Energy Expert Sarah Palin, Not So Much

Think Progress writes So-Called Energy Expert Sarah Palin Doesn’t Know How Much Energy Her State Produces.

During her interview with Charlie Gibson she said "Let me speak specifically about a credential that I do bring to this table, Charlie, and that’s with the energy independence that I’ve been working on for these years as the governor of this state that produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy, that I worked on as chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, overseeing the oil and gas development in our state to produce more for the United States." Her energy expertise was her national security experience and John McCain said "She knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America."

But Think Progress points to FactCheck.org who says "not true. Not even close." Alaska produced 14% of all the oil the US produced, but that's only 3.5% of the energy we produced (via coal, hydro-electric, nuclear, etc.). And if you look at just the oil we consumed, Alaska supplied just 4.8%. That's why just more drilling won't solve our problems.

You'd think someone who knows so much about energy could get the numbers right or use the terms precisely.