McCain Opening to ANWR Drilling?

In an interview with THE WEEKLY STANDARD aboard his campaign plane last week, McCain made clear he has not ruled out a change in his position--to one that endorses drilling in ANWR. "I continue to examine it," he said. So does his staff. McCain's campaign has been quietly studying the ANWR issue and discussing the potential consequences--good and bad--of a policy change.

But in our conversation on August 13, McCain added a new wrinkle. When I asked him if he had consulted Palin about ANWR, he said that he had not yet done so. He added, "I probably should," he said. "I will."

So I called Palin to ask what McCain can expect to hear. The answer is that Palin, who has been mentioned as a possible McCain running mate but has not been vetted, will make a straightforward case for drilling in ANWR. She says McCain's willingness to take another look at ANWR is "very encouraging."

Like Obama's recent flips on drilling, this flip would be toward a position that is much more popular with the public. But unlike the Dem side, McCain's move will make him more popular with his party, while Obama's flips dismay his own side.

Except of course for those who believe it was done for crass political reasons, that Obama is not serious about the current position. In other words, those guys think Obama is pandering, and they support him pandering because they think the true position is a political loser. Not exactly the strongest position for a politician to be in!

But McCain's willingness to move on ANWR is heartening for two reasons, one because drilling in ANWR is the right thing to do, it will create American jobs, help our trade deficit (oh and get us some more oil as well). And it won't hurt the environment, or even despoil scenic vistas, as the tundra drilling proposed is not scenic and no one goes there anyway. The biggest worry of the park rangers is that the Caribou might get too tame!

The second reason is that from the first I have had McCain pegged as one stubborn old man. Once he took a position however wrong, you could not make him see the light of day. That can be a good thing of course, but more often than not, McCain has dug in on positions that are diametrically opposed to what most Republicans want, immigration being a prominent example, but ANWR is another one. Maybe he can change his mind after all, although an impending election certainly appears to help.