for wanting to believe that americans have more going on upstairs than that.

[chaseyme]

George Bush has been the greatest president of the 20th century after Ronald Reagan.

Woodrow Wilson sent 1 million Americans to their death and then authored a peace treaty that caused the rise of Nazi Germany and the Communist horror.

FDR converted a market crash into a 12 year depression by cutting the money supply and adopting policies that prevented business recovery. He also refused to stand up to Hitler, or sit shoulder-to-shoulder with Chamberlain at Munich thereby condemning 1 million Americans to a totally avoidable World War 2.
Further he did irreparable harm to the structure of the American Republic through his new deal programs, court packing and unconstitutional political dirty deals.

John F Kennedy helped Fidel Castro establish his totalitarian regime of terror, helped Russia build the Berlin Wall, agreed to let Eastern Europe suffer under Russia totalitarianism, and started the Vietnam war - all in just three years.

Lyndon Johnson totally mismanaged the Vietnam war and continued the destruction of the Republic begun by FDR. He left office is disgrace.

Jimmy Carter handed Iran over to Islamic terrorists guaranteeing that terrorism would be well financed for all time. He passed the Community Redevelopment Act which forced banks to make Ninja loans (No Income No Job or Assets). He put Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Kim Jong Il in N Korea, Khomeni in Iran, Qadaffi
in Libya, and he made Idi Amin Dada, the cannibal king of Uganda, the chairman of the United Nations Human Rights Commission!!! Jimmy Carter was the first president to score a triple double. 10% unemployment, 22 % inflation and 18 % interest rates. He is a hero of the Democrats and praised as an expert on foreign policy. He forced Israel to make the serious concessions to Arab terrorists that have severely weakened Israel and led to over 10,000 deaths.

Bill Clinton forced FMNA to buy Ninja loans. FNMA repackaged these as CDOs and this led to our current collapse. Clinton refused to take jihadis seriously, even when they bombed the world trade center. His policies enabled the current international jihad. He gave us the tech bubble.

George Bush has handed the jihad its first defeat, something Clinton could never do and he defeated the jihad in spite of Democrat support for the jihadis. George Bush inherited a massive tech bubble from Clinton and when the market crashed just after Clinton left office Bush contained the crash in spite of resistance from the Democrats who wanted to revive the same FDR policies that originally gave us 12 years of Depression. He authored a foreign policy that created 47 new democracies, many out of the rubble of the fallen Soviet Empire, replacing many tyrants. He did this in the faceof powerful opposition from the Democrats who vehemewntly opposed spreading democracy and prefer tyrants. George Bush has given us 7 years of prosperity, the lowest unemployment rates in history, enormous advances in medicine, and he has stood up to Putin and prevented him from rebuilding the Russian Empire. The current crash was caused by Obama, Acorn (who placed 5 million Ninja loans) and the Democrats (who gave us Sarbanes Oxley, CDA and have worked hard to destroy any and all confidence in our economy in order to get electe).

Obama will be another FDR. He will give us 12 years of Depression, the Resurrection of the Russian Empire in the west, the Chinese empire in the East, the fall of 47 democracies and World War III. He will convert us to solar power and wind power, pass laws that forbid using gasoline generators at home, and severely ration power to our homes from dawn to dusk because there is no solar power after dark and the wind stops blowing after dark. He will own the election system and He will be named President for Life.

The next 12 years will be interesting.

[hewhoasks]

The American Flag is a great flag of a great nation.

Simply ask yourself: Is Palin honoring that flag or is she trying to grab hold of some reflected glory?

[lightnin]

Jeremiah Wright - Obama's "pastor" ("God damn America!", "America invented
the Aids virus to kill people of color!"), Obama campaign's "Spiritual Advisor"

Louis Farrakhan - Head of "Black Muslim" church, "Lifetime Achievement Award"
from Obama's "church"

"Father" Phleger - White clone of Wright, also connected to Obama

Tony Rezko - Obama benefactor ($1.6 million, iffy real estate deals), convicted criminal

William Ayers & Bernadine Dohrne - Founded "Weathermen", Bombed Capital
and Pentagon, some Weathermen bombs killed people, Ayers said in 2004
he wished they had done more bombing, photographed trampling American
Flag underfoot and grinning, (Obama's friends, worked together on committees,
Obama declared his Senate candidacy from Ayers living room)
(Obama says he "thought Ayers had been rehabilitated."!)

