Time: Unclear What Sarah Palin's Foreign Policies Are

Time magazine's Michael Grunwald and Jay Newton-Small note that McCain's pick for vice president Sarah Palin does not have well-developed views on a number of issues:

It's not clear what Palin thinks about foreign policy or many other national issues, though she has criticized the lack of a long-term plan for Iraq. And the top consideration for any candidate for the number-two job is readiness for the number-one job, an issue that may weigh more on voters' minds when the potential number one has just turned 72 years old.

Comments

[DAdvocate123]

Can someone explain to me how her accomplishments and qualifications are not infinitely superior to Obama?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKsSYE4gfck

[NorthernCross]

Well for one, she hasn't made corrupt friends like every Chicago politician should. Also, she isn't as inconsistent as BO, since she didn't oppose FISA before she supported it. And let's not forget, both Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey are 100% behind BO, as well as much of Hollywood. Can Palin say this? NOOOO!

[ejay579]

This is a hoot. A far as she knows FISA is some kind of fish.

[imagine21]

She's just made friends with every corrupt oil company doing business in the State of Alaska. ConocoPhillips has the office next door to her. And she doesn't believe global warming is man made????? She's a joke.

[QuicksilverKW]

But she did say that she thought that oil drilled in Alaska could be pumped right into the service stations around the US. That was stupid. Does she think our oil is nationalized? That the oil companies are owned by American companies? Any oil drilled there - or anywhere off our coasts would largely be sold to other countries. Most people think we can keep all the oil we drill here. Palin says we can drill our way to oil independance. Peak oil has been long long gone. So with "knowledge" like this - America would be in trouble. And she wants to teach creationism in science classes. If you want to learn about creationism - go to church. It isn't science. I wonder if she supports teaching Buddhism in science class? The law of causeand effoect is a lot closer to science than miracles.

[Paradym]

Can you explain to us how his accomplishments and qualifications are not infinitely superior to Palin's?

Yeah, he didn't do well in any beauty contests, I'll give you that one.

[QuicksilverKW]

And I don't think he is too good at pink french pedicure toenails and platform shoes - I've heard she has such great shoes. Maybe someone should do an article on them!

[ejay579]

It it isn't obvious to you by now, you are a hopeless case.

[truesoccermom]

Obama was the top student in his class at Harvard Law School. He is smart and intelligent and has studied and written extensively on foreign affairs and economic issues. For me, it's not about "experience," it's about intelligence and knowledge (Dick Cheny had more experience than
anyone and look how that turned out). As I woman, I am upset and offended
that this is the best female candidate MdCain come up with. (As I understand it she was a journalism major at Idaho State, a TV sports broadcaster and mayer of a small village in Alaska). There was talk of McCain nominating a woman who was CEO of ebay, I would not have a
problem with that -- at least I would know she is smart. However, I have
no doubt in my mind that I know much more about foreign policy than this
woman does (I at least studied it in college). While I really am not scared
of what will happen if McCain is President -- I truly am afraid of this
woman running our country.

[OpusIsUnderTheBed]

Ditto. Obvious no one can explain anything to you. Sorry.

[Thebaxter25]

It's kind of cool that no matter who wins this election we are either going to have a black man president, or a female vice-president. Either way, it will be a first, and that is exciting in and of itself!

[rinpochet]

Are you really saying that internal plumbing tops everything? What is exciting about having a female VP who is totally unqualified for the job and could be POTUS? To me that's frightening. Nothing exciting about it in my mind.

[DAdvocate123]

Her qualifications are infinitely superior to Obama.

[Amalek]

My first question for Sarah:

Do you have a passport?

[NorthernCross]

She'd say yes, since she needed one to visit our troops in Iraq.

Hope that clarifies things for you.

[Mpatrick1976]

Passport received in 2007 when she visited Kuwait and Germany to see Alaska's National Guard last year. She not interested in Foreign Policy. She thinks Atlanta is Georgia's capitol.

