“[W]e Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we’ve got lots of both.”—Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK), delivering her vice-presidential acceptance speech to the Republican National Convention.
Sarah Palin is a natural advocate for drilling for oil, natural gas, and generally increasing domestic energy production. And in a McCain administration, she proclaims, drilling in Alaska is on the table.
She has acknowledged that Senator John McCain is wrong about not drilling in ANWR. And in her speech last night, she laid a great big target on the oil fields located on the northern shores of her own state—including ANWR—much to the chagrin of those who hoped that it was Senator McCain who would switch Mrs. Palin’s position.
In light of escalating oil prices this year, Mr. McCain has already moved his previous opposition to drilling off-shore. His now moving on ANWR is as natural a decision as his choice of Governor Palin, who incidentally gives him the political cover he needs to do so.
Though Governor Palin did not openly declare Mr. McCain’s support, she has set the stage for an obvious political coup by him on the issue as the energy debate unfolds when Congress comes back from recess.
Senator McCain should switch his position on this critical issue to our economy and security in light of the facts. According to ANWR.org:
“According to the Department of Interior’s 1987 resource evaluation of ANWR’s Coastal Plain, there is a 95% chance that a ‘super field’ with 500 million barrels would be discovered. DOI also estimates that there exists a mean of 3.5 billion barrels, and a 5% chance that a large Prudhoe Bay type discovery would be made.”
In a world where supply can barely keep up to demand, America will need every barrel of oil that it can produce. That means that every option needs to be on the table.
For Senator McCain, it’s ANWR, or else.
He has clearly placed himself at odds with his party—and the American people—against drilling in the past. If he chooses now not to unleash America’s own abundant resources at a time when the economy desperately needs them, or if he does not truly embrace “all-of-the-above” solutions as do his colleagues in Congress, he will be tying at least one hand behind his back.
And many will question his selection of the governor of the state where Big Government has hopelessly locked away oil supplies from the American people for decades.
Instead, Mr. McCain should take his new running mate’s advice: “we’ve got lots” of oil and gas in ANWR and across the nation on-shore and off-shore, and there’s no reason not to free up all of those resources for exploration. And for the benefit of hard-working Americans still struggling to fill up their tanks and make the monthly payments.
Senator McCain should let Governor Palin be herself when she speaks to the American people. He will have no better an advocate for drilling in ANWR, on the outer-continental shelf or anywhere else.
