I owe the Republican VP candidate an apology, just like many other political enthusiasts. I listened to the Leftists in their criticism of her supposed lack of foreign policy, and tried to defend her from this in an earlier post.
Instead, I should have waited to hear from the Alaskan Governor herself, because as it turns out, the Leftist attack on her was not founded on fact. It was, just like the majority of all political attacks, an exaggeration of the truth.
Take a look at the transcript of her interview with ABC News’s Charlie Gibson, and you’ll see what I mean – Sarah Palin does have foreign policy. Not only that, but she is quite ready to defend herself.
Yet the Left continue to throw punches at her.
For example, you will notice (as the Left did) that she never ruled out war as a last resort for resolving disputes overseas (particularly over the South Ossetia War). For this reason, many have labelled her (along with the rest of the GOP) as a warmonger.
But the point has been missed. Wouldn’t the people of the United States prefer that their Army fought to protect the millions of people under Russia’s threat? More so, wouldn’t even Obama, the great “pacifist”, consider sending the Army to intervene in the slaughter of multitudes? And furthermore, she placed it as a last resort! For goodness sake, she isn’t saying that war is the initial response.
“In fact, war has got to be, a military strike, a last option.”
- Gov. Sarah Palin
In another instance, severely left-wing interviewer Charlie Gibson questioned Palin on her view on “the Bush doctrine,” and Palin rightly asks for clarification. Then Gibson, instead of defining it himself, asks her to clarify an ideal he introduced to the conversation.
So she plays his game. Palin defines the Bush doctrine as, “…his worldview.” Smart move.
But Gibson then does the unthinkable – he tells Palin, the person he is interviewing, that she gave the wrong answer.
“No, the Bush doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq war.”
- Charlie Gibson
What kind of an interview is this? I would understand if he said, “Sorry, I meant the doctrine enunciated in September 2002,” but he has to tell her she’s wrong.
But it doesn’t stop there. Palin, still unsure about what Gibson’s on about, continues to play the game. She talks about the mistakes she believe were made in the War on Terror, but defends her support of the actual war.
Then Gibson reveals the “correct” answer: the Bush doctrine is (supposedly) preemptively striking a country when a threat is made against the United States. And when Palin answers (four times), he pretends she didn’t answer.
I got lost in a blizzard of words there. Is that a yes?
- Charlie Gibson
And Palin answers yet again, in case he didn’t understand the other four times.
Grrr! Some journalists make me angry – especially when they’re just searching for the answer they want (wait a minute – isn’t that all the time…?).
Anyways, Sarah, I’m sorry.
While I applaud the Republican Party for nominating their first woman VP – remember that the Democrats did long ago – I would ask you: Does this particular woman represent the values you hold and does she have the knowledge to take over the presidency should McCain suddenly die in office?
One of the things that haunts me is: What if McCain suddenly dies on day two of his administration? Does she have enough foreign affairs knowledge to take over as President on day two or day one?
Palin admitted that she’s not been interested in or paid any attention to foreign affairs. She’s admitted she does she not know about international affairs in order to deal with the extremely complex issues facing our foreign affairs. Can w…or should we…trust her admitted lack of knowledge to lead our country forward safely? That is the extremely important question.
Sen. Clinton could have handled the issues. She has the knowledge. Palin, by her own admission, does not.
And that is what concerns me. I don’t care about her personal life. I don’t care about her religion. I don’t even care that she’s female as opposed to male.
I believe in HIRING THE BEST person for the job.
Yes, I long for the day when a woman becomes President of the U.S. Hell, I personally have experienced all the discrimination and prejudice dumped on women. But that does not mean I want an unqualified woman to become the leader of the free world just because she’s a woman.
I mean would you want your company to promote a female co-worker, regardless of her experience and knowledge, to CEO just because she’s a woman? Wouldn’t you want that female to be a knowledge leader in the field …or at least highly knowledgeable in the field…in order to make the company grow in order to preserve your job and your benefits and increase your salary?
Tell the truth, if you had a choice in your company’s management, who would you choose: A male who had lots lots of experience and knowledge or a female who admitted that she had almost no interest and no knowledge? Who would you bet your salary and job on?
That IS what counts. If you vote for McCain solely because he chose Gov. Palin, you’re saying that knowledge doesn’t count. Just as you would be saying to your company that experience and knowledge don’t count when hiring a CEO.
And for those of you who say she’ll have time to learn, I point to the fact that many presidents have died early in office and that McCain is 72. Sure he may live long like his mother. But I too had grandmothers that lived well over 100; yet my father, their son and grandson, died at 73. There is no way of knowing how long a President…any President…will live. Several Presidents have died almost upon taking the oath of office. That is why it is so important to choose a VP who can immediately step into the shoes of the President.
