As I watched the flaming bus wreck of Katie Couric's interview with Gov. Sarah Palin, I kept thinking: why does this sound so familiar?
And then it hit me. She sounds a lot like Lauren Caitlin, the Miss Teen America contestant who became a YouTube sensation with her answer to why one fifth of Americans can't identify the U.S. on a world map.
Said Lauren: "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps. I believe that our education, like such as in South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere, like, such as... And I believe that they should. Our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. Or, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries. So we will be able to build up our future for our children."
Ok, let's give a break to a teenager who fumbled in her first time under the hot lights of a national television appearance.
Let's add close to 30 years of maturity, two terms as a town mayor and 20 months as a state governor. Throw in a phalanx of speechwriters, preppers and polishers - and we get this from the woman who would be vice president and, possibly, even leader of the free world in response to a question about her international qualifications:
"Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land-- boundary that we have with-- Canada. It-- it's funny that a comment like that was-- kind of made to-- cari-- I don't know, you know? Reporters--
Well, it certainly does (enhance international experience) because our-- our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia--
We have trade missions back and forth. We-- we do-- it's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where-- where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is-- from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to-- to our state."
Let's give Lauren Caitlin the same preparation as Sarah Palin, and see who does better. My money is on Lauren.
It's Monday. The vice presidential debates are Thursday. Somewhere Joe Biden is smiling.