Red, Green, and Blue

With the economy tanking, several wars being fought abroad, climate change producing devastating hurricanes, and strengthened calls for a sustainable economy, energy has become one of the strong links that binds all of these issues. In anticipation of tomorrow night’s vice-presidential debate, it’s probably a safe bet to put your money on energy as one of the topics that’s likely to fire up the discussion.

Here’s why:

• After several weeks of horrible press from the mainstream media and the blogosphere, a very disconcerting interview with Katie Couric, and an almost obsessive dissection of her own verbal history, Sarah Palin is accusing the media of “gotcha journalism” at every opportunity. Nothing will scare a debate moderator more than that, especially after the scathing reviews ABC’s Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos received after moderating a debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton earlier this year that many thought was full of “gotcha” questions (The Guardian called it “The Dumbest Debate in America.”)

• This is not to say that PBS’s Gwen Ifil is not a capable debate moderator. She has additional reason to be concerned though tommorow night, because she is currently writing a book about black politicians that will include a chapter on Barack Obama. Conservatives have already pounced on this detail as a means of proving her bias (which in my opinion is probably accurate, but then again there is no such thing as an objective moderator).

• What this means is that Ifil will be extremely self-aware of the need to protect her reputation as a credible journalist (which she is) by moderating a “fair” debate. The only way to accomplish this task is to ask some questions in the debate that play to Palin’s supposed strengths.

• After her interview with CBS’s Katie Couric, it’s becoming increasingly hard for most Americans to put a finger on what those strengths are. An Associated Press-Gfk poll released on Wednesday suggests that 25% of voters think Palin has the necessary experience to be president. After the Republican convention, that number stood at 41%. The primary “supposed” strength of knowledge and experience that Palin seems to have left is the topic of energy. Oil plays a major role in Alaska’s economy and as Governor, Palin in her several years in office has worked some on the issue.

• A New York Times article on Wednesday described Palin’s performance in the debates she participated in during her successful campaign for governor: “Her debating style was rarely confrontational, and she appeared confident. In contrast to today, when she seems unversed on several important issues, she demonstrated fluency on certain subjects, particularly oil and gas development…She staked out a populist stance against oil companies and projected a fresh, down-to-earth face at a time when voters wanted change.”

• If my prediction is correct that Gwen Ifil asks questions of Biden and Palin about oil and energy, then we are in for a lively debate. The question of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is almost certain to come up, as well as Biden’s and Palin’s stances toward environmental issues. Palin, as you probably have heard, is all for drilling, and like most Republicans who would like to make oil a wedge issue. Palin also has a mixed record in regard to alternative energy, which Obama has more or less said is a top priority. McCain has said more boldly that “no one can be opposed to alternative energy.” Her views on global warming and wildlife are also controversial (if you haven’t heard).

• If you are wondering, Joe Biden has one of the best environmental records of anyone serving in the U.S. Senate. For all of the reasons listed above, if energy and the environment pop up as debate topics, expect the sparks to fly between Biden and Palin on these important topics. It might be one of the most interesting and talked-about portions of the debate.

Check in after the debate and cast your vote for who won on Red, Green, and Blue.

Photo Credits: Biden and Palin via Wikipedia

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