Leave a Comment

Palin wasn’t ‘really focused much’ on the Iraq war, wanted ‘an exit plan in place.’
Think Progress — ... . I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe.” (HT: Andrew Sullivan) ...

Sadly Nuts
Talking Points Memo — ... Set aside the bravado. Can McCain possibly believe that? And if he does, what are we supposed to think of his own fitness to serve? Sen. Obama is certainly new on the national scene. But he's serving his fourth year in the US senate. He's run a successful national primary campaign. He's deeply versed on all the relevant policy issues. Palin has been the governor of one of the smallest states in the country (by pop.) for 18 months. As recently as 2006, she said she hadn't focused enough on Iraq to have an opinion one way or another about the surge. Even now, her off-hand ...

Kid Gloves Watch
Talking Points Memo — Given her novelty on the national political stage, news organizations will quickly start asking Sarah Palin for interviews. So it is worth beginning to keep tabs now on whether key questions get asked. Let's start with a couple of them. 1. As recently as 2006, Gov. Palin said she hadn't focused enough on Iraq to have a view on the surge. Just two weeks ago she told Philip Gourevitch that she wasn't sure we had a clear plan for what we were doing in Iraq and expressed concern that our real reason for being their might be to control oil supplies. ...

Experience: Obama v. Palin
Outside The Beltway | OTB — ... does.” Says Josh, Set aside the bravado. Can McCain possibly believe that? And if he does, what are we supposed to think of his own fitness to serve? Sen. Obama is certainly new on the national scene. But he’s serving his fourth year in the US senate. He’s run a successful national primary campaign. He’s deeply versed on all the relevant policy issues. Palin has been the governor of one of the smallest states in the country (by pop.) for 18 months. As recently as 2006, she said she hadn’t focused enough on Iraq to have an opinion one way or another about the surge. Now, I ...

They're running out of arguments
Political Animal — ... . Third, Palin was qualified because she supported the president's "surge" policy in Iraq. That turned out to be false . Yesterday, the new top-of-the-list talking point is that Palin is the "commander in chief" of the Alaska National Guard. This was popular with the ...

Palin and Stevens
Political Animal — ... . The campaign said Palin supported the Bush "surge" policy. That's false . The campaign said Palin is the "commander in chief" of the Alaska National Guard. ...

Palin Foreign Policy
democracyarsenal.org — ... speaks to McCain’s judgment that he, a person who claims to be an expert on these issues, would actually choose as his running mate someone who couldn’t even converse about basic foreign policy issues. What we know: Palin got a passport in 2007. She claims to have visited Germany, Kuwait and Ireland…but we’re now learning that the Ireland “trip” was a refueling stop. Oh, and she has been to Canada. She sees the war in Iraq as “A mission from God”…but really hasn’t focused on it…but she favors an exit plan. The campaign is pretty ...

Osmosis
Obsidian Wings — ... Still, even though she has visited two foreign countries, and refueled in a third, as she said, "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq." That makes it all the more fortunate that she can learn foreign policy by osmosis. All the McCain campaign really has to do is send her up in a zeppelin and let it meander lazily around the globe, allowing her to absorb the ambient expertise. ...

Osmosis
Political Animal — ... 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." Still, even though she has visited two foreign countries, and refueled in a third, as she said , "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in ...

Liebermans glowing endorsement of Palin: “Let’s assume the best” for McCain’s health
Crooks and Liars — ... Let’s assume McCain’s health hold up, because if not, we’re pretty much screwed when a person who admits they haven’t really focused on the Iraq War (or virtually any other national issue) takes over. ...

Sarah the Surrogate
democracyarsenal.org — ... .  On policy, this knowledge gap is most apparent when it comes to foreign policy, where on Iraq she said that her focus on state government has meant that she hasn't "really focused much on the war," but it extends to other policy areas as well, like energy and the economy.  How can she expect to credibly advocate for McCain's positions on Iraq for the next two months if she's still learning those positions? ...

Lieberman: McCain Supports Palin’s Call For ‘Exit Plan’ From Iraq
Think Progress — In March 2007, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, seemingly distanced herself from the Bush administration and McCain, stating that she wanted to see an “exit plan” from Iraq: I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place. Yesterday at a Republican National Convention event, ThinkProgress asked Sen. Joe Lieberman ...

The difference between Palin and Bush? Lipstick.
The Moderate Voice — ... Iraq. We’re still learning about her positions related to Iraq (and she still seems to be learning them as well, saying last year that “I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq.”). However, speaking ...

McCain Interview On Palin Riddled With Errors
The Huffington Post | Full News Feed — ... As Andrew Sullivan has noted, she answered a question on Iraq in 2006 by saying: "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy. I am very, very proud of the troops we have in Alaska, those fighting overseas for our freedoms, and the families here who are ...

McCain Interview On Palin Riddled With Errors
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... As Andrew Sullivan has noted, she answered a question on Iraq in 2006 by saying: "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy. I am very, very proud of the troops we have in Alaska, those fighting overseas for our freedoms, and the families here who are ...

Does McCain think Palin was ‘right’ to call for an ‘exit plan’ from Iraq?
Think Progress — ... an interview last night with an NBC affiliate in Portland, ME, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) argued that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) is qualified to be vice president because she’s been “right on the issues.” Specifically, he said, “She was right on Iraq, Sen. Obama was wrong.” But when asked about her view of the Iraq war in March 2007 — just a couple months after Bush announced the surge — Palin said that the United States should “have an exit plan in place“: PALIN: I haven’t really ...