Palin "Energetically Wrong"

Getting the facts right is something I expect from political candidates, especially when the facts come from newcomer Sarah Palin. She's been quoted in her stump speeches as saying that Alaska produces 20% of America's energy. McCain has repeated the same assertion. It sounds wrong to me, it turns out that it's complete bullshit.

Palin claims Alaska "produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy." That's not true.
Alaska did produce 14 percent of all the oil from U.S. wells last year, but that's a far cry from all the "energy" produced in the U.S.

Alaska's share of domestic energy production was 3.5 percent, according to the official figures kept by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

And if by "supply" Palin meant all the energy consumed in the U.S., and not just produced here, then Alaska's production accounted for only 2.4 percent.

Don't you just love Factcheck.org?

Is this a lie or just a campaign exaggeration? Is it ok to lie in a campaign? I don't think so. The 20% oil lie is closely tied to the assertion that Sarah Palin is an "America's best energy expert". The link is tenuous at  best. There are better ways to tell the story. Palin  has some energy experience. However,  saying Palin negotiated a favorable contract for Alaska is a far cry from her being America's best energy expert. That's just a bold faced lie.

Technorati tags: Sarah Palin, 2008 Election, Politics, FactCheck, lies