Rashid Khalidi - PLO connections, anti-Israel, friend of Obama's, Ayers and Dohrne

Mazen Asbahi - Hamas connections (was Obama's "Islamic Advisor", had to quit
when found out.)

Obama - FOR Partial-Birth Abortion, AGAINST the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act,
(which protects babies that survive an abortion attempt from being killed or left
to die!)
Stated that mothers should have a period of time after a baby is born to decide
if they want it killed! Doesn't want his daughters "punished with a baby".
Painted over the American Flags on his campaign plane
Worked for ACORN as lawyer and trainer, gave them $800,000 recently
Very short experience, very little accomplishment
Most liberal Senator or Representative there is
Voted with party 97.5% of the time, no record of "Working Across the Aisle"
FOR "Wealth Redistribution"/Socialism

And you don't think there's "Reasonable Doubt" about him?

[Arizona]

lightnin, yes there is reasonable doubt about Senator Obama's qualifications to lead our nation. However there is confirmation of doubt to Senator McCain's ability to lead our nation. One only has to look at both of there personal relationships and campaign. So yes I will concede that both candidates have unsavory relationships. However, only one candidate has ran a successful campaign as indicated by the national polls, the local polls, and pundits. Don't believe me? All that needs to be done is to tally up how many Democrat's are speaking against Senator Obama and to look at how many Republican's are speaking against Senator McCain. Which campaign shows cohesion and which campaign shows divisiveness? I believe that is a fair benchmark to leadership. Your mileage may vary.

[Brian]

What Palin is trying to say that we spend $700 billion a year on energy from other nations. If we simply took the initiative of drilling offshore, using clean coal technology, and building more nuclear plants, we'd be able to reduce our dependence on foreign energy significantly over the next ten nears. In addition we'd be creating jobs here at home producing this energy.
But instead of realizing this we get..."she is an embarrassment to women," "She is Bush in a skirt," and "she doesn't represent me!" Everyone claims shes too partisan, but its those people who are too partisan too see she makes valid points and would be able to help solve our energy crisis.
I am voting for McCain/Palin. If they don't win, then we'll most likely see Palin in 2012. I hope by that point most of you will realize that your dear leader Obama's leftist policies weren't cracked up to what he hyped them up to be.
So good luck- all you great open-minded Americans! Its going to be a harsh reality when you come off that kool-aid drinking binge.

[Haplo]

Lol "valid points"? Palin has never made a valid point in the entire campaign. In fact, she hasn't made a valid point in her entire career. Let's look at all of her "valid points", shall we?
1:Two, count them, two counts of abuse of power. One for trying to use her position to have her sister's ex-husband fired from the police force. The second time, she spent $14,000,000 on a 'sporting facility'. Funny though, cause she didn't actually have the rights to that land in the first place. "oops"?
2:They talk all this big game about how they're mavericks and they're going to turn the economy around and fix the national debt. When Palin took over as governor, Alaska had about 1 million dollars in debt. Now? Try 29 million. Yes, SHE can fix our debt, by making the number bigger! Bigger is better, always!
3:As has been said numerous times before, the total oil available in the united states to BE DRILLED is around 2% of the oil we actually need. So, Palin's whole energy plan revolves around reducing our need for foreign oil using oil that DOESN'T EXIST. Interesting plan.
4:Not only that, but there was also a nice newspiece revolving around the very expensive clothes that the republicans were dressing her up in. Her excuse was that she is a "very thrifty shopper". Really? Like +28 million dollars in debt thrifty?

To top all of this off, now she's going around opposing mccain on important issues and acting like she's the one running for president. Not only that, but she's going around as the new self-proclaimed mascot of the GOP. I agree highly with the other sense-making republicans and democrats here. It honestly has nothing to do with party, all that matters is if your solution actually MAKES SENSE and if it can be PROVEN in the real world. An economy where rich people (who collect, through their business, money from millions of middle-class people) pay no practical taxes and run their business in whatever manner of vicious cycle they please is the wrong answer. It was the wrong answer in the 20s, it was the wrong answer in 2000 (only this time with a tyrant who writes his own laws and signs them), and it is most DEFINITELY the wrong answer now. Businessmen's salaries are paid by clients, which is why the economy always has and always will trickle UP, and NEVER down.

