That is one of the stupidest things said in the history of television.

It’s sort of like saying that being Governor of Florida is a foreign policy position because Cuba is close to the Keys.  Actually, Florida comes closer because there is a large ex-pat, naturalized and U.S. born Cuban-American community in greater Miami and elsewhere.  There are more Cuban-Americans in Florida than there are Alaskans, period.  There was a time when the Russian Orthodox Church had a more prominent role in Alaskan culture and society, and to this day it’s the largest proportional presence of Orthodox Christianity in any state.  But the ethnic Russians are mostly gone, gone, gone; most Orthodox Christians in Alaska are Alaskan Natives or have roots outside of Russia.

On perfect days, one can sometimes see across the Bering Straits, but essentially nobody lives out there.  Half the state lives in greater Anchorage.  The low population density is simply unfathomable for a native Marylander like me.  Maryland has three counties plus probably Baltimore City that are the same population as Alaska or larger, and essentially nowhere that’s more than 2-3 miles from at least minimal permanent human habitation.  Maybe Marcotte knows what it’s like, but the very idea is disorienting to northeasterner.

But there are plenty of conservatives who believe such things. Its like saying that being mayor of a small town of less than 10,000 gives you “executive experience” to be president. Remember, back in 2000 Republicans were making the same claims with regards to Bush as governor of Texas and his oh so wise foreign policy experience with Mexico.

She has a great mind

It takes one to know one.

Wow.  That’s what they’re going to go with, huh?  With absolutely no understanding of how dumb that sounds?

Well, if we’re going for dumb questions, I’m a woman and I live only four hours from Canada.  Can I be Vice President?

I was my student government President in High School and I read The Economist.

Can I haz VP?

Some free advice: do not send Cindy McCain out on the Sunday talk shows to defend Sarah Palin

Right! Send her out on weekdays, too!
I’ll get the popcorn.

Wow.  This is “The Iraq and such as” grade horrible.

My favorite comment over over at my pad:

My cat sat next to the toilet today. I guess she is now a plumber!

The opoponax-

OT but how close are you to the storm?

How big are you in your local PTA?…

Alas, I have yet to issue forth offspring into the world.  But I’m likable and cute.  That counts, right?

Ben - It will be making landfall less than 50 miles from where I’m sitting right now, somewhere around noon tomorrow.

Is “fucked” a place?

(seriously, though, I kid.  I’m close to the storm, but safe.  And I aim to stay that way.)

Does my proximity to a hurricane make me an expert in natural disasters?  Maybe I should be the next head of FEMA.

Jennifer, do you know how dumb you sound? If you were the governor of a state adjacent to Canada, I would expect you to know something about Canadian politics, politicians and trade issues.

As the governor of Alaska I would expect Palin to know something about Russian politics, politicians and trade issues, especially after they recently claimed the oil rights under the North Pole.

If you want to see more of what you’re up against, check her out on CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/26455570

I’m seriously wondering if Palin will go the way of Tom Eagleton, Anyone else having this thought?

You mean the interview where she said she wasn’t sure what a VP does, Jim?

How about that one where she said the Founders wrote the Pledge?

JimB, do you know how dumb you sound?  Last time I checked, Alaska did not, in fact, border Russia.  Or at least I know that, when I was in 4th grade social studies and we learned what countries the USA borders, Russia (or, then, the USSR) was not one of them.  And, yes, that was well after Alaska had become a state.

As for Palin, I think the question of whether a governor of Alaska ought to have that expertise, and whether Palin actually has it, are two extremely different questions.

I would also remind folks that this whole OMG RUSSIA IS TEH ENUHMEEE! meme is of extremely recent vintage.  The fact that Palin is the governor of Russia, and Russia has within the past month been declared Nuke Target Of The Week, doesn’t necessarily imply that Palin was elected because she has some sort of special expertise on Russia which would be pertinent at the federal level.

Alaska doesn’t border a part of Russia that is of any importance. It borders a frozen wasteland. You guys are acting like it is next to St. Petersburg, or at least Omsk.

I’m using the term “border” loosely.

I think that it was in a written response to the written questionnaire of the Eagle Forum that Palin said she supported the “under God” phrase in the Pledge in part because it was good enough for the Founding Fathers.  Of course, the pledge with the “under God” amendment was written about 100 years after the last living Founder died.  The Continental Army did not pledge allegiance to any flag, though they fought under one.

What a bafflingly dumb statement.

I think I just heard several brain cells crying out in agony from the strain of trying to process it.

So because Alaska is across the street from Siberia that makes Sarah Palin a foreign policy expert? Is Cindy McCain swiping meds again?

Moreover, can anyone cite an instance where Palin ever spoke to anyone in the Russian government on a diplomatic or state level?

Pam, you assume this was some sort of gaffe on Cindy McCain’s part. It’s not. The memo’s gone out, or whatever, and I’ve seen sock puppets pop up in nearly every Palin thread spouting the same line of nonsense about Russia.

So… Seriously, this is the GOP’s official stance on her “experience”.

