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FrICTION Election 2008 |
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FrICTION Election 2008 |
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Sarah Palin is "Foreign Policy Blank Slate"
The political scene changed overnight when maverick John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. For a brief honeymoon period, Gov. Palin of Alaska was the most popular politician and woman in America. Then reality bit hard: the world knew little about Sarah Palin and she knew next to nothing about the world. Even the Anchorage Daily News, the biggest newpaper in Palin's home state, refuses to endorse her, saying she and McCain are too risky.
The first objective was to find out how much, or little, Palin knew about life outside Alaska. The team huddled in campaign headquarters, scribbled down a list of 10 foreign affairs questions and fired them at Palin. The result caused a meltdown in the campaign. Palin was a foreign affairs blank state. "We were starting at absolute ground zero," said one staffer. "Palin barely knew the procedure for getting a passport, let alone traveling abroad and meeting people."
A McCain staffer has sent a copy of the questions Palin was asked to answer. They start off easy and get moderately difficult toward the end. Joe Biden answered all of these questions correctly in about 30 seconds. Palin took half an hour to come up with a couple of semi-correct answers.
Here are three of the questions: "What is the organization that unites western Europe and which is currently expanding eastward as former Soviet countries express a desire to join." Palin answered: "Axis of Evil." Correct answer is the European Community.
There was no way of faking that Palin had foreign affairs knowledge. Joe Biden has met with more than 50 heads of state. Palin didn't even know that Tibet was part of China. A staffer commented, "There was no way we could let the Washington Post or New York Times loose on her. They'd chew her up in seconds. Not to mention the European Press. Those guys would have a field day with her."
Under McCain's direction, the campaign built a firewall around Palin, making her repeat snippets of her convention speech at every opportunity. They did not allow her to hold press conferences. Attempting to play offense, the team sent out press releases saying Palin would not meet the press because John McCain did not want his running mate to be asked cruel questions about her family, especially her daughter Bristol's pregnancy. The Press played along until Palin's visit to the United Nations in New York. McCain wanted this to be a simple PR exercise and photo op for Palin. He would not under any circumstances allow print journalists to ask Sarah Palin about foreign policy. A number of newspapers refused to cooperate. In the space of 48 hours, Palin would be introduced to seven foreign leaders at the United Nations. Yesterday, Tuesday, she met Afghan leader Karzai. She spent a few moments explaining to a confused Karzai that her son Track is not named after a running track. She touched her heart and said "Oh, that's nice" when Karzai explained his child's name is "Mirwais, which means 'The Light of the House.' " She also met U2 frontman Bono. "Wow," Palin said, "I really love your music, but I had no idea you were leader of Ireland." Bono was too polite to correct her. Palin found time to visit former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger for more than an hour. A Kissinger staffer said, "We are filling an empty vessel, so the task is relatively easy. But it will take time". The McCain team is hoping that Palin does not trip up in the Vice Presidential debate with Joe Biden. "If she survives that," said a staffer, "I think we can pull this off."
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The Foreign Affairs Questions Sarah Palin Could Not Answer
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