In an interview tonight with Neil Cavuto on Fox, oilman T. Boone Pickens predicted that Sarah Palin will change John McCain’s mind on drilling in the Arctic National Widlife Refuge in Alaska. McCain has opposed drilling in ANWR and Palin is the nation’s most outspoken advocate of drilling there. “I think Governor Palin is going to talk McCain into it,” Pickens said. “I think he’ll see the merits when she explains it to him.” I asked McCain about ANWR in an interview aboard his campaign plane in mid-August after hearing from sources on the McCain campaign that he was rethinking his position. “I continue to examine it,” he said. I also asked him if he planned to talk to Palin about ANWR. “I will,” he said.
Pontiac, Michigan Republican presidential candidate John McCain says that he’s taking another look at the possibility of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, and as part of that assessment McCain says that he plans to talk to the nation’s most prominent advocate of drilling in ANWR, Alaska governor Sarah Palin. McCain has opposed drilling in ANWR. In the past he’s compared it to drilling in the Grand Canyon. But as energy prices climbed over the past several months, he has been careful to avoid locking himself into an anti-drilling position. In late June, McCain told voters in Missouri and Minnesota that he was open to receiving new information about exploration on Alaska’s coastal plain, but noted: “I certainly haven’t changed my position.” 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.”
According to Palin spokesman Bill McAllister, McCain did call Palin 10 days ago to make good on that promise, and reached her at the Alaska State Fair. The rest of that story is here.