We no longer live in an isolated world where the VP can be a novice in world affairs. We’re too interconnected politically, socially, and financially. We need a VP, regardless of gender, who understands this interconnectedness upon assumption of the office. If not, we as a country are doomed to repeat or make worse the mistakes of the past seven years.
As a female who really has experienced and dealt with all the prejudice issues regarding female abilities, capabilities, knowledge base and so much more, I still want to hire the best “person” for the job, regardless of gender,..because gender means a whole lot less to me than knowledge and ability.
I want our country to regain its competitive edge in a world economy. I want the U.S. to export the highest and best technology the world has to offer. I want us to grow jobs. I want the rest of the world to look at the US and say, “hey, that’s the kind of place where I want to live. ” I want to keep our country safe and growing, But to get to that point again, we need to have leaders, regardless of gender or race or religion, who understand the world and world politics.
Can you HONESTLY say Sarah Palin has the knowledge of world affairs and economics to negotiate with often hostile foreign leaders — or at the very least, leaders who seek their own country’s self interest — and keep our country safe, grow our economy in a world economy, and provide the kind of economic and social leadership our country needs. I ask you to remember too that according to all economic indicators we are at the tipping point of a major, catastrophic depression.
Does she have the knowledge to take over from McCain? We’re not asking her to be the Gov of Rhode Island, we’re asking her to possibly be the leader of the free world…potentially to take over the most important position in the world. And potentially take over that position on day one or two after assuming office.
What is at stake is not whether she breaks the deplorable “glass ceiling” but whether she has the knowledge and ability on day one to lead our country forward and protect it from all the many threats, both military and financial, that could harm us.
As a woman who has quite literally dealt with all many and disgusting prejudices that have been thrown against women, I simply do no believe that Sarah Palin has either the experience or knowledge to keep our country safe.
Therefore, I cannot support her.
By: Valerie Curl on September 14, 2008
at 1:31 pm
You know, in school they teach us that journalism is supposed to be objective. Has the world of journalism forgot about that? I enjoyed this blog because I can see how it’s hard to interpret. It’s obvious that Charlie Gibson is trying to get a particular answer out of Sarah Palin, which journalistically is unethical. However, she doesn’t actually say yes or no. I’d enjoy to see how this interview would go if the exact same questions were asked to Obama.
Cheers,
-JR
By: ducks4days on September 14, 2008
at 1:39 pm
To ducks4days:
Well said. I agree, she doesn’t actually say, “Yes,” but issues like invasion aren’t short-answer questions. We have to support our answers with reason, and look beyond the one-or-the-other approach. There’s usually (though not always) another path that, while less obvious, could resolve issues in a simpler way.
lol I’d be curious to see Obama’s answers, too.
By: alexnader on September 14, 2008
at 2:00 pm
To Valerie Curl:
I agree: Americans shouldn’t vote for McCain because he picked a woman. Americans should vote for him and his VP because they are very much capable for the job.
Palin, while modestly admitting she has very little foreign policy, is actually quite knowledgable on the issue. While she’s never walked the walk, she talks the talk:
“I agree with John McCain that nuclear weapons in the hands of those who would seek to destroy our allies, in this case, we’re talking about Israel, we’re talking about Ahmadinejad’s comment about Israel being the “stinking corpse, should be wiped off the face of the earth,” that’s atrocious. That’s unacceptable.” – Gov. Sarah Palin
“What I think is that smaller democratic countries that are invaded by a larger power is something for us to be vigilant against … We have got to show the support, in this case, for Georgia. The support that we can show is economic sanctions perhaps against Russia, if this is what it leads to.” – Gov. Sarah Palin
She may not have been to the frontline of international relations yet, but she knows her stuff. I think Americans have to take that into account when they vote.
Obama is in the same situation. He’s voted on some key foreign policy bills, but he, too, has not been out-and-about (unless you count that World Tour political stunt of his). And he’s running for president.
Now, your concern for McCain’s possible death is reasonable. But think about this: there are perhaps 8000 members of the Ku Klux Klan in the United States at this time. And they’ve had little room to express their prejudices in the last few decades. And the first black President of the United States may be about to take the seat.
Is McCain in any more danger of death than Obama? Even with the Secret Service around?
And who’s to say Obama will die of natural causes anyway? A high proportion of Americans don’t.
So, I wonder, can you support Obama/Biden any more than you can support McCain/Palin?
By: alexnader on September 14, 2008
at 2:17 pm