As governor of Alaska Palin oversees the Alaska Nat’l Guard, which is the first line of missile defense against Russia. It’s highly likely she’s been briefed on more nat’l security matters than Obama. So, yes, she has foreign policy experience being so close to Russia. Thus, suck it, you weiners.

Why don’t you provide a link instead of saying “highly likely”?

Considering that the cold war was over long before Palin took office, it is unlikely that Alaska’s proximity to Russia gives Palin any more national security or foreign policy experience than, well, that of a great many other governors whose states were once first lines of defense against other former enemies. 

Again, I know that wingnuts have short attention spans, but Russia has been Paper Tiger Of The Month only for the past few weeks, and in the intervening 18-19 years we have been allies.  To use the Orwellian cliche, we have not ALWAYS been at war with Eurasia. 

To assume that proximity to Russia gives Palin foreign policy and/or defense experience is to assume that the governors of Maine, Vermont, and New York have similar levels of experience because those states were once our first lines of defense against the British.  Or that the governor of Maryland has firsthand national security experience due to briefings regarding its position on the border of the Union and the Confederacy.  Or that the governor of Hawaii has similar expertise wrt that state’s strategic importance against the Japanese.

Now, far be it from me to hand the GOP their talking points, but Alaska shares a big ol’ border with Canada too. Canada, they should know, is a foreign country.

And, as Jon Stewart pointed out, Alaska is near the North Pole so Palin is probably pals with Santa Claus.

It gets stupider. Michael Barone: “Foreign policy experience? Well, Alaska is the only state with a border with Russia. And it is the only state with territory, in the Aleutian Islands, occupied by the enemy in World War II.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/barone/2008/8/29/palin-will-be-welcomed-by-social-and-economic-conservatives.html

the opoponax: “Last time I checked, Alaska did not, in fact, border Russia.”

There are such things as maritime borders.

Cecil Franklin: “As governor of Alaska Palin oversees the Alaska Nat’l Guard, which is the first line of missile defense against Russia.”

Wrong. The Alaska National Guard provides security at Fort Greely, a US Army post where the missile defense interceptors are based. But the AKNG doesn’t control the missile defense itself. Furthermore, missile defense is supposedly aimed at “rogue states” and not our erstwhile soul brothers, Russia.

Bruce: “The low population density is simply unfathomable for a native Marylander like me.”

No kidding. Think of it this way: Along the 360-mile main route from Anchorage to Fairbanks (Alaska’s two most populous cities), there are exactly nine (9!) incorporated towns along the way. (For the record: Wasilla, Houston, Willow, Trapper Creek, Cantwell, Denali Park, Healy, Anderson, and Nenana—and Wasilla is the only one that’s more than a bump in the road.) Granted, that doesn’t beat the “Loneliest Road”—Highway 50 across Nevada—with just 4 towns in the 320 miles between Carson City and Ely. But it’s a lot sparser than, say, I-10/20 from El Paso to Odessa/Midland, TX, which some might consider a depopulated wasteland. And that’s along Alaska’s main inter-city highway. We’ve also got our own “Loneliest Road”—the Dalton Highway runs 414 miles to Prudhoe Bay with only two truck stops.

As governor of Alaska Palin oversees the Alaska Nat’l Guard, which is the first line of missile defense

A fledgling nuclear-armed democracy, despite its high levels of cronyism and ill-gotten resource wealth, deserves our protection.  The Russians may resent this encroachment into their sphere of influence.  But it is nonetheless vital:  Alaska must join NATO.

Like Joshua said, this isn’t some weirdness that Cindy came up with—this is the official party line.

Smell that? That’s the sweet smell of Republican desperation, my friends.

These people think they can say the most ridiculous and outrageous things, and do the most ridiculous and outrageous things, and they will always be right, no matter what. Hence their contempt for reason and argument - how Cindy McCain can, with a straight face, say this schlock; this would be risible, if the rhetorical games had not been used to sell death and misery in pointless foreign entanglements, tear to shreds constitutional principles, torture and murder in Afghanistan and Iraq, poison the environment, bait and attack women and gays, sexually torment teens with their abstinence cant, and crap all over our society in the last seven years, all while casting people who care about this country, and hence object to the GOP´s ruinous foreign and social policies, as traitors. These people are vile. It is time for the reality-based community to hand their asses to them this election and vote them out, out, out.

See, there’s an easy answer to this ‘line of attack’: “If Palin has experience dealing with Russia, then she must have met with Putin or Medvedev at some point, right?  Right?  How about anyone from Moscow?  Maybe the mayor of Vladivostok?  Anyone?”

Don’t be silly, Doug H. Foreign policy experience with Russia doesn’t have to involve actually interacting with Russian heads of state. Why resort to diplomacy when we have missiles?

Heck, knowing who the ICBMs are pointed at would only make the job more difficult. It would be like naming a sandwich; who can eat and/or wreak catastrophic violence upon someone you know the name of?

Jennifer, do you know how dumb you sound?

