Coal - New Stump Speech Addition

In Ohio today, Palin jumped on what she claims was a "hidden" San Francisco Chronicle audio tape that alludes to Obama's intent to "bankrupt the coal industry." The actual audio suggests that new coal plants would go bankrupt under a cap and trade scheme unless "new technology" were introduced that substantially reduce new plant C02 outputs.

In the struggle for framing, the republicans and even the SF Chronicle have accepted the framing of the audio as Obama's plan to "bankrupt the industry" instead of the actual audio that indicates NEW coal plants are the target. It should be mentioned that these plants are owned by UTILITIES not the "coal industry."

The next step in the spin game is to link the SF chronicle into the liberal media. This article: article indicates just that, when Palin asked her audience "why this audio is just now surfacing." The overwhelming crowd response: "Liberal media"

She also suggested that there is something about San Francisco that is like a "truth serum" when she made a connection to this interview and Obama's "guns and religion" comment.

Coal is an important resource with much symbolic power for the populations of eastern swing states. I would be willing to bet that this new campaign tactic will gain just enough media coverage to turn (or suppress) some voters in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The question is whether the monday before the election is too little too late.

This year, we have witnessed how new revelations about Bill Ayers and Rev. White etc. have the ability to reduce support for Obama in the polls. Even if the reduction is minor, McCain has been gaining in the polls the last week, momentum builders couldn't hurt his campaign in close races in these swing states. When this type of negative uncertainty is raised about a candidate, the offended campaign needs time to rebuild their candidate's character. I'm interested to see what will happen in the next 24 hours with this particular issue with both campaigns.

Obama's response is already canned "This is a non-issue, it's a distraction from what is hurting real Americans. McCain advocates cap-and-trade, and Obama obviously would not want to bankrupt the 'coal industry.'"

Brian's Fair and Balanced Blogging:

http://newsbusters.org/node/25829?q=blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/11/02/hidden-audio-obama-tells-sf-chronicle-he-will-bankrupt-coal-industry



Script:
Let me sort of describe my overall policy.

What I've said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else's out there.

I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.

So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; 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.