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November 24, 2008
Exclusive: ‘Sarah Takes on Big Oil’ – Book Provides Factual Account of Alaska Governor’s Record on Energy
A recent Zogby poll, commissioned by John Zeigler, showed that few Obama supporters knew about the gaffes and embarrassing history of the Obama/Biden ticket, but many of them were well-informed about the gossip dredged up by the press about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin during her short time as the Republican VP candidate. And if this video from MSNBC is any indication, the mainstream press will continue in their efforts to paint Palin in a negative light for some time to come.
Americans outside of Alaska had only nine weeks in which to get to know Palin, but much of her impressive record was squelched by the liberal mainstream media. A book authored by Kay Cashman and Kristen Nelson of Petroleum News – a weekly Anchorage-based newspaper and the state’s only standalone gas and oil publication – seeks to remedy the many misconceptions that have resulted from the skewed media coverage of Palin. Called Sarah Takes on Big Oil, it provides people “with a factual account of Palin’s efforts in her first two years in office. Because Gov. Palin was not afraid to take political hits when needed, she came across as a strong, ethical leader, even though we presented both her – and her opponents’ – perspective on each issue,” said Cashman, publisher and executive editor of Petroleum News.
Sarah takes on Big Oil is largely the story of Palin’s battle with Alaska’s “Big 3” oil producers over a proposed natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to U.S. markets.
Alaska will be a proving ground for Palin’s ability to increase domestic oil and gas production. “While campaigning for vice president, Gov. Palin indicated she would return to the national political stage if John McCain did not win the presidency,” said Cashman. “Critical national energy issues that she will continue to deal with as governor of Alaska include the need to increase domestic oil and gas production, and the need for a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to lower 48 markets.”
Her performance as governor of Alaska on energy issues will be “a critical factor for many Americans” in assessing her competency, Cashman added.
“We wrote the book because it was timely and interesting. Our newspaper doesn’t publish editorials, much less advocate for particular candidates,” Cashman said. “We presented the Big 3 oil producers side of the story in the book, as well as that of the Palin administration.
“If Sarah Palin comes off as a competent leader with a firm grasp of energy issues, it’s because she did a good job as Alaska’s CEO against the CEOs of three multi-national oil companies, who were looking out for the best interests of their shareholders,” Cashman said.
“In the end, because of the long-term uncertainty of natural gas prices, Palin might have to give companies looking to develop North Slope gas fields some of the same incentives the former governor was willing to give them, but she still will have gotten a lot better deal for Alaskans. More important, she got the project moving.”
Before writing the book, the authors interviewed three people who had worked closely with Palin on resource issues during the two years Palin had been governor.
“One, the commissioner of Revenue, Pat Galvin, is a Democrat. Another, deputy commissioner of Natural Resources, Marty Rutherford, is a Republican who campaigned for Democrat and former Gov. Tony Knowles, against Palin, in the last election. The third was Republican Tom Irwin, commissioner of Natural Resources. All three are intelligent, knowledgeable individuals, who haven’t been afraid to speak their mind under past governors,” Cashman said. “Familiarity breeds contempt. We figured if there were cracks in the Palin administration, we’d hear it from at least one of these three people.”
But what the authors found was an increasing respect for Palin.
They started with Rutherford, who had worked under six governors and who Cashman described as “cynical” by nature.
Here is some of what she told Cashman and Nelson about Palin: “I enjoy working with her. She sets the vision and then lets you do the work. She’s responsive to arguments, to debate. ... I’ve worked with several governors. This is the first time I can say I am really quite fond of this governor. ... So many governors make decisions on, not what’s best for the people of the state, but how it will make them look. ... When she’s in a room with you and she leaves the room to meet with the press, it’s not show time. She’s the same person outside that room as she was inside it.”
Galvin and Irwin were equally positive about the governor.
“All three made a point of telling us,” Cashman said, “that when Palin has to make a decision that might reflect poorly on herself, she’ll say, ‘I’ll just have to take a political hit.’”
Dan Seamount, a petroleum geologist and one of two commissioners who served with Palin in 2003 and early 2004 on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, had the following to say about Palin: “She’s smart, a quick study. Her adversaries’ biggest mistake is underestimating her intelligence, her understanding of issues. And she uses their arrogance against them.”
What about press reports that paint Palin as a tool of Big Oil?
“We haven’t seen any evidence of that in Alaska,” Cashman said. “The people in her administration, and Palin herself, have said Palin is in favor of developing Alaska’s resources, that she’s pro-development, but she’s not pro-industry. That jives with what we’ve observed.”
“Our book was actually written in a little over a week,” Cashman said. “There’s a whole lot more we could have covered. But Sarah takes on Big Oil tells people how she performed on major energy issues as governor of Alaska. And unlike some of the articles we have seen about Sarah Palin and the oil industry, we don’t have a hidden agenda, as many of the people interviewed for those stories appear to.”
Purchasers of Sarah Takes on Big Oil are also being offered a free, two-year online subscription to Petroleum News. This will allow readers to monitor Palin’s performance on the critical energy issues of national importance in her next two years as Alaska’s chief executive.
For more information on how to purchase the book, click here.
Brought to you by the editors and research staff of FamilySecurityMatters.org.
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