Palin Hong Kong Speech Blames Government For Financial Crisis; Some Walk Out In Disgust

HONG KONG — Former U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, criticized for her lack of foreign policy experience, emerged in Asia on Wednesday to share her views from "Main Street U.S.A." with a group of high-flying global investors.

In her first trip to the region, the former Alaska governor addressed an annual conference of investors in Hong Kong in what was billed as a wide-ranging talk about governance, economics and U.S. and Asian affairs.

Two US delegates left early, according to AFP, with one saying "it was awful, we couldn't stand it any longer." He declined to be identified.

"I'm going to call it like I see it and I will share with you candidly a view right from Main Street, Main Street U.S.A.," Palin told a room full of asset managers and other finance professionals, according to a video of part of the speech obtained by The Associated Press. "And how perhaps my view of Main Street ... how that affects you and your business."

Palin spoke out against government intervention in the economy. "We got into this mess because of government interference in the first place," Palin said, according to the Wall Street Journal. "We're not interested in government fixes, we're interested in freedom," she added.

She also praised the conservative economic policies of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, according to another attendee who declined to be named because he didn't want to be seen as speaking on behalf of his company.

She claimed that if taxes were cut and the capital gains tax and estate tax eliminated, the world would "watch the U.S. economy roar back to life."

Palin argued that many average Americans are uncomfortable with health care reforms that infringe on private enterprise, Chris Palmer, an American fund manager for Gartmore Investment Ltd., told reporters.

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She didn't refer to President Barack Obama by name, the Wall Street Journal reported, but said she called his campaign promises "nebulous, utopian sounding... Now 10 months later, though, a lot of Americans are asking: more government? Is that the change we want?"

Some attendees were disappointed by her focus on her home state and her attacks on President Obama.

"As fund managers we want to hear about the United States as a whole, not just about Alaska," one told AFP. "And she criticized Obama a lot but offered no solutions."

Palin also said she believes the U.S. has a role in helping China find its future and that the U.S. will always be on the side of promoting freedom, according to Palmer.

In an apparent reference to tensions between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese that have led to riots, Palin mentioned China's ethnic problems, arguing they are "a sign that China lacks mechanisms to deal with regional issues," Palmer said.

The speech marked Palin's first major appearance since she resigned as governor in July, and the speech's location and international scope could help boost her credentials ahead of a possible bid for president in 2012. While she's thought to be considering that, her Hong Kong trip bore no political overtones, said Fred Malek, a friend and Palin adviser.

"You can read a lot of things into it, 'Is she trying to burnish her foreign policy credentials?' and the like. But really, it's a trip that will be beneficial to her knowledge base and will defray some legal and other bills that she has," Malek said.

Palin aides refused to disclose her fee for the appearance, which has been rumored to be in the low six figures.

Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said Tuesday the group knew little about Palin's speech.

"We're curious as to what she's willing to say in private but not in public," Sevugan said. "Are there other countries that she can see from her window that she doesn't want us to know about?"

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AP reporters Min Lee and Dikky Sinn in Hong Kong, Beth Fouhy in New York and Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.

Comments

[MikeCanada]

Nobody wants to book her because she doesn't know anything. She's just not intelligent, it's really as simple as that.

[bettestreep]

LOL!

she continues to rant about not wanting the government to intrude in American's everyday lives - BUT she still wants Roe vs Wade to be overturned and abortion made illegal.

she wants the government to ban books and censor the media more

she wants the government to force children to be taught intelligent design and to bring pray back to school (only christianity of course - other religions can go to hell).

and her claims that the current GFC is due to government intervention is just laughable.

The crisis occurred under her precious Republican Party government's watch - the Bush administration which allowed the financial, insurance and motor industries to operate with little or no government regulation whatsoever!

And that facebook page that asks for the assassination of Obama? She started the fear and smear campaign against Obama so should anything happen to him - she should be held responsible.

[kcleung8947]

I think that poor girl does not even know Hong Kong is part of China. She may think that Hong Kong is a country. There is a reason why the organizer does not allow press to be present in the meeting.

[eagle9454]

what she said in hong kong is treason. She should be prosecuted.

[screamingCNN]

The president is trying to mend peace throughout all nations around the world, while this dunderhead is doing just the opposite.

She is a quitter and a private citizen now why should it matter what she has to say?

