Presidential Campaigns Scramble over Coal (Updated)

Republican John McCain and Democratic Barack Obama are each trying to assure voters that they support "clean coal," The Charleston Gazette reports.

After McCain recently expressed qualms about mountaintop removal mining, his campaign was joined by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito and fellow Republicans to attack the other ticket on the topic.

In a Tuesday conference call with reporters, the group seized on comments made by Obama running mate Joe Biden at an Ohio campaign appearance.

Biden said "We're not supporting 'clean coal," and "No coal plants here in America," when asked about the issue.

The Obama campaign has sought to explain Biden's comments, while touting its proposal "to invest $150 billion over 10 years on a variety of energy programs - everything from plug-in hybrid vehicles to biofuels and 'low-emissions coal plants,'" the article said.

The McCain-Capito conference call, meanwhile, touted the need to protect coal jobs. "But both (campaigns) provide few details for their plans, and have not explained how they would overcome a long history of hurdles that have hampered the government's clean-coal program for decades," the article said.

The Gazette had earlier noted that both McCain and Obama had "agreed that mountaintop removal coal mining should be stopped," but that "no one really attacked them for saying so."\

Update: The Charleston Daily Mail follows up with reaction from West Virginia Democrats to Biden's comments. MetroNews does as well, with a separate item (and audio) quoting Obama's in-state director.

MetroNews also reports on the McCain-Capito coalition, while offering audio of Biden's remarks.