[ejay579]

First you have to explain to her what a passport is.

[athenasword]

IT might have three stamps in it... But, can she find Russia or Iran or N Korea on a map?

[Liberoservative]

AND another off topic comment
During the DNC CSPAN broadcasted every single one of Mc's ,visits.....

and tonight... when O was in PA, I went to see it on CSPAN and got Palin.... I had to got to CNN live in orde3r to see his speak .................. give me a break.

CSPAN... if you are going to cover every single one of Mcc's stops t hen you better cover the other stops as well......

I give you KUDOS on your coverage of the convention... but you are really falling behind in the non partisan coverage right now

[ejay579]

Keep the faith. We will soon get to the skewering Palin part of the program.

[tinalina61]

SARAH PALIN=EMPTY DRESS

[NorthernCross]

I think you're p0rojecting your own insecurities about BO, since anyone who knows anything realizes that Gov. Palin has more executive experience than either BO or Biden.

[Pcharlestw]

and guess what... gwb has more "executive" experience than mccain, palin, obama and biden, and look what he did to the country, he even had an MBA from Yale. you need a better talking point than that one.

[zann]

You get plenty of "executive experience" running a senate office or a national campaign too. Alaska only has 635,000 people, but I saw another post saying Palin was experienced because she'd governed the largest land mass in America.

[rasthedestroyer]

Southern cross, between Senators O. & B. you got 47yrs. of legislative experience. this woman has been Gov. of the 4th smallest state for 18 mos. .. that as long as this election cycle..... support your canidate .. your problem, not mine.. but please be honest..i know that's hard for some of you wingnutz to do... but please try...

[LorettaSingbiel]

"anyone who knows anything realizes that Gov. Palin has more executive experience than either BO or Biden."

LMAO!

Gov. Palin DOESN'T KNOW what the VP does every day!

In an interview just a month ago, Larry Kudlow of CNBC's "Kudlow & Co." asked her about the possibility of becoming McCain's ticket mate ... to which she replied: "As for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day? I'm used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position."

(What would she be doing? Oh ... things like RUNNING OUR COUNTRY if McCain kicks the OIL bucket!!! ... JESUS, JOSEPH & MARY ... talk about NO foreign policy experience!!!)

[ejay579]

If this is the case, it only serves to show how grossly overrated "executive experience" is.

[reshas1]

Obama Bin Biden=empty suits

[Liberoservative]

This is totally off topic.....

I want MSM to give David Shuster a show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

This guy is about as centrist of any of the MSM out there that I have seen.....

Go David!!!!!!

[mesmerize]

National Security is no longer the word for the McCain campaign. The new word is now EXECUTIVE. Executive qualifies you to be Commander In Chief. I guess National Security only applies to Senator Obama. Hopefully voters can see through this smoke screen. Now we all know McCain was just FEARMONGERING. He and his camp sat around and said " We will try to put the fear of our enemies in them and if that don't work we can try something else like picking a woman." So much for caring about a safe America.

[NorthernCross]

"National Security is no longer the word for the McCain campaign."

Wrong, it's still a key theme in his campaign. Sorry, but you've failed.

[darker]

"Unclear What Sarah Paiin's Foreign Policies Are" ??

Oh that's THE REPUBLICAN WAY!

A "great" republican tradition of faking it WITH EVERYTHING except--
corrupt tax write-offs, profiteering wars and laws favoring the
REPUBLICAN NANNY STATE FOR THE RICH and
their corporate welfare-queens.

NO THANKS.
NO MORE years!

[KC4NM]

What I don't understand is that it's been reported that Palin doesn't think too much about Iraq, but her son is getting ready to be stationed there. Now as a mother, I would think she would be very interested in Iraq. I know I am and I don't even have a son being deployed there.

[LorettaSingbiel]

"What I don't understand is that Palin doesn't think too much about Iraq, but her son is getting ready to be stationed there. Now as a mother, I would think she would be very interested in Iraq."