[Eric Penner]

All right, I'm tired of this fictional 'Main Street'. It sounds like something from Disneyland - oh wait, it actually is - and is it really that much more difficult to say 'Americans' or 'American people' without this silly allegory? Oh how neat, Wall Street and Main Street both have the word 'street' in them and they're at odds! They have different interests & by default created their own catchy sound bite!

Honestly, Palin, don't ever say 'Main Street' again. I've been tired of it for more than a year. I know you've got a limited vocabulary that was induced by your minimal brain capacity, but let your advisers or handlers know that your catchphrase has become disturbingly tedious. Thanks!

[NorthwestBBQ]

She always bans the "gotcha" media...

[Berkeleylefty]

Will the left do to Sarah Palin what the right did to Hanoi Jane? I am not holding my breath...

[montestruc]

I think a lot of criticism of the Obama administration is called for. While I do not agree line item by line item with what she is reported to have said, the bailouts were not called for (the claims that financial markets would have "melted down" are overblown, yes a lot of people would have lost a lot of money, so what?) and are immensely bad precedent.

We are wasting a hell of a lot of time and political capital arguing about heath care when that is really an issue we can muddle along with for another few years. The critical issues are the economy and the environment. And to me, that is the most damning thing about the Obama administration, that his personal hobby horse (health care) gets grossly disproportional attention from the substantive issues of the day.

[sippewissett]

Sorry but you really don't get the inter-relationship between the costs of health care and the economy. Are you aware that 62% of personal bankruptcies happen because of family's medical costs? You treat health care reform like a 'do-da', some kind of frivolous topic that we can get by without, BUT there is widespread agreement amongst economists that we cannot do so. We are going broke with the current system and we are ranked low among developed countries on many parameters of health, despite our soaring costs. So...either this is a posting from a health care insurance type OR you have a lot of reading to do still.

[montestruc]

Yes actually I do "get" the interrelationship between health care and the economy and few more also very important interrelationships as well. If you want to honestly fix things so they work well you need to do painful things that are not going to be popular with some major interest groups such as medical doctors, medical insurance firms, pharmaceutical firms and so on .

One of the reasons we have such serious problems with health care is that the AMA and various other medical professional groups act together to massively restrict the total number of medical students at any one time, fewer doctors drives up the price for medical services.

Then there is the drug war and the direct and immediate effects that has on health care and the economy. Because of the "mother may I" system we have of having to get a note from a doctor that you have to pay (bribe) to get a prescription, this turns all doctors into drug pushers as much or more than they are doctors, and big pharma is massively in on this action as well.

Bottom line the administration is not dealing with the fundamental problems of the drug war, the abuse of power by medical doctors as a profession, and medical insurance firms and pharmaceutical firms to boost their fees, then this is not honest reform, this is a white wash and should be voted down.

[richardgordon]

Funny thing is I watched the same movies as you did and have come to the complete opposite conclusions. Not only were the bail outs were necessary if they haddent been done the world economy would have completely self destructed. Its even doubtful you would have been able to withdraw your own money out of anyt ATM machine or even your bank. And incidentally Obama didn't create this situation, Wall Street, the American Banks, Countrywide, Lehman Brothers, Standard and Poors, Alan Greenspan and George Bush and the Repulican ethos of let business do what ever it wants was responsible for this mess. Yes, America is now in debt to the tune of 12 trillon dollars or more. Yes, this will have a profound impact on America for years and years and years. So don't blame Obama for a problem he did not create.

[Kalie]

There IS something seriously wrong with this country (or China) when a wingnut like Sara Palin is making six figures for a speech.

[booboo111]

" I am thrilled to be here today and even more amazed how well you Hongs and Kongs get along. This should be a model for the world. I see that most of the people here today are Chinese. I guess, like myself you're tourists in this great country, you betcha! And as a parting gift, on behalf of all Alaskans, I'm donating forks for every man woman or child, Hong or Kong, and from this day forward let it be known that no one will ever again have to eat with those stick thingys! I only hope that there is still some offspring from the original King Kong in your national zoo. I told my son Trigg, and the baby that I carried around like a sack of potatoes during the campaign as a prop, that I'd get a photo. Although most of the men here, I don't see many women, are small in stature, I'm sure that you're going to do great things in the future like building the tall buildings that surprised me here today. I thought they would be made of bamboo. Gotta go wink, wink, toungue click. If I could just get that check, I'll be on my way. Happy trails."

