Palin Slams Obama Over Coal Comments

Sunday, November 2, 2008 8:46 PM




Responding to the discovery of an audio tape of an old Barak Obama interview Sunday, Sarah Palin accused the Democrat of “talking about bankrupting the coal industry,” as she campaigned through the coal regions of Ohio.


“He said that, sure, if the industry wants to build coal-fired power plants, then they can go ahead and try, he says, but they can do it only in a way that will bankrupt the coal industry, and he's comfortable letting that happen,” Palin said. “And you got to listen to the tape.”


The audiotape Palin referred to was recorded by the San Francisco Chronicle in a Jan. 17 interview and uncovered by the Drudge Report.


“Why is the audiotape just now surfacing?” Palin said, according to CBS News.


Someone in the crowd shouted, “Liberal media!”


“This interview was given to San Francisco folks many, many months ago,” Palin said. “You should have known about this, so that you would have better decision-making information as you go into the voting booth.”


In the audiotape, Obama reiterated his call for a cap and trade system on carbon and greenhouse gases.


“So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can,” Obama said. “It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted.”


Responding to Palin’s comments, the Chronicle said the tape had never been hidden away.


“Let's be very clear: The Chronicle did not, and has never, hidden any interview, audio or video, of Obama from its readers,” the paper responded on one of its political blogs.


“The truth: The paper's January editorial board session with Obama included comments about coal. The entire interview has been in the public domain, available on line to the public — and to the McCain campaign — since early January.”


An Obama representative said Obama’s remarks were taken out of context. In another part of the interview, Obama said the idea of eliminating coal plants was “an illusion.”


“The point Obama is making is that we need to transition from coal burning power plants built with old technology to plants built with advanced technologies--and that is exactly the action that will be incentivized under a cap and trade program,” the representative said.


“We know that additional work is necessary to develop and deploy these technologies. That is why Obama has argued for a robust funding program for carbon capture and sequestration. It’s strikingly similar to what McCain has said (in fact McCain goes a step further saying he wants to transition completely away from coal).”
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