Blizzard of Words Hits Alaska

If you haven't seen it yet, watch the Charlie Gibson interview with Sarah Palin (part 1) here:


I'm a little concerned that "Alaska is close to Russia" seems to be foreign policy experience in the eyes of McCain and Palin. I was really glad Gibson brought this up (at 2:28). This was such an important interview for Palin, I really expected her to be ready to step it up and answer the foreign policy question, but once again she did not. She's really not even that good at distracting us from the question. To me, it's always so obvious that she has no idea what to say, as I'm sure it is for the millions of Americans who watched this interview.

At 3:31, Gibson asks Palin if she has ever traveled outside of the country except for her recent trip to Germany and Kuwait. Gibson brought this up right after Palin failed to answer the foreign policy question, of course. Palin quickly answered that she has also been to Canada and Mexico. Are Canada and Mexico really all that relevant today in terms of foreign policy? She was just telling us how energy issues are at the crux of the foreign policy issue, then she brags about visiting Canada and Mexico? I'm unimpressed.

At 7:52, Gibson asks Palin what she thinks of the Bush Doctrine. She makes it immediately clear that she has no idea what the Bush Doctrine is. Gibson, rather than helping her out, lets her embarrass herself first.

If it was Gibson's intention to expose Palin for her inexperience, I think he did a terrific job, and he did it by asking fair, direct questions without any personal commentary. Well, until he said what every viewer was thinking... "I got lost in a blizzard of words there..." (9:52).