From Kabul to Colombia in Just One Day
EmailThe sight of Sarah Palin rushing round New York collecting foreign handshakes is, of course, absurd. This does not play to her strong suit, it makes a mockery of real foreign policy experience and suggests the Republicans were panicked by Charlie Gibson’s question on the subject. You cannot pick up international affairs in two days, no matter how much exotic flesh you press. John McCain has a lot of foreign policy experience. Joe Biden has a lot of foreign policy experience. Barack Obama has a little foreign policy experience. I don’t care if Sarah Palin can see Russia from her bedroom window, she has no foreign policy experience and to try to pretend that this whirlwind tour of heads of state will change that is ridiculous. But this is politics and I’m willing to bet the words Karzai, Uribe, Talabani and Zadari pop up in speeches on the campaign trail before the week is out. Katty
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Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Sarah Palin was picked because of her views on abortion and guns. That is why she was picked over Tom Ridge and others who would have been better VP choices and actually qualified to take over as president. However, McCain’s golden rule in choosing a VP is “Guns and Abortion First”, not “Country First”.
Posted by: clifton | September 24, 2008, 12:34 pm 12:34 pm
absurd huh? kinda like obama’s european ‘rock’ tour? whats HIS experience for ANYTHING now that you mention it? take away the advisers the speeches written by axelrod, take away the teleprompter.. and what do you haev? a fumblin bumblin typical lib hack
Posted by: jjrrttx1 | September 24, 2008, 12:35 pm 12:35 pm
Well said Katty!!
Posted by: jennylynn | September 24, 2008, 12:37 pm 12:37 pm
jjrrttx1-
Hey NeoCon – it is still better than your facade of a ticket.
Posted by: jozy | September 24, 2008, 12:38 pm 12:38 pm
jj – at least Obama gave speeches and was covered by yht press. All this little girl is doing is shaking hands and smiling. Appropriate for a beauty queen.
Posted by: jennylynn | September 24, 2008, 12:40 pm 12:40 pm
The country of Colombia is not spelled, “Columbia”.
Posted by: Ted | September 24, 2008, 12:40 pm 12:40 pm
Clifton,
Hopefully, you will be able to know for sure Palin is inexperienced once they have the vice presidential debate.
Posted by: shiny | September 24, 2008, 12:42 pm 12:42 pm
jjrrttx1, don’t let the facts get in the way. Senator Obama sits on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He is the former president of Harvard Law Review, which may not have much to do with foreign policy but does show he is not a ‘funblin bumblin’ anything.
Posted by: wow | September 24, 2008, 12:42 pm 12:42 pm
Joe Biden was out in Ohio on the campaign trail and he has just delivered a brilliant speech on foreign policy while Sarah Palin is in New York collecting handshakes from “world leaders”.
I dont understand why people are so surprised that she is been shielded from the press. Isnt it obvious that she has absolutely no foreign policy experience whatsoever except from the fact that she can see Russia from her back garden.
Honestly, I still dont know why the media is not questioning McCain’s ‘Country First’ manstra. He OBVIOUSLY DID NOT PUT COUNTRY FIRST when he selected her as his running mate.
We all know why he did but unfortunately for him the only people he has managed to galvanize are the evangelical base of the GOP. Her post convention bubble has finally bust! Obama is now pulling away from McCain and listening to Biden’s speech on foreign policy I am confident that Obama will destroy McCain on Friday.
Posted by: Ro | September 24, 2008, 12:43 pm 12:43 pm
Obama does have a political science degree from Columbia with an emphasis in international relations. He also had stellar credentials in law school and comes from a state which has a very diverse population, particularly in Chicago. We have yet to hear what Palin had for grades and why she needed to go to five different colleges to graduate. I would agree that Palin was picked as a double pander by McCain– as a bond to the religious right wing of his party who is much excited about her than him and to attempt to win over women supporters of Hillary Clinton, most of whom are following Senator Clinton in backing Obama. One thing she does seem to share with McCain is not being able to work well with others as demonstrated by her firings for petty reasons both as a mayor and a governor. McCain is famous for his outbursts–bipartisan in nature — at his Senate colleagues. To be diplomatic, neither are diplomatic.
Posted by: bhciapol | September 24, 2008, 12:44 pm 12:44 pm
I think it shows how little the McCain camp thinks of their VP pick that they use her in foreign relations photo-ops rather than use her strengths to help the campaign. It’ll take more than a picture to convince most folks that she’s an expert. If they simply want her to meet leaders, they can do that in private meetings and phone calls.
Posted by: c'mon | September 24, 2008, 12:47 pm 12:47 pm
jjrrttx1, McCain has to have his speach on the podium in front of him. He has stopped taking questions on the ‘Straight Talk Express’ because he can’t handle tough questions like why did you vote for insurance coverage of viagra but not birth control, and how many houses to you own.
The McCain campaign is still shielding Palin. She is only meeting with leaders from countries that want something from the US or are McCain backers. So far, she has shown she can memorize questions. I guess that was the next step of getting her ready, right after memorizing canned answers.