Yes.  They’re called jokes.  They’re not very good jokes, but I never claimed to be Eddie Izzard.

Yooooo-hooooo!  Oh, Cecil Fraaaaaaaanklin!

On the topic of items on which certain persons might suck:

“The AP looked into McCain’s latest line about Palin’s experience as the commander-in-chief of the Alaska National Guard:

Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin “extremely responsive and smart” and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.
But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.”

Feel free to commence sucking at your convenience.

Going by the Bush experience ( having been next to Mexico as a Governor of a state), this is a good strategy.  Whether or not Putin will love Palin ( are the children who like “Seseme St” listening ?) as much as he loves George, this move of McCain is the closest we come to having a Woman President of the United States !!  Can we imagine the (political) mud wrestling between Palin and Pelosi !!  OH.. this would be fun!!  It is a good thing that we are a hardy nation in many respects—look how we had survived the last 232 years !!

Hey, I was in class cabinet junior year, the executive committee senior year, and in the student government association when I was in community college. I have all the qualifications. Where is my VP nomination ? :(

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

“With California located on the Pacific Ocean, does that mean Arnold Schwarzenegger is an expert on foreign policy with China?…”

It’s more that he has experts on that. Our state has a nation-class economy. We export a lot of agriculture to Asian countries, so we have a section of government that does make deals with other countries. It usually makes the papers when Japan wants barriers against California rice, but I imagine there are meetings with China, too.
No, it’s really not on the same level as arranging foreign policy. But I suspect he gets closer to it than Palin in her 18 months of office in the largest state with the dinky population.

JimB wrote “As the governor of Alaska I would expect Palin to know something about Russian politics, politicians and trade issues, especially after they recently claimed the oil rights under the North Pole.”

Mr. opoponax responds with “Last time I checked, Alaska did not, in fact, border Russia.”

Your ability to see words that are not written is impressive. Does “border” appear in my post? Stop wasting people’s time because of your comprehension dyslexia. It’s no wonder you repeatedly reach inaccurate conclusions.

Republicans made that same argument in 2000 with Bush. His state shared a border with Mexico and that was the extent of his foreign policy experience. It worked then on a country that wanted to be less engaged with the world. Will it work today? I hope not.

FWIW, Washington state also has an office of experts on foreign trade. They deal with Japan, China, and other parts of Asia and are biting at the bit to trade with Cuba one day. However, like California, Washington has a strong agricultural sector and a technology sector that makes such a department sensible. Of course, the dirty little secret about oil from Alaska is that a fairly large amount of it goes to Japan and does not, in fact, “reduce our dependency on foreign oil”. So, Republicans could make the case that Palin has experience dealing with foreign nations when trading away oil, but I doubt that they’re going to do that.

I’m using the term “border” loosely.

Much in the way that John McCain uses it when he says that Iraq “borders” Pakistan.

As the governor of Alaska I would expect Palin to know something about Russian politics, politicians and trade issues, especially after they recently claimed the oil rights under the North Pole.

So our foreign policy towards Russian and Canada—which also claims the North Pole oil and also borders Alaska—is being determined by Sarah Palin?

Tell me, which diplomats and ministers in Russia and Canada does she deal with?  When did she last meet with Stephen Harper and Vladimir Putin?  She did at least attend the joint cabinet meeting that Gov. Chris Gregoire had with Gordon Campbell, right?  After all, with her strong foreign policy background, she certainly wouldn’t miss a chance to meet with the provincial government of British Columbia.

Mnem: “So our foreign policy towards Russian and Canada… is being determined by Sarah Palin?”

One would expect that the governor of a state would be familiar with the territorial claims that define that state’s northern boundary. If Palin is familiar with such issues, she’s never showed it.

There’s nothing more pathetic than the second generation of wealth.  Do I need cite the examples?

cindy is going to do just fine.  I hope the rethugs keep her all over the news.

Adding more insult to injury on the put-upon Bears. 

It isn’t enough that Governor Palin attempted to coerce bears to do campaign photo-ops with her or strip environmental protections from the Polar bears…...now her allies are attempting to claim credit for what the Alaskan bears have been doing for the last 6 decades without any gratitude from the rest of the country….or even most of the Alaskans themselves. 

When will the bears get their due…..and be allowed safe pensions and to live out their retirements in peace???

how Cindy McCain can, with a straight face, say this schlock;

although to be fair, it’s not entirely certain that she can actually move her face.

Also, doesn’t Obama get foreign policy points for being born in Hawai’i, seeing as how it’s all “exotic” and shit?

Actually, Russia consistently flies bombers and fighter missions close to Alaska and the first line of defense is the Alaskan Air National Guard.

We would be much better off with the experience of Obama since he has been a community organizer!
You lefties might as well hand Alaska and the rest of the country over to Russia if Obama wins.  Oh, lets not forget the he has been in the Senate for 143 days!  Talk about lack of experience!

You libs are right, nothing can compare to Hussein’s foreign policy experience of growing up in a foreign country until age 10.