Monday, September 08, 2008

She's An Extremist. Yeah, That's It. An Extremist.   [Byron York]

It's no secret the Obama campaign has been trying to figure out how to counter the new popularity of Sarah Palin. Today's approach: she's an extremist. Campaigning in Wisconsin today, Joe Biden said that Palin holds "some fairly extreme views." "If the press is correct, and I'm not prepared to make a judgment, her views on everything from global warming to other things, if they are as presented, they're pretty far out there," Biden said.

Since Biden mentioned global warming, I went back to the Anchorage Daily News questionnaire I mentioned earlier today. Sure enough, she was asked:

What role does state government have, if any, in addressing global warming and climate change?

And Palin answered:

We need to analyze the potential economic costs, needs and opportunities associated with climate change. Let's be cautious in how we react - to make sure we don't overreact. The Alaska Climate Impact Assessment Commission is supposed to assess the situation and issue a report on March 1, 2007. This is a good start.

Now that's extreme. But it gets worse. In April 2007, after that report came out, the Anchorage Daily News reported:

Gov. Sarah Palin plans to explore ways Alaska can reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions as part of a global-warming strategy to be developed by a new subcabinet of top administration officials.

State officials said this week that Palin's new subcabinet will develop policies to help the state adapt to climate changes that have been more pronounced in Alaska than elsewhere.

For the first time, the state will also begin looking for ways to curb Alaska's own contribution to the global atmospheric problem, officials said…

The state's interest in curbing emissions represents a new emphasis for Palin, who pronounced herself unconvinced about global warming science during her campaign for governor last year.

"From my first meeting with her on this topic, I could tell she was interested in it and in the new information that was coming out," said Larry Hartig, Palin's commissioner of environmental conservation, who will be chairman of the new subcabinet.

Now, environmentalists have problems with Palin — they've had a big fight over polar bears, for example. But if this is what Team Obama wants to portray as extreme, my guess is that they will still be looking for an effective anti-Palin strategy that might hit home with all those independent and undecided voters out there.

09/08 04:50 PMShare