Palin on Afghanistan

So, yeah, keeping Sarah Palin away from the press isn't too stupid a strategy. The second half of her interview with Katie Couric airs tonight. Alas, it's on foreign policy and it's not, I think, likely to be pretty. Here, for instance, is Palin talking about Afghanistan:

Katie Couric: Why is it much more challenging there? Can you explain that?

Sarah Palin: The logistics that we are already suggesting here, not having enough troops in the area right now. The… things like the terrain even in Afghanistan and that border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where, you know, we believe that-- Bin Laden is-- is hiding out right now and… and is still such a leader of this terrorist movement. There… there are many more challenges there. So, again, I believe that… a surge in Afghanistan also will lead us to victory there as it has proven to have done in Iraq. And as I say, Katie, that we cannot afford to retreat, to withdraw in Iraq. That's not gonna get us any better off in Afghanistan either. And as our leaders are telling us in our military, we do need to ramp it up in Afghanistan, counting on our friends and allies to assist with us there because these terrorists who hate America, they hate what we stand for with the… the freedoms, the democracy, the… the women's rights, the tolerance, they hate what it is that we represent and our allies, too, and our friends, what they represent. If we were… were to allow a stronghold to be captured by these terrorists then the world is in even greater peril than it is today. We cannot afford to lose in Afghanistan.

This is, alas, just gibberish, isn't it? There's ordinary and not being part of the Washington elite and then there's being, well, like this.

UPDATE: Palin on Russia is actually almost painful to watch. What have they been teaching her these past three weeks? This is excruciating.

UPDATE: See this post for more.

Comments

[ndm]

It is not only Sarah Palin who is being kept "away from the press" - John McCain is as well. I believe his 15 minute press conference the other day was the first time in a month he had spoken to the press.

[Sam]

Good grief. It's fine to be proud of being an average hockey mom. But this shows exactly why we don't ask average hockey moms to make crucial foreign policy decisions that affect the lives of millions.

On this showing of average-ness, there must be millions of ordinary Americans out there who have run small businesses, small towns, perhaps even big businesses, big towns or big states, who have a better grasp of what leadership requires. Why not let one of them have a crack at running the country, rather than Palin?

PS Note to Palin's briefers: having a border with a foreign country does not make you an expert on foreign policy. Last time we checked, pretty much everyone lived in countries with borders.

[John J. Coupal]

I take it The Left in Britain does not like Governor Palin?

That's going to send shivers down the back of the yanks.

[SimplerDave]

Alex - did you know you'd joined The Left?

[Patrick Kidd]

Well, yes, it is mangled English but I don't think it is anything worse than the tortured relationship with speech that John Prescott has and he managed to hang on to his post (and indeed be an electoral asset with some of the Labour Party) as Deputy Prime Minister for a decade. At least Palin's crude message is clear (we must beat bad men in Afghanistan), whereas a lot of the time you didn't have a clue what point Prescott was trying to make.

I guess being VP is not too different to being DPM. It is largely a party role: someone to shore up the core vote and be the "normal" face of government. I'm sure that if McCain wins she will be given next to nothing important to do. Just keep fingers crossed that McCain then makes it through his term.

Still, at least Palin is unlikely to punch a voter. Although I would pay good money to see that.

(Great blogging, by the way, Alex)

[Hanna]

She does just fine. Let's run a bit of Joe Biden teaching us about the Great Depression. That arse doesn't even know who was President - or that televisions did not exist on a substantial level. Who the heck do you people think you are fooling? How about run some of the clips of Obama without his friend Mr. TelePrompter.
Palin is doing just fine. Now, eat your own bitterness.

[Jabber]

As excited as I was at first by Palin's freshness and seeming fight-readiness, what we are seeing now is a meltdown. Couric may not be the death of Palin politically, but she pushed the first blades between poor Sarah's ribs. If McCain is to have a chance now, he MUST grab a running mate who has experience on the national stage. It's time for Palin to go home and take care of her family and state - - I'm sure she'll do that quite well, and with honor.

[sfernando]

what do you know. english marxist hates palin.
she did better than biden

[Becky]

Hanna, you're an idiot. Biden is the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and everyone--Democrat and Republican--respects the depth of his foreign policy experience. That's why you don't hear the McCain campaign trying use it against him. Even Karl Rove can't attack that.

Because we know so little of Palin, because she doesn't have the records that McCain and Biden do, we can only judge her on her statements NOW. And right now, even conservatives at the National Review are getting worried about her abilities. She is not "just fine." She's incoherent and after nearly a month, she still cannot answer simple questions about major issues facing the country. It's not like Couric is giving a hard-hitting interview.

[Barack Obama]

Um...ah...um...um...ah...she's..um..not...articulate.

[Malinchanga]

Becky: It's called seniority. No one listens to Biden. He takes up a seat. He's a joke. His real job is whoring for a credit card company.

[M3]

It is evident at this point, that Gov. Palin must step down. I sat in a large group last night with my (mostly) Rep. friends. We were all in a quandry about our 2008 vote. All felt we could not stand Obama but could not, as Americans, allow Palin a chance to become President. She just is not yet ready.

Palin must insist on stepping down for the good of our party. Plead any good excuse and do not let MCCain be a gentleman and coerce you into staying. For instance, perhaps you could say that your children, since your elevation to VP candidate, are not making the adjustment well - you are first a mother and must return to your home, to Alaska and to the governorship.

Please, Gov. Palin. Do the right thing for our party. You are the only one who can make this choice. I believe with you on the ticket McCain will now fall further and further behind and will become a joke. This election is too important. Please consider this advice.

[Jabber]

M3:

We are in agreement - - with Palin on the ticket, McCain's poll numbers will fall into the abyss before mid-October. I'm thinking we should contact our state offices to voice the opinion. My guess, though, is that the senator knows he's got a big, big problem. I rather expect Palin will find good reason to resign.

[pry]

Does anyone see a pattern here? Palin is just the crowning achievement of style over substance that has been elevated the past seven years (and not just by Republicans). Palin is Mike Brown of Katrina fame all over again. I have never been a supporter of Gov. Palin because of her policy stances but now I actually feel sorry for her. She looks like the child who is mocked in class because they just are not smart enough to find the right answer. It is truly painful to watch these interviews. These last five weeks could be a complete meltdown of the Republican Party as a result of their nomination and selection process. I'll bet most people thought that would be written about the Democrats not the GOP.

[Goathaus]

She is doing just fine and connects with the American people, something ol commie Obamie, the Chi Town Hustler just cannot do.