[Kalie]

Funny. Palin is the perfect example of the Repubs inability to say they were wrong. I would love to hear John McCain's "honest" (if possible) take on Sarah Palin. He could sell that for good money. Actually, after what the Repubs did to him by giving him such a wonderful running mate, he should leave that party. Maybe join Lieberman in obscurity.

[Hopeington]

Dang, you nailed it.

[SeesBeyond]

LOL. Well done!

[ed1946]

And who is watching her children while she is running all over the world?What about her Down child?Maybe she needs to be turned into DHHS for child abuse.

[Holes]

Why does anyone find it interesting that this lady disturbs thinking human beings. She is the poster person of everything that is Right with the Republican "Wrong".

I don't have to "pen 10,000 words elucidating why Americans of Good Will are disturbed by Sarah Palin.

She is the "Gollum" of the Republican Party!

"We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little hobbitses. Wicked, tricksy, false! "

[SeesBeyond]

It's interesting how Sarah Palin still continues to generate headlines, and how her slightest, most innocuous moves still seem to inflame the Left, not only Keith Olbermann et al. over at MSNBC, but here on this blog, as well. Aside from the story itself, there is nothing new about how Palin gets treated, either in this story or in most of the comments, that hasn't been expressed before, ad nauseum. If you really wanted to be rid of Sarah Palin, why not just ignore her? By now one thinks it would have occurred to someone that she is like the Tar Baby in the Uncle Remus stories.

And the headline of the story is misleading. TWO people walked out of Palin's speech. Since when is TWO equal to SOME?

[gaiuscaprica]

It would seem you are the tar baby- By your assumptions Mr. Tesla, it is better to dismiss her. What happens when elections come about? Tempers are flared, name calling (kind of what’s happening to president Obama) all over the place! Americans are easily swayed by clever spin doctors (It used to be global warming, now its climate change. was done on purpose by a bush adviser to make the idea less threatening) Will she be more attractive to people? I think yes! I think they will call it political change. There is a commonality between SP, you and the tar baby- a story whose time has come and gone; but may provide a lesson to some. So I think we should keep her in mind for a bit.

Why object to –“ TWO people walked out of Palin's speech. Since when is TWO equal to SOME?” In colloquial speech people often say “some people” when referring to an individual. The title is akin to this.

I’m actually not on the left, just in the middle.
Just an update to what has occurred in the last century:
People have walked on the moon
Color television
Human genome mapping
Planets out side the solar system
Doughnuts with no holes
You can buy doughnut holes separate

What has not changed?
Parmesan cheese still doesn’t come in large enough bottles!
Off topic? Well you started it.

[SeesBeyond]

????? My objection to "SOME" was simply that it went beyond being a mere colloquialism, as you seem to want to say, but rather was a transparent attempt to imply that there were more people who walked out of Palin's speech than actually did. The writer had a point of view, and this usage was consistent with the overall dismissive tone of the article. I would have preferred more precision and less "attitude."

I'm glad you like my avatar.

[digdeeper]

She generates interest because she is "entertainment" on the one hand and on the other it is rather like the audience that gathers when there is a major car accident or some other catastrophe because she is so unbelievable.
It is not at all helpful for the image of the US to have this woman speaking on behalf of the country.

[sippewissett]

The back story on Palin's speech is that it was Murdoch who got CLSA to include her in the Hong Kong program. Murdoch is the publisher of her 2010 "memoir" and the owner of the now corruptly Right WSJ where she had an op-ed on energy (AKA "drill, baby, drill" in print).

Her going to Hong Kong, the "libertarian" part of China (!) to tell international money managers that China should be a "responsible" nation is shamefully shallow, but the trip was part of Murdoch's build-up for Palin's book. Shameful and embarassing to have her in front of this group with nothing but the obvious or distorted to say from "Main Street" because "it might affect your business." LOL.

[SeesBeyond]

Very interesting info about the Murdoch connection I hadn't heard before. Thanks!

[indywoman]

I can't believe anyone would pay this woman six figures for anything at all, but, if she can get it, she should go for it!!!

She is no threat to us here. The more she talks, the more she is exposed for her unique manner of thinking, and speaking.

I don't think she would ever run for President, I think she quit the Governor position to go out and make money!!! She has huge debt from all of her legal battles, and she needs the money!! She is getting offers like this, and she wanted to take them. Its really the smart move for her.

[ChicagoBob]

If tax cuts really work to stimulate the economy why is there no evidence.

The Bush cuts were so big the economy should have grown at an unprecedented rate, it tax cuts really work.