Energy Independence the key...?

Is anyone else scratching their head? While I've only been able to read the transcripts available online along with a few clips of the Palin interview, I think its an understatement that she could have done better. While a lack of experience is troubling, I don't think it is a make or break issue. As has been said by others, the only thing you can probably say about experience is that it makes a candidate better. A bigger concern for me would be the new ideas one brings and the potential experience was has in that area - after all, new blood can be good.

In terms of national security, Palin chose energy (energy independence) as her hallmark contribution.

"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."

While I would agree that energy independence could ease a lot of security worries, it is no silver bullet. Even more dismaying, is the fact while Alaska may produce 20% of the U.S. supply, the key word is domestic supply. As a percentage of our total energy production, Alaska weighs in at a mere 3.5%.

To be fair, Alaska ranks a bit better when you only look at crude oil, making up 12.8%. Even still, 12.8% does not make one a power player in the energy game. In 2007, oil imports totaled 3,661,404 thousand barrels while Alaska made up 263,595 thousand barrels (the numbers from the EIA are in thousand-barrels). In this game, Alaska is 3,397,809 thousand barrels short.

So, if I understand this correctly, Palin, former chairman of the Alaska Oil Conservation Commission (Feb. 2003 - Jan. 2004) which produced only 3.5% of the nations energy is going to solve the energy problem as a key element of a national security plan?

I am the only one scratching my head on this one?

Even if one looks at all crude oil production in the U.S., imports are still nearly double our domestic production. From what I know, there is no amount of domestic drilling that can erase that gap.