This is more of the same nonsense regarding what "yardstick" to measure her by -- any of the other Republican women who have been floated as more "appropriate" choices would have known the answer to that basic question that underlies Bush's stated approach to foreign policy.

She didn't have a clue in the world and I don't see why it is asking too much for her to know.

If we keep setting these damn bars so low we get what we deserve. It's been said many times but most people wouldn't want to go to a C-T surgeon who had only a vague notion of coronary anatomy and it is not clear to me why we want to elect people to high office who only have a vague notion of how we interact with other countries on the world stage.

She chose to put herself in a position that she is not qualified for -- maybe she should have followed those abstinence posters (Just Say No!). Not an ounce of pity does she deserve.

JT

Are you really defending Bush --- don't you think that maybe, just maybe his lack of experience in world affairs and at the Federal level has led to what is beginning to look like a disastrous presidency? Would you elect him to a third term or maybe give him a do-over? This is what you get when you elect incurious "regular" guys who think they are annointed in some way. Sound like Palin? You bet.

And for goodness' sake, Clinton is a graduate of SFS -- my guess is his education served him well. Glad that he took it seriously, unlike Gov. Palin.

And didn't Palin have Daddy McCain sitting right next to her for her do-over? Interjecting from time to time? Real brave --- give me a break.

She was and remains a poor, politically minded and cynical choice -- McCain could have done far better and should have.

Apparently from a portion of tonight's continuing CBS interview with Gov. Palin:

The Alaska Governor tells Katie Couric that her saying she’s been listening to Biden’s speeches since she was in second grade is “nothing negative,” it’s just “stating the fact.”

“I’m the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and he’s got the experience based on many many years in the Senate and voters are gonna have a choice there of what it is that they want in these next four years.”

Yup, smashing Biden for being "old" and part of the Washington establishment sounds like a winning tactic -- has she forgotten that she's actually running with someone who fits that description and is even older?

And if she *ever* listened to a Biden speech before she was nominated I will eat my hat. C'mon Katie, ask her what Biden speeches she listened to back in the second grade.

I completely agree that her evasiveness regarding such a simple question of reading material, especially couched within the context of how she acquired her worldview was truly bizarre. Katie's expression was pretty priceless as she kept trying to get some sort of answer -- and note how Gov. Palin tried to turn this into some sort of slur on Alaska being "out of the mainstream". She is simply an incurious person --- a la our current president and we see how well that has played out.

And regarding your comment about just giving the child up? Clearly always an option though it is so personal that having the choice to make the decision is preferable, especially since this could be a young teenager. But Couric's hypothetical specifically involved incest. The risk of a child from an incestuous event having potentially significant recessive genetic disorders is not trivial and adoptive parents would not have this information. Changes the dynamic a bit I think.

Yup-- she ran away from the old accountability question.

This is, in effect, the third rail for the extreme anti-abortion view that Palin supports (e.g. no exceptions). So if abortion is outlawed and a woman obtains one illegally, who has broken the law and who should be prosecuted?

Details, details.

this is what happens when you tell a falsehood.

It starts to snowball.

In reality, my best guess is she will find herself relegated to the funeral and lesser head of state hand-shaking duties as soon as they are in office.

Boy, the thought of Gov. Palin actually reading the "Abolition of Man" or "Mere Christianity" gave me a good grin.

Not to be terribly flip, but for all we know she's taller than McCain.

That would probably do the trick given his apparently highly sophisticated decision-making process.