[Derek]

As a foreigner looking on, I have always admired the USA; what it has achieved as a proponent of free enterprise; what it offers its people through freedom of expression and thought; what it encourages in terms of opportunity for all; its sense of humor, love for sport and entertainment, its charity - fist responder to any country's natural disaster, its good old Peace Corps idea and many, many other practices that reflect its culture.
Today, I honestly feel for the USA for the terrible image it reflects to the rest of the world; its citizens have become Ugly Americans, disliked and unloved. The light at the end of that dark tunnel will be a smiling, victorious Barrack Obama.
The people of the world will have new respect for the USA we once loved and admired. I truly hope Americans will realize that the Wold watches with bated breath.

[debinak]

Most of you have no idea who Gov. Palin is because you believe all the garbage that the piss poor excuses for news channels keep pouring out to you. I honestly think that many of you believe she is actually like the character that Tina Fey has created on SNL.

For the past few months it has been very hard for myself and many other Alaskans to sit by and watch all of the hateful things that are being said about her and the lies that are constantly being spread around!

You would all be very lucky to have her as Vice President! She will work hard for all of us. Those of us that live in Alaska already know this. She has run a small town as Mayor, she has run and managed a state with a large budget, she has stood up to the oil companies and she has the ability, and has already shown us, that she can make tough decisions. Sarah Palin is a leader!

What has Barak Obama done to show us that he is a leader? So far all I've seen him do is use his fine education as an attorney to wow people with his speaking ability and then to BUY elections with his $600 million budget (McCain's is reported to be 80 million). And lucky him to have so much of the democratic media on his side to attack McCain and Palin and continue to suppress stories that the public needs to know about Barak Obama.

I'll vote for McCain and Palin because they have PROVED that they can lead and McCain has sure EARNED (not purchased) the right to be my next president!

[luigi buick]

From the words of a common man Obama nor McCain know what their talking about on one in you have the determination of a Black Senator trying to take a seat in the highest executive office in America. Does he Obama have the skills to run this country and resolve the economy issues mortgage oil energy and god knows what ever else Washington had made up since Sep 11, NO and why because he is not FDR nor JFK he is an in experience man who made a living in the Senate. McCain is also in the same boat he has more sense then a head less chicken he himself has no executive experience just because he got lucky and was spared from the War and has only come to make a living from fat cat lobbyist...None of these candidates are going to be able to fix anything I say I am standing by my right to make my own decision and Voting Undecided......Unless FDR or JFK was resurrected by Silvia Brown then I would vote for one of them because they would be the only two that would be able to fix this mess created by WASHINGTON DC Politics I know one thing at least the on creator of all this BUSH he could retire now with full access to Saudia oil fields now that Saddam is dead and live happliy ever after with he and his family Whlie people like me the common man or woman the ones who really have to bust their butts to make ends meat for just a dollar to have after paying for all my newly increased living expenses that Bush created with my tax money

[Jim the carpenter]

Obviously from all of the rude and mental comments I'm reading here, this page is dedicated to Osama Hussein. How can you all be so blind and brainwashed? Do the research!!

[Timothy]

Oh, please. Sarah Palin a leader? She should know that the general public will be judging her and her abilities based on how she speaks in the debates, rallies and other events that the media will extensively cover. And yet she behaves like some sort of cheerleader, speaking in slogans, making baseless promises. How is that a leader? Sure she may be a really good person as many Alaskans can attest to, but that does not mean she is a good leader. A good leader would be able to project to, and influence, other onlookers that he/she IS indeed a good leader. I daresay Biden has done that twice as effectively as Palin has.

[Mari]

Sarah, read the history on your Maverick partner and the big $$ coming from Oil to his pockets.

http://mccainsource.com/corruption?id=0010

How can McCain get the USA off oil dependency if Big Oil is who supplements his income and campaign?.. Wake Up Voters !!!!

[Carol S]

I watched some of Sarah Palin and was amused by the fact that it looked like the opening of the movie Patton. All you could see were the red and white stripes behind her. Couldn't help wondering if they did that on purpose, some old movie buff couldn't help[ himself/herself. I think that McCain made a huge mistake in his choice of Sarah Palin, pretty cynical of him to think that women would vote for any woman. We need to send Sarah Palin back to Alaska and John McCain back to the senate.

[Carol S]

I watched some of Sarah Palin and was amused by the fact that it looked like the opening of the movie Patton. All you could see were the red and white stripes behind her. Couldn't help wondering if they did that on purpose, some old movie buff couldn't help[ himself/herself. I think that McCain made a huge mistake in his choice of Sarah Palin, pretty cynical of him to think that women would vote for any woman. We need to send Sarah Palin back to Alaska and John McCain back to the senate.