1. She needed notes to look this incomprehensible?
2. Palin characterizes the diplomatic position of Henry Kissinger, James Baker and Colin Powell as "beyond naive". Kissinger, Baker and Powell are many things-- many, many things-- but they're not "naive".
3. Recent quotes:
"[Gov. Sarah Palin] knows more about energy than probably anyone in the United States of America." --John McCain, ABC interview, Sept. 11, 2008.
"My job has been to oversee nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of oil and gas." --Gov. Sarah Palin, Campaign event in Golden, Colorado, Sept. 15, 2008
Wrong. False.
Didn't McCain learn anything during his visits to America's Energy coast? Tejas and Louisiana account for about a quarter of domestic energy production. They are the real producers of American energy. Alaska accounts for 3.5%. When it comes to energy, Kentucky outproduces Alaska. And it appears Alaska's relatively small energy output will continue to shrink in the short term:
Oil production has fallen sharply in Alaska during [Palin's] governorship. The state's share of total U.S. oil production fell from 18 percent in 2005 to 13 percent this year, according to the EIA.
4. Then, when Palin tackles a question I've been wondering about for some time, the results are bewildering:
“Oil and coal? Of course, it’s a fungible commodity and they don’t flag, you know, the molecules, where it’s going and where it’s not. But in the sense of the Congress today, they know that there are very, very hungry domestic markets that need that oil first... So, I believe that what Congress is going to do, also, is not to allow the export bans to such a degree that it’s Americans that get stuck to holding the bag without the energy source that is produced here, pumped here. It’s got to flow into our domestic markets first.”
Who knows what the hell that means, but it sounds like she wants Congress to impose trade restrictions on domestic energy. (*Mordant chortle*) I'd LOVE to hear her delineate in granular detail the protectionist measures she thinks might be necessary.
Item!
“Alaska producers can continue shipping gas to Asia after DOE last week approved an extension of the export license for the Kenai liquefied natural gas plant owned by ConocoPhillips and Marathon. The companies will be allowed to export up to 98.1 Bcf to Japan and other Pacific Rim countries over a two-year period through March 31, 2011. […] The application came under fire from local end-users, including gas distribution companies Enstar and the Chugach Electric Association, as well as fertilizer maker Agrium, all of which claimed the exports would exacerbate the problem of declining gas reserves in south-central Alaska. Agrium permanently closed its plant near Kenai due to an inability to find enough local supply for the facility that used 53 Bcf/year. In January, ConocoPhillips and Marathon reached a deal in which they agreed to step up development in the Cook Inlet region in return for the state’s support of the export license extension. The producers also agreed to divert gas from the LNG plant as needed to meet the peak winter supply needs of the local utilities. […] Alaska Governor Sarah Palin welcomed the DOE approval. “In these times of economic uncertainty, this is great news for the state and its residents. This extension will secure a future for the LNG operation and is another step toward ensuring energy supplies and energy security for Alaska,” the Republican governor said. [Source: Platts Inside FERC, 6/9/08]
I'd wager that the band Information Society has a more coherent view of energy than Sarah Palin. And I'd wager that Maitri, Clay and Nick have forgotten more about energy than she'll ever know.
5. Palin's contention that Alaska's proximity to Russia gives her foreign policy experience is laughable. She says Russian planes might fly over Alaska, and therefore... what exactly? Are they going to drop a metric ton of statecraft on her, because otherwise I don't see how one thing follows from the other.
Put it another way: Nazi submarines attacked the Louisiana coast during World War II. Did that qualify Gov. Earl Long* to be President?
While Governor, she hasn't taken advantage of her state's proximity to Russia to build ties to her Russian neighbor. I daresay Sen. David Vitter has closer ties to high level Russians than does Palin.
Honestly, though, her fallacious "proximity to Russia" argument doesn't worry me as much as her apparent belief that "we live near the end times, so who the hell cares".
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* I realize Long wasn't Governor during [America's direct involvement] in WWII, but just play along.
