A day after the second presidential debate, both components of the Republican ticket for the executive sat down with Fox News‘ Sean Hannity to discuss, among other things, energy policy. In the interview, John Mccain said Sarah Palin was “…probably one of the most foremost experts in this nation on energy issues.”

Mccain elaborates:

“She has been involved in these issues of energy in many unique ways, including being on the board that oversights the natural gas and oil resources and other resources in the state of Alaska. And so I think that there’s nobody more qualified to take on our mission of being energy independent”

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While Governor Palin may have some exposure to the politics and business of oil and gas in her home state of Alaska, I struggle with the notion on many levels. If Palin is one of our foremost experts, what does that make people like like Amory Lovins and Daniel Kammen who have been studying energy all of their adult lives? What about the thousands of scientists at the twenty-plus energy laboratories in the U.S. like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, the Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, or Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico?



This is not particularly a new story. McCain has been touting the Alaska Governor’s experience on energy for the last two months. In one interview, McCain of Palin, “She knows more about energy than, uh, probably anyone in the United States of America.”

Palin’s knowledge about energy issues should not be accepted at face value because Senator McCain and GOP talking points say she is. Palin’s limited exposure to other types of energy (yes, energy means more than petroleum products), her clumsy ramblings about energy, and the fact that she continues to stumble on what is supposedly her strong suit, brings me to the following conclusion about the question at hand:

Sarah Palin is not, in fact, one of the foremost experts in this nation on energy issues.