In last night's interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson, Sarah Palin, shall we say, "bent the truth" regarding her stance on climate change. Jake Tapper has the scoop :
"Let me talk to you a bit about environmental policy, because this interfaces with energy policy, and you have some significant differences with John McCain," ABC News' Charles Gibson said in his conversation with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. "Do you still believe that global warming is not man-made?"
Palin fumbles, and launches into a long-winded answer, in which she said:
"I believe that man's activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming, climate change," Palin said. "Here in Alaska, the only arctic state in our union, of course, we see the effects of climate change more so than any other area, with ice pack melting. Regardless, though, of the reason for climate change -- whether it's entirely wholly caused by man's activities or is part of the cyclical nature of our planet -- the warming and the cooling trends -- regardless of that, John McCain and I agree that we got to do something about it and we have to make sure that we're doing all we can to cut back on pollution."
If she'd been hooked up to a polygraph , that answer would have short-circuited the device.
There's more:
Said Gibson: "But it's a critical point as to whether this is man-made. [John McCain] says it is. You have said in the past it's not."
"The debate on that even, really, has evolved into, 'OK, here's where we are now,'" Palin said. "'Scientists do show us that there are changes in climate. Things are getting warmer. Now what do we do about it?' John McCain and I are going to be working on what we do."
Gibson rephrases the question, and Palin answers:
... show me where I've said there's absolute proof that nothing that man has ever conducted or engaged in has had any effect or no effect on climate change. I have not said that. I have said that my belief is there is a cyclical nature of our planet — warming trends, cooling trends — I'm not going to argue scientists, because I believe in science and have such a great respect for what they are telling us. I'm not going to disagree with the point that they make that man's activities can be attributed to changes."
Um, no.
Tapper found several statements by Palin regarding global warming.
From the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, in December 2007 :
I'm not an Al Gore, doom-and-gloom environmentalist, blaming the changes in our climate on human activity, but I'm not going to put my head in the sand and pretend there aren't changes.
Newsmax quotes her on August 28, 2008. She said :
A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one, though, who would attribute it to being man-made.
She's quite good at bending the truth to suit her situation. The whole interview was a litany of McCain campaign talking points.
It looks like she's a quick study .
