tagged w/ global warming denial
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Tell us why this is interestingRepublican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joseph R. Biden Jr. each sought to claim the mantle of "kitchen table" candidate in the first and only debate between the major-party vice presidential candidates last night, both arguing that their running mates better understand the concerns of middle-class Americans worried about the nation's faltering economy.
On a night when presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama were relegated to the sidelines, Palin and Biden raced through a fast-paced debate that touched on same-sex marriage, the war in Iraq, and the nation's energy and foreign policies. Each escaped without major mishap, and Palin seemed to repair an image that had been damaged by recent media interviews and increasing public doubts about her readiness for the nation's No. 2 job.
From the opening moments of their highly anticipated 90-minute debate, each portrayed themselves as a voice for Middle America and attempted to make the case that their ticketmates are best prepared to bring change to Washington and the nation.
Palin, the first female governor of Alaska, referred to "average, middle-class families like mine," and in her first answer she suggested that the proper place to take the temperature of Americans' concerns about the economy would be at a Saturday-morning soccer game.
"Now, thankfully, John McCain has been one representing reform," Palin said. "People in the Senate, his colleagues" -- she turned to the senator from Delaware -- "didn't want to listen to him and wouldn't go towards that reform that was needed."
Biden trained his fire on McCain, noting that the senator from Arizona "two Mondays ago" claimed that the "fundamentals of the economy were strong."
He added: "That doesn't make John McCain a bad guy, but it does point out he's out of touch."
The debate, with its emphasis on quick answers and numerous topics, became a barrage of numbers and competing and conflicting visions of Obama and McCain.
Likely to be more lasting for viewers was the lack of obvious mistakes on either side, and an image of Palin that was more like the confident, smiling politician who burst onto the scene with a fiery speech at the Republican National Convention, and less like the stumbling candidate who has seemed ill prepared in a series of interviews broadcast recently with CBS News anchor Katie Couric.
She was respectful and cordial to Biden -- "Hey, can I call you Joe?" she asked when she greeted him onstage -- but quick to try to put him on the defensive about his past differences with Obama. "I watched all those debates," she said, referring to the Democratic primaries in which the two were rivals.
But the essence of the night -- and one of the major arguments of the campaign -- may have been illustrated by a long exchange after Biden said policies of the Bush administration have been an "abject failure."
"There's a time, too, when Americans are going to say, 'Enough is enough with your ticket,' on constantly looking backwards, and pointing fingers and doing the blame game," Palin said. "There have been huge blunders in the war. There have been huge blunders throughout this administration, as there are with every administration. But for a ticket that wants to talk about change and looking into the future, there's just too much finger-pointing backwards to ever make us believe that that's where you're going."
**more at article**
Tell us why this is interestingRepublican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joseph R. Biden Jr.... more
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While Palin has seemingly been successful with her constant self-aggrandizing as a champion of her home state and Americans everywhere, many supportive Alaskans are having trouble with the Governor's reliance on the same one-liners that made her so appealing for that first week. While Palin has seemingly been successful with her constant self-aggrandizing as a... more
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That will buy quite a few six packs. The Palins own their lakefront house plus two vacation homes - yeah, she's a regular joe.That will buy quite a few six packs. The Palins own their lakefront house plus two... more
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Did Palin come through for McCain? In other words, was her folksy speaking style and “straight talk” answers enough to win over voters for her running mate? If the people in Luntz’s focus group are indicative of American voters, than Sarah may have hit a stand-up triple.Did Palin come through for McCain? In other words, was her folksy speaking style and... more
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Highlights:
Fifty-one percent of debate watchers say Biden did best job, CNN poll says
Eighty-four percent of debate watchers said Palin did better than expected
Biden more likely to bring change, according to 53 percent of debate watchers
Highlights:
Fifty-one percent of debate watchers say Biden did best job, CNN poll... more
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Story Highlights
On mortgage crisis, Palin says, "Darn right, it was the predator lenders"
She advises people ask parents at a soccer game if they want feel for economy
Former opponent: "She clearly has a very canny ability to connect with people"
Story Highlights
On mortgage crisis, Palin says, "Darn right, it was the... more
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The oil giant ExxonMobil has admitted that its support for lobby groups that question the science of climate change may have hindered action to tackle global warming. In its corporate citizenship report, released last week, ExxonMobil says it intends to cut funds to several groups that "divert attention" from the need to find new sources of clean energy.
The move comes ahead of the firm's annual meeting today in Dallas, at which prominent shareholders including the Rockefeller family will urge ExxonMobil to take the problem of climate change more seriously. Green campaigners accuse the company of funding a "climate denial industry" over the last decade, with $23m (£11.5m) handed over to groups that play down the risks of burning fossil fuels.
The ExxonMobil report says: "In 2008 we will discontinue contributions to several public policy research groups whose position on climate change could divert attention from the important discussion on how the world will secure the energy required for economic growth in an environmentally responsible manner."
Nine groups have reportedly lost the company's support, including the George C Marshall Institute, the Washington DC-based think tank that asserts there is no scientific consensus on climate change, and that changes in the sun, not greenhouse gases, could be responsible for rising temperatures.
A survey carried out by the UK's Royal Society found that in 2005 ExxonMobil distributed $2.9m to 39 groups that the society said "misrepresented the science of climate change by outright denial of the evidence". In 2006 the society wrote to the company to ask them to stop funding such groups.
Kert Davies of Greenpeace said: "The organisations eliminated in this latest rounds of cuts could be called the engine room of the climate sceptic industry, but if Rex Tillerson [head of ExxonMobil] is serious about his company shaking off this shameful legacy, he needs to make a wider sweep."
Greenpeace says ExxonMobil continues to fund over "two dozen other organisations who question the science of global warming or attack policies to solve the crisis."
The oil giant ExxonMobil has admitted that its support for lobby groups that question... more
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RonenA
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added this
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4 years ago
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