Palin said she had never met a head of state and added: "If you go back in history and if you ask that question of many vice presidents, they may have the same answer that I just gave you."
Obviously, this is patently untrue. In fact, one has only to know enough history to remember that Dick Cheney was Secretary of the Defense, and George Bush was not only the Envoy to China, but Ambassador to the United Nations.
Pressed about what insights into recent Russian actions she gained by living in Alaska, Palin answered: "They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."
Interesting perspective, as if actually being able to see a foreign country is tantamount to having foreign affairs experience. Obviously not actually visiting Russia, or meeting with any representative from her "neighbor", would not give someone any insight at all.
Said nuclear weapons in Iran's hands are dangerous, and said "we've got to put the pressure on Iran." Asked three times what her position would be if Israel felt threatened enough to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, Palin repeatedly said the United States shouldn't "second guess" Israel's steps to secure itself.
Yes, as a sitting Vice President, and possible successor to the Presidency, the prudent thing to do is sit back and not engage at all given that Israel is attacking Iraqi nuclear facilities, which would set off a powder keg in the Middle East. Kind of like what Bush did in that classroom after he first heard of the attacks on 9/11. Doing nothing is always an option.
Said she "didn't hesitate" when McCain asked her to be his running mate. "I answered him 'yes' because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink. So I didn't blink then even when asked to run as his running mate."
Hopefully this is a complete falsehood. What sane and rational person, given she has only been a Mayor of a town with a population of 9,000, and a two year Governor of Alaska, wouldn't, at least for a moment, question her abilities to carry out the position as the potential head of the world's only superpower. Hopefully, she understands that of all the factors involved in her selection for the McCain ticket, her vagina was on the short list.
Contradicted an assertion she made at her former church that "our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God." Asked whether she thought the United States was fighting a holy war, she said she meant to convey that she agreed with Abraham Lincoln's quote that "I would never presume to know God's will or to speak God's words."
This is the scariest part of Palin for me. That she might be so inclined to think that whatever decision she may make, or direction she has given for the country might be a "task from God," or somehow a part of God's plan is terrifying. This is straight out of the Republican play book, entitled "hubris."
Palin had no idea what the Bush doctrine was.
President Bush's September 2002 "National Security Strategy of the United States" declares that the U.S. "must adapt the concept of imminent threat to the capabilities and objectives of today's adversaries." The security strategy reads: "The greater the threat, the greater is the risk of inaction -- and the more compelling the case for taking anticipatory action to defend ourselves, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy’s attack."
Grade for the first interview by Governor Palin? C-.
Yes, she has television experience (sportscaster), and committed no major faux pas, but she failed to gloss over her staggering lack of experience, and truth be known, intelligence as to the world today. The fact is, she is not an Ivy league scholar, or even in possession of an admirable intellect. She is what she is. A symbol, a gimmick, and a political neophyte with a paper thin resume. Obviously, the GOP has a ton of work to do before they let her loose on the media again, especially considering her first interview was with a man not known for his stinging questions, or even capable of "gotcha" journalism.
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