Roy isn’t the only one taking a closer look at John McCain’s stance on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Stephen F. Hayes tackles the topic in the latest Weekly Standard, noting:
In an interview with THE WEEKLY STANDARD aboard his campaign
plane last week, McCain made clear he has not ruled out a change in his
position–to one that endorses drilling in ANWR. “I continue to examine
it,” he said. So does his staff. McCain’s campaign has been quietly
studying the ANWR issue and discussing the potential consequences–good
and bad–of a policy change.But in our conversation on August 13, McCain added a new wrinkle.
When I asked him if he had consulted Palin about ANWR, he said that he
had not yet done so. He added, “I probably should,” he said. “I will.”So I called Palin to ask what McCain can expect to hear. The answer is that Palin, who has been mentioned as a possible McCain running mate but has not been vetted, will make a straightforward case for drilling in ANWR. She says McCain’s willingness to take another look at ANWR is “very encouraging.”
“It bodes well for him as a pragmatic and wise and experienced statesman,” says Palin. “What he’s doing here is he’s calling an audible when conditions on the field are changing. And that’s what you do if you want to win the game here. One of the pieces of a solution is allowing exploration on that little 2,000 acre plot of land out of the 20 million acres up there in the coastal plain.”
