Here at the Great Beyond we like nothing more than parasites, big money, corruption, stand-up rows and flagrant misrepresentation. But sometimes we have to leave the world of pure science behind and get into politics.

Here’s the latest from the US elections.

Wired has released its McCain vs Obama scorecard, rating the candidates on topics ranging from H1B visas to green technology. At the moment Obama looks fractionally ahead. What do you expect from liberal, west-coast media elite?

Palin’s environmental stances are ‘at odds’ with McCain’s, says the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

“The McCain campaign points to her record as governor as proof that she’s serious about addressing the effects of global warming. But her critics maintain she’s done little beyond establishing a government panel to look at ways to mitigate the effects of climate change, while ignoring the causes,” says the Alaskan paper.

The Salt-Lake Tribune look’s at the two candidates’ energy policies, and finds they are “Together in words, apart in deeds”:

Their differences lie essentially in emphasis, with Obama trying to convince voters that renewable, cleaner energy deserves as much if not more attention as conventional carbon-based choices.

…

McCain, too, vows to push alternative energy, though his record is less clear.

McClatchy Newspapers reaches a similar conclusion about their science and technology policies, saying the pair have similar goals but “different paths”.