=DJ In Palin, McCain Picks VP Who Is Outsider, Drilling Advocate
.
By Patrick Yoest
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--With 44-year old Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at his side, Republican U.S. presidential candidate John McCain has tackled two question marks about his vulnerabilities head on.
First, with the choice of a young, outsider candidate - Palin has only served as governor of Alaska for two years and has left few imprints on the national political scene - McCain has decided that he needs to counter Sen. Barack Obama's appeals to change the country's path.
But second, and perhaps just as important, the selection of Palin underlines the political stakes of energy issues in the Nov. 4 election. Palin hews closely to the pro-drilling views of most Republicans, advocating the exploration of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) for oil.
McCain has opposed drilling in ANWR, though he told the conservative political magazine the Weekly Standard in an Aug. 13 interview that he would consult Palin on the ANWR issue. While McCain said he had not officially changed his position on the issue, he added that "I continue to examine it."
With gas prices pinching the wallets of voters nationwide, Palin's willingness to take action on the issue likely will serve her well on the campaign trail.
In a statement, National Association of Manufacturers executive vice president Jay Timmons touted Palin for "a strong record of support for increasing domestic energy supplies" and said she was "a consistent economic conservative."
Earlier this month, Palin won passage of a bill that included a one-time $1,200 tax rebate for Alaskans to help deal with high energy prices. The bill also repeals the state's 8-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax for a year.
Palin has aggressively built energy infrastructure in her own state, and on Wednesday signed a contract to build a $26 billion natural gas pipeline with TransCanada Corp. (TRP). The company was chosen as part of a market-driven plan, endorsed by Palin, to spur construction of the pipeline.
Palin has also taken stands on energy that deviate from many Republicans. In 2007, she signed a windfall profits tax for oil production that has sent billions of dollars to Alaskan coffers, but which oil executives complain will stem new production in the state.
While Republicans have eschewed a windfall profits tax on the national level, the McCain campaign appears comfortable with her policy stances on energy. In a speech introducing Palin, McCain said Palin "has shown great tenacity in tackling tough problems, especially our dangerous commitment to foreign oil."
The Obama campaign has moved to quickly attach Palin's view to McCain's, saying that she shares McCain's "commitment...to the agenda of big oil."
On the whole, her credentials on tax issues have won her cheers from fiscal conservatives. Americans for Tax Reform president and Republican activist Grover Norquist has said Palin would make a "great choice," and Palin first won statewide notice as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, by shepherding economic growth in the city while cutting property taxes.
Palin's selection allows McCain to burnish his credentials as an independent thinker - an image that has lost its luster as the Obama campaign has sought to tie McCain to the tenure of President George W. Bush.
Palin beat incumbent Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski in a 2006 primary election, and went on to become the youngest governor of Alaska, as well as the first woman governor of the state. She campaigned on ending political corruption in the state and signed an ethics reform bill in 2007.
McCain clearly sought to perpetuate the image of Palin as a reformer, saying on Friday that Palin would "help me fight the same-old Washington politics of me-first and the country second."
McCain added that he "knows where she comes from, and she knows who she works for. She stands up for what she knows is right and doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down."
Most recently, she endorsed Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, R-Alaska, against longtime Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, to serve as Alaska's at-large member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
But Palin has been under fire recently in her home state for allegations that she pressured Alaska's public safety commissioner to fire her brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten. The Alaska legislature has formed a panel to investigate the charges.
-By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-3554; patrick.yoest@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: djnewsplus.com. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 29, 2008 12:54 ET (16:54 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 12 54 PM EDT 08-29-08
**Brought to you by Scottrader, a product of Scottrade Inc**=DJ In Palin, McCain Picks VP Who Is Outsider, Drilling Advocate
.
By Patrick Yoest
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--With 44-year old Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at his side, Republican U.S. presidential candidate John McCain has tackled two question marks about his vulnerabilities head on.
First, with the choice of a young, outsider candidate - Palin has only served as governor of Alaska for two years and has left few imprints on the national political scene - McCain has decided that he needs to counter Sen. Barack Obama's appeals to change the country's path.
But second, and perhaps just as important, the selection of Palin underlines the political stakes of energy issues in the Nov. 4 election. Palin hews closely to the pro-drilling views of most Republicans, advocating the exploration of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) for oil.
McCain has opposed drilling in ANWR, though he told the conservative political magazine the Weekly Standard in an Aug. 13 interview that he would consult Palin on the ANWR issue. While McCain said he had not officially changed his position on the issue, he added that "I continue to examine it."
With gas prices pinching the wallets of voters nationwide, Palin's willingness to take action on the issue likely will serve her well on the campaign trail.
In a statement, National Association of Manufacturers executive vice president Jay Timmons touted Palin for "a strong record of support for increasing domestic energy supplies" and said she was "a consistent economic conservative."
Earlier this month, Palin won passage of a bill that included a one-time $1,200 tax rebate for Alaskans to help deal with high energy prices. The bill also repeals the state's 8-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax for a year.
Palin has aggressively built energy infrastructure in her own state, and on Wednesday signed a contract to build a $26 billion natural gas pipeline with TransCanada Corp. (TRP). The company was chosen as part of a market-driven plan, endorsed by Palin, to spur construction of the pipeline.
Palin has also taken stands on energy that deviate from many Republicans. In 2007, she signed a windfall profits tax for oil production that has sent billions of dollars to Alaskan coffers, but which oil executives complain will stem new production in the state.
While Republicans have eschewed a windfall profits tax on the national level, the McCain campaign appears comfortable with her policy stances on energy. In a speech introducing Palin, McCain said Palin "has shown great tenacity in tackling tough problems, especially our dangerous commitment to foreign oil."
The Obama campaign has moved to quickly attach Palin's view to McCain's, saying that she shares McCain's "commitment...to the agenda of big oil."
On the whole, her credentials on tax issues have won her cheers from fiscal conservatives. Americans for Tax Reform president and Republican activist Grover Norquist has said Palin would make a "great choice," and Palin first won statewide notice as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, by shepherding economic growth in the city while cutting property taxes.
Palin's selection allows McCain to burnish his credentials as an independent thinker - an image that has lost its luster as the Obama campaign has sought to tie McCain to the tenure of President George W. Bush.
Palin beat incumbent Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski in a 2006 primary election, and went on to become the youngest governor of Alaska, as well as the first woman governor of the state. She campaigned on ending political corruption in the state and signed an ethics reform bill in 2007.
McCain clearly sought to perpetuate the image of Palin as a reformer, saying on Friday that Palin would "help me fight the same-old Washington politics of me-first and the country second."
McCain added that he "knows where she comes from, and she knows who she works for. She stands up for what she knows is right and doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down."
Most recently, she endorsed Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, R-Alaska, against longtime Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, to serve as Alaska's at-large member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
But Palin has been under fire recently in her home state for allegations that she pressured Alaska's public safety commissioner to fire her brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten. The Alaska legislature has formed a panel to investigate the charges.
-By Patrick Yoest, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-3554; patrick.yoest@dowjones.com
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: djnewsplus.com. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 29, 2008 12:54 ET (16:54 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 12 54 PM EDT 08-29-08 |
