Palin is interviewed by Katie Couric--an excerpt

[ellen_datlow]

And here's an opinion that seems to be right on regarding Palin's ignorance of the basics. Notice how she can not deviate from the script but keeps repeating the same mish mosh she's been spoon fed. She did this with Charles Gibson too:


Glenn Greenwald
Thursday Sept. 25, 2008 07:54 EDT
Correction on Sarah Palin

Three weeks ago -- before Sarah Palin's interview with Charlie Gibson was announced -- I mocked the idea that the McCain campaign was afraid to have Palin face our mighty press corps, and I defended Palin... more

Thanks to Eleanor Lang for the link

Here's more from the interview--read it and weep!

COURIC: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?


PALIN: That 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--

COURIC: Mock?

PALIN: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

COURIC: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

PALIN: Well, it certainly does because our-- our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia--

COURIC: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

PALIN: 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.

Comments

[vee-ecks.livejournal.com]

In day-to-day life, when a guy keeps calling a woman "smart" and she's clearly not smart but she is cute, that generally means he's into her and doesn't want to admit it.

Nope, Palin's no Quayle. She is, unbelievably, actually worse than Quayle. This whole election is just fucking bananas.

[txtriffidranch.livejournal.com]

Ummm...it might behoove you to know that the Palin staff just changed her campaign theme song from Heart's "Barracuda" to something a lot more appropriate. Pass it on.

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

Hee!

[imago1.livejournal.com]

Palin as vp candidate is a real time example of the Peter Principle in action.

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

Heh. That's funny. So true, so true.

[bobhowe.livejournal.com]

I send Greenwald's piece to El this morning. It's a great synopsis of how the Republicans are frighteningly dishonest and incompetent. Not that there's any shortage of source material there.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

So that's who I got it from--I couldn't remember--thanks for reminding me--I've now credited her.

[misplacedmind.livejournal.com]

Katie Couric was brilliant there! You can almost see her thinking, "Next time you want a pretty face, call ME, bitches!"

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I was very impressed by her.

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

That interview just makes me shake my head.

Why? Why Sarah Palin? The answer is, we're going for all the oil in Alaska, that's why. Gotta keep up with the Joneskys next door, folks, and of course Ms Palin has plenty of experience with that. *sighs*

[joeicarus.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

*snort*

I'm surfing the meme-wave.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

This is a crap poll that's already been debunked. Sorry.

[davien.livejournal.com]

Not quite crap or debunked, but old, yes.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

One problem is that you can vote and have your vote counted multiple times which means the whole poll is invalid.

[davien.livejournal.com]

They attempted to fix that with cookies. Not the best way... but

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Oh good. Well, it least maybe it means something now :-)

[doortoriver.livejournal.com]

Yeaaah, that's about the level of interview-intelligence I expected.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

What I really don't get is Republicans defending her--she's ignorant and clueless, a very bad combination for the office that is a a heartbeat away from the presidency.

[doortoriver.livejournal.com]

I've had to ask myself the same question; much of my family is staunchly in that group. The only answer I can come up with is one I don't particularly like, but it almost makes sense. They dislike Obama and Biden; therefore, they leap to the other side blindly, because they seem to think there is no other way of making themselves be heard.

The willfull blindless is sad, but it's not limited to Republicans. I'm reminded of something my mother taught me: 5% of the people think; 10% THINK they think; 85% don't think at all.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

That bodes really badly for the election.

[doortoriver.livejournal.com]

I personally am prepared for a mess regardless of what happens. What I'm hoping is that the mess will wake people up and start them thinking again.

A silly hope, I know; but it's one that matters to me.

[joeicarus.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

If the mess of the last eight years hasn't awakened people, just what level of mess do you think will? My wife got a campaign phone call yesterday from the McCain people. She cut them off right after the first sentence, which was about this economic mess the Democrats have gotten us into.

O_o

Um, yeah, okay.

[joeicarus.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

One theory I've heard is that she wasn't chosen to attract disgruntled Clinton fans at all (which was really a preposterous theory in the first place, neh?) but actually to energize the evangelical fanbase. She's actively Christian, far more politically conservative than McCain, not into this silly environment stuff, etc. It may be that a lot of evangelicals actually would rather have Palin as president than McCain, and that her spot on the ticket is grooming her for eventual presidency.

Um, yeah. It's pretty nutty.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I know and understand all that--but the woman is stoooopid.

[joeicarus.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

You're one up on me, then. I didn't realize there were republicans who actually thought she'd make a good president. I just thought . . . hmm, I don't know what I thought. I could think of no good reason why they unearthed this person to be their veep candidate.

Honestly, I also thought all of her recent defenders knew deep down that she's an idiot and were just trying to put the best spin they could on a bad situation. Guess it's a failure to identify on my part. As a wannabe writer, I should be more able to get inside people's heads, but people who kind of hope McCain dies in office after two years so that Palin has an easy road to the White House . . . I don't know if I've seen any species quite so alien in science fiction.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

If you go to the Asimov's message board (don't do it.....) you'll see that the political threads are dominated by right wingnuts who don't seem to care that the woman thinks living near Russia means that she has foreign policy experience and who doesn't know the Bush Doctrine. Not to mention her recent responses to questions about the financial crisis. Ye Gawds!

Well now we know who gets the alien vote

[joeicarus.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

This explains so much . . .