Sarah Palin has absolutely no clue what Charlie is asking her. Video here:
This makes me embarrassed on a human level – forget the politics. It’s like watching someone crash and burn the first time they do any public speaking.
James Fallows @ The Atlantic is not impressed.
It is embarrassing to have to spell this out, but for the record let me explain why Gov. Palin’s answer to the “Bush Doctrine” question — the only part of the recent interview I have yet seen over here in China — implies a disqualifying lack of preparation for the job.
What Sarah Palin revealed is that she has not been interested enough in world affairs to become minimally conversant with the issues. Many people in our great land might have difficulty defining the “Bush Doctrine” exactly. But not to recognize the name, as obviously was the case for Palin, indicates not a failure of last-minute cramming but a lack of attention to any foreign-policy discussion whatsoever in the last seven years.
And David Frum, all-star member of the conservative intelligentsia continues to stand by his principles:
I have been disturbed about the choice from the start, as you know. And I have not seen any reason to feel less disturbed … She really could be president! And here’s where my fellow conservatives really worry me. They are so attracted by the symbolism of the selection that they show no concern — never mind for her executive competence — even for her views.
There’s a photograph circulating on conservative blogs that shows Palin lounging on a motorcycle, paired with another of Obama in a helmet on a bicycle. It’s headed: “All you need to know.” Personally I need to know a little more. That’s not even insufficient information. It’s anti-information — a denial that information matters.
You can enjoy a motorcycle and be pro-choice. Or antiwar. Or in favor of immigration amnesty. Or for that matter, in favor state control of the means of production!