Well perhaps she ONLY sees what Laura Bush sees on television ... "the ONE bombing a day that discourages everybody".

[Spesabsquemetu]

What's to worry?

Palin has got McTwin who believes he's an expert on foreign relations and demonstrates superb "judgment" as recently seen in his VP selection.

Examples of McCain's foreign relations expertise:

July 21, 2008: McCain references Iraq, but meant Afghanistan.

July 1 - July 30: McCain confuses Somalia for Sudan and the Green Bay Packers for the Pittsburgh Steelers
June 30, 2008: McCain asked: ""How can we bring pressure on the government of Somalia?", when he was referencing Darfur, a region of the Sudan. His senior advisor corrected him.

On another occasion, he referenced Vladimir Putin of Russia, as the President of Germany.
He's mixed up Sunnis and Shiites, and claimed our troops had been down-sized to pre-surge levels, when instead, they had been increased by 20,000.

In July, 2008 he made reference to Czechoslovakia, which hasn’t existed as a territory since 1993 when it was divided up into two territories.
(Source: Politico.com)

[Amalek]

McCain has plenty of foreign relations expertise. Don't go there.

The issues you point out are simply symptoms of the early onset of alzheimers. Give him a break. He is a sick man.

[Airball01]

Oh great, so we can expect another Iran Contra scandal.

The four words every Republican knows so well: "I have no recollection".

[Ozarks]

You missed that he believes there is an Iraq/Pakistan border but thanks Speas

[ThePhilosopher]

McCain shoulda just gone ahead and nominated Harriet Miers...

[triplbee]

The funniest post I've read all day!

[susannine]

You have to laugh. It's surreal. Country first? I don't think so. This is John McCain making a totally self-serving political calculation. Too bad it's going to result in a real bad backdraft.

[susannine]

My first thought on waking this morning was, "Is McCain on drugs?" This whole thing is surreal and especially so coming on the heels of the extremely impressive Dem convention. The Democrats look like the grownups here and McCain and Palin look like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland saying, "I know, let's put on a SHOW!"

[playscape]

Watch the McCain camp play the Hillary card once there is any negative analysis of Palin or the selection. This, they surely believe, will help reel in the women's vote.

Just another reason why this is one of the most baldly, breathtakingly cynical move in recent political history.

[NorthernCross]

"Watch the McCain camp play the Hillary card once there is any negative analysis of Palin or the selection."

I think you're projecting, since it is more likely that BO will play the race card once he figures out a way to concoct a rationale. He tried last month when talking about how he looks "different" from past Presidents, but he only succeeded in embarrassing himself. We'll see if he's confident enough to take another shot at it.

[Mingpeke]

In the interest of equality I can NOT like her by virture of the few thing I know about her. As a woman I am insulted that McCain thinks he can pick a woman and think to get votes because the person is female. She stands AGAINST most of what I stand for. She's the kind of person who you school fund raise with but avoid political conversation with because she is rabidly right wing and NOT centerist. (I have worked women like her before raising money for sports or school related activities) I wouldn't elect her to the school board. SHe doesn't represent the change we need just a few steps further to the right. Also what about the investigation into the firing of Alaska's public safety director? (more corruption from the right?)

[shengirl]

but taken in the context of the GOP view of women, this fits right in. Face it, to them women are pretty little arm candy and playthings, seen and not heard; a confident, accomplished woman gives them the jitters.

[TexGator]

Please tell me that media is going to wake up, take it's role in the process seriously (i.e. stop worrying about ratings and start worrying about reporting), and expose this pick for exactly what it is...the biggest F**K YOU by a presidential candidate to the voting public in the history of American politics...

[notthistime]

actually my sense is most of the media thinks this is a joke. Short term interest long term hangover.

[NorthernCross]

Nonsense.

[LorettaSingbiel]

The REPUBLICAN party is NON SENSE ... which makes them comic GOLD!