McCain’s Energy Plans Becomes Clearer
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At his four-day fete in Denver, Democratic Presidential contender Senator Barack Obama attempted to reframe the Presidential race around economical issues he believes give him the strongest appeal to constricted middle-class electors. Now, as the limelight turns to the Republican convention in St. Paul-Minneapolis, rival Senator John McCain takes his turn at trying to define the race around the issues on which he hopes he has a winning hand.
A great deal of McCain’s campaign, of course, is based on his record on national security issues. However, with the economy in the cooler, he acknowledges that he has to make the sale on the economical battlefront, as well. So at the top of the Arizona Senator’s Twin Cities To-Do List will be compounded attempts to convince working-class and independent voters that the Republican alternative he’s offering – low taxes, less government, and ambitious energy drilling – will do more to better the economic system and their lives than the spate of initiatives offered by his competitor.
With his surprise choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain may just have made that task a great deal easier. Surging oil prices have caused energy to emerge as a fundamental topic in the race.
“Governor Palin has challenged the influence of the big oil companies while fighting for the development of new energy resources,” said McCain. “She leads a state that matters to every one of us – Alaska has significant energy resources – and she has been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent.”
Recently this week, Palin signed a bill into law giving the state of Alaska authority to award TransCanada Pipelines a license to build and operate the $26 billion dollar 1,715-mile pipeline. It will channel natural gas from the North Slope through Canada to the lower 48 states.
In response to high oil and gas prices, and the resulting Alaska budget surplus, Palin has also recently signed legislation providing a one-time special payment of $1,200 to every Alaskan eligible for the 2008 Permanent Fund dividend. The bill also suspends the state’s motor fuel tax on gasoline, marine fuel, and aviation fuel for a year.
Already, McCain has gained ground with voters with his full-throated endorsing for expanded offshore drilling, along with increased expansion of nuclear power, coal, and other energy sources. Analysts say that position, compared with Obama’s stress on a longer-term strategy to boost alternative energy, is one reason McCain was able to even the race out before the conventions began.
The McCain camp will keep that issue front and center in St. Paul, as it believes energy will provide a decisive distinction for voters as the debate over the rival economic policies heats up. Palin could be a cardinal asset in that fight.
At the convention and beyond, the Palin choice should also help McCain’s attempts to win larger support from women voters, which he will need if he hopes to win. Already, his campaign has made a big bid to woo the unhappy Hillary Clinton voters who have vowed not to vote for Obama.
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