Senator Obama's position on the gas pipeline is "very positive" - McCain's lack of an energy policy - more comments from Polarbear

From the "Anchorage for Obama" blog:

One comment that escaped notice by the Alaska Media was made by Kenneth Minesinger, a regulatory specialist with Greenberg Traurig, who shared a panel provocatively entitled "Legal and Political Factors Affecting Producer Participation in the TransCanada Project". During the question and answer portion, someone asked about the impact of the next administration on the project. Minesinger stated that Senator Obama is the only candidate that has taken a position on the Alaska Gas Pipeline and he is very positive, so his election would be a positive one. Allen van Fleet, another Greenberg Traurig attorney who shared the panel stepped in for "balance" and stated that he is sure that John McCain would be supportive of the project as well. Minesinger responded by saying that he was only stating the facts as he knows them: Barack Obama is the only candidate who has taken a position in favor of Alaska Gas Pipeline development.

I am also having a problem verifying this as is blogger Elstun. It's not listed on Obama's Energy Platform. I have emails and calls in to the Obama Campaign as well as some industry folks.

On a quick search for John McCain and the gasline, I discovered funding for the gasline loans on a list of "Objectionable Provisions And Policy Changes In The Energy Bill" on the "Friends of John McCain" website. It's a 2003 Energy Bill.

Americablog points out the void in Sen. McCain's platform:

John Lloyd of Drexel College Democrats wrote me yesterday, asking why people weren't making a bigger deal about John McCain not having a national energy strategy. It's a good question:

I'm trying to raise the profile of what I consider an important fact: John McCain doesn't have an energy policy. He's spoken and speechified about reducing our dependence on foreign oil and increasing renewables, but he hasn't put forward ANY specific policies or a platform that he supports, with the horrible exception of the gas tax holiday.

I think it's important because in 2000, G. W. Bush said much of what McCain is saying now, and he put forward his energy policy 38 days before the election. His energy policy never really got the scrutiny it should have, and this cycle I don't want McCain to get away with that.

You'll notice that on McCain's issue page he has no page for "energy" (its not under environment). I have scoured the internet and his speeches, and he has put forward nothing more than platitudes and rhetoric. Considering how Obama is often criticized (unfairly) as all talk and no substance, i'd really like to see people start to attack McCain for trying to run without putting forward an energy policy.

They provided links to a "McCain Energy Policy Watch" on their blog which "tracks how long he's been running without putting forward a platform addressing that crucial issue."

LINK 1, LINK 2, LINK 3

Also, more good comments from Polarbear:

Just a bit more about the natural gas spurs. In California and North Carolina, broadband optical fiber is being deployed inside natural gas pipe, all the way to the residence. In addition, some utilities are organizing to combine natural gas, power, and fiber optic in the same same utilidor. If we are willing to see the gas spurs as utilidors, then we can accomplish similar economies of scale in distributing the basics to all communities along spur routes. These considerations need not interrupt the current consideration of the TCA proposal, but TCA does seem uniquely positioned to allow this kind of secondary economic development.

More questions to ask during the hearings!