Posted by: Mack | September 24, 2008, 12:56 pm 12:56 pm
on the scale of Vice Presidential nominees
she is in the bottom 99%
“First Dude, could you cut down the trees in the side yard I need more foreign policy experience”
Posted by: dl (the real one) | September 24, 2008, 12:58 pm 12:58 pm
Hear about Palin’s reported affair with husband’s business partner in National Inquirer? Oh oh!
Laugh but their reporting is usually air tight — otherwise they’ll get sued.
Posted by: KevX | September 24, 2008, 1:05 pm 1:05 pm
I don’t agree with Palin’s politics and I won’t be voting for McCain this November, but I find the double standard focus of the media regarding the “hype” around Palin’s lack of foreign policy to be disturbing. I didn’t hear any comments like this when Obama’s whirlwind international tour occurred this summer. As you state, Obama, too, has little to no foreign policy experience. Since the topic of this forum is listed as Womenomics, why aren’t we addressing the fact that where Obama’s foreign policy credentials get a pass – Palin’s do not – at least in the eyes of the media.
Posted by: mhhunt | September 24, 2008, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm
All I know is that she had her passport made this year, for the first time ever!
I’m an avarage person and have been to several countries in my life time.
I don’t think she’s the right person to talk to world leaders in any format…
Posted by: matt | September 24, 2008, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm
Claws out girls? You know everyone has to start somewhere and I would rather have my VP learning than having my President learning.
Posted by: samhiguchi | September 24, 2008, 1:10 pm 1:10 pm
Ten of us are Democrats voting for McCain and when we posted to the CNN comment sections over the last two weeks every one of them was blocked. Kudo’s to ABCNews and voices.washingtonpost who consistently passed the tests. Terrifying to see the censorship and manipulation resulting at CNN, MSNBC and MSM where headlines like these that don’t accurately represent the concerns of moderates.
Posted by: Democrats for McCain | September 24, 2008, 1:10 pm 1:10 pm
…and no, I’m also not qaulified either….
Posted by: matt | September 24, 2008, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm
As if our Country does not have enough on our tables! Sara and McCain scares the crap out of me.
Posted by: beck | September 24, 2008, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm
We’ve been to Epcot, are we qualified?
Posted by: Amy | September 24, 2008, 1:55 pm 1:55 pm
Written by a bimbo for bimbos!
Posted by: Large Richard | September 24, 2008, 2:00 pm 2:00 pm
One of the most insulting outrages is how the Obama contingent continues to use racism as a weapon against us while at the same time setting free the societal restraints against sexism. Those restraints were already weak. What we have seen is a pandering to the neanderthal tendencies in men from the left that is no less disgusting and unacceptable than the pandering to the white segregationists of the south by the Republicans since Richard Nixon. In the process, it is the Obamaphiles who have voted against their own interests by passing on the true leader, a woman, in favor of a man who stroked their egos.”
Posted by: HP Boston | September 24, 2008, 2:01 pm 2:01 pm
absurd huh? kinda like obama’s European ‘rock’ tour? whats HIS experience for ANYTHING now that you mention it? take away the advisers the speeches written by axelrod, take away the teleprompter.. and what do you have? a fumblin bumblin typical lib hack
Posted by: jjrrttx1 | Sep 24, 2008 12:35:32 PM
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You got that right…..so funny a no nothing inexperienced presidential candidate going up against a MORE EXPERIENCED VP CANDIDATE! SHE HAS IT ALL OVER OBUMA THE EMPTY SUIT WITH NO LEGS!!! They are scared outta there minds! lol lol
Posted by: HP Boston | September 24, 2008, 2:08 pm 2:08 pm
Would it be too much to ask that a professional journalist at least know how to spell the name of a South American country? Columbia is the space shuttle, the clothes brand etc. The country is COLOMBIA!! Just look at a map.
Posted by: Janet | September 24, 2008, 2:09 pm 2:09 pm
I don’t give credit for a week long whirlwind rock star tour abroad for Obama as qualifying him on Foreign Affaris, especially he chaired a subcomittee on Foreign Affairs and HELD NOT ONE MEETING! Please….at least if Palin had gone to Germany and lured 200,000 young people with a rock concert by top German rock band BEFORE her speech….she would have made time to visit our wounded servicemen, DESPITE THE NO PHOTOGRAPHER RULE, why BO didn’t go…no photo op.
In any case….AMERICANS VOTE TOP OF THE TICKET 100% OF THE TIME…IF NOT WOULD DAN QUALE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN VP.
Posted by: Debra | September 25, 2008, 2:07 am 2:07 am
Funny…Gov. Palin has more Executive Experience than the other 3! She literally is one step below President, which is why GOVERNORS USUALLY MAKE JUMP TO PRESIDENT, MORE OFTEN THAN SENATORS.
Posted by: Debra | September 25, 2008, 2:14 am 2:14 am