Posted on 09/11/2008 2:38:36 PM PDT by Chet 99
ABC News
Sarah Palin Defends Experience, Takes Hard Line Approach on National Security
Republican VP Candidate Speaks with ABC News' Charlie Gibson in Exclusive Interview
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
Sept. 11, 2008—
On the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, Gov. Sarah Palin took a hard-line approach on national security and said that war with Russia may be necessary if that nation invades another country.
In her first of three interviews with ABC News's Charles Gibson and the only interview since being picked by Sen. John McCain as his Republican vice presidential nominee, Palin categorized the Russian invasion of Georgia as "unacceptable" and warned of the threats from Islamic terrorists and a nuclear Iran.
The Governor advocated the accession of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO.
When asked by Gibson if under the NATO treaty, the U.S. would have to go to war if Russia again invaded Georgia, Palin responded: "Perhaps so. I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon and help.
"And we've got to keep an eye on Russia. For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable," she told ABC News' Charles Gibson in an exclusive interview.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I have to agree, Gibson hammered Governor Palin and she stood fast. I actually think it pissed him off because she was answering questions with conviction and not changing her answers under pressure. We all know her record and KNOW that even though she may not be as skilled in some areas (as ANYONE is) she has real conviction and passion for her “mission”. I certainly do not agree with her 100% policies but do agree this is a much better ticket for America than anything on the left.
I think people need to stop whining about Gibson. Let the audience draw their own conclusions about his conduct. I’m sure the public is smart enough to pick up on his haughty attitude. Save for the actual errors or misquotes on his part. He should be hammered on those. She can hold her own, we don’t need to go overboard in protecting her.
From what I’ve seen online, not the acknowledged homerun of the convention speech but not a flop. Solid B seems to be the consensus. Not bad for a first national interview in a hostile environment and she’ll only get better. This in comparison to Obama who sputtering and sweating all over the airwaves lately with his own number 2 questioning whether he should be Obama’s number 2.
Tomorrow’s interview will be televised at 6:30pm ET on Nightly News with Gibson and at length on 20/20 tomorrow evening at 10pm ET.
THANK YOU StarFan, dinasour and Clinton's A Liar for this information. :o)
Thanks for the info.
I caught tonight’s ABC show and Gibson’s disgusting performance. Our Sarah showed such intelligence, grace, and class despite his contempt and condescension.
I think that foreign policy experience is not only not a necessary criterion for the VP, it’s not a necessary criterion for President. What is necessary is an understanding of human nature—what’s right and what’s wrong and, yes, occasionally recognizing the grey areas.
Above all, the only absolute requirement is that you place the interests of the United States and its citizens above all else. What the citizenry demands is a person about whom the people can be confident will protect American interests at home and abroad. It is irrelevant whether a candidate knows the name of some foreign leader who may be deposed in a week, so long as the POTUS can grasp the relative importance of that foreign nation to the national interests of American citizens when it is necessary to know. I doubt Zero or Clinton, or anyone (other than McCain, ironically) knew much about Georgia before the latest incidents. That they knew anything at all was due to having advisors tell them—that is how things are done.
The liberals want the president to be POTW (president of the world), which is an impossibility in a democracy since no sane nation would elect a leader who runs on a platform to put every other nation’s interests ahead of their own. The Liberals’ entire approach, therefore, has been to cloak their agenda with a messianic message—vote for Obama for he will heal the nation’s racial guilt—hoping that the desire of the nation to put race issues behind us will outweigh the normal, rational impulse to put our Country First. Of course, there is BDS, but that by itself only accounts for about 50%, at best, of Zero’s support—the Kos punks.
McCain’s task was to pick a VPOTUS candidate on the ticket who would have a good understanding of human nature—one who would unquestionably put Country First. The POTUS is not a bridge to racial healing, and is not a messiah, but is the Commander in Chief entrusted with protecting the nation’s interests and doing his or her level best to ensure domestic tranquility with minimal interference in the lives of individuals—i.e., it is not and cannot be the job of the POTUS to “heal” the nation. Country First is not merely a slogan, it is the most important part of the job.
Palin’s performance in the interview demonstrates that she has the nation’s interests paramount in her heart and mind. It is of little or no importance whether she did or did not know all the nuances of the MSM’s (mistaken) idea of what the Bush Doctrine means (I think she did just fine). She has more than sufficient knowledge of the details and has clearly demonstrated that she is a quick study. So long as her heart and mind remain in the right place, she will do fine as VPOTUS and, perhaps POTUS in due time. It cannot hurt that she will have great advisors like Bolton to aid her when she needs to get up to speed.
I thought she did okay. She seemed a little nervous, but she held her own. Certainly not the caliber of her convention speech.
This was a good test. I think she’s gotten a good idea of how the press is going to treat her. They’re going to:
1. Try to nail her on experience.
2. Try to expose her as some uninformed hick who happens to be neighbors with Russia.
3. Try to paint her as a right wing Christian extremist (i.e., the kind that thinks she can hasten the Second Coming by supporting Israel to the ends of the earth).
Gibson’s tack was quite condescending, but par for the course. The editing was atrocious - either the work of an amateur, or a producer who wanted to make Palin sound like someone who couldn’t complete a thought (as they cut her responses off and jumped to the next question from Gibson). It was jarring, and I think it was intended to be jarring.
This wasn’t a Barbara Walters interview with Angelina Jolie, this was propaganda editing and camera placement. The shot over her right shoulder appeared to give Gibson a domineering pose. The reverse angle of Palin was slightly angled from the top down, giving her a somewhat beleaguered look.
It’s subtle but noticeable. The only thing they were probably wished they could have snuck into the frame would have been a bowl of pork rinds somewhere in the background.
In sum, it was a good, not a great interview. She takes very strong positions, but she needs to work on making the interviewer eat out of HER hand, and not the other way around. I would imagine her next interview will be smoother.
How much foreign policy experience did...
CA Governor Ronald Reagan have?
AK Governor William J. Clinton have?
TX Governor George W. Bush have?
They all made a name for themselves.
The whole thing sounded like an oral exam to me. A pop quiz, even.
The editing was weird - wonder what was left on the cutting room floor.
And yes the placement of the camera, lighting, etc did seem to make her appear to be like a student being questioned.
Her body language, too. The way she was sort of forced to lean toward Gibson. At point she leaned back and said something like "What Charlie?" Don't recall the exact words. Then Gibson sighed. I felt that captured the dynamic of the set up.
Love the sour face on Martin Bashir (?) every time he says "Sarah Palin". Grrr.... I can't stand these elitist libs!
Gibson is disgusting. Offensive. glowering at her. And the ABC intro that she is “definitely Christian”!!! I am deeply offended.
And Gibson’s every question is asked incredulously as if her positions are totally unbelievable.
I can see why she enjoys hunting. Regarding answering Charlie Gibson's snotty-attitude questions, her aim is true. Center mass.
I still think Charlie Gibson is an offensive MCP.
Ditto!
He is treating her like dirt. Are we going to take that?
I am deeply offended that they promo’d this saying “and she is definitely CHRISTIAN” like it’s a disease.
I hope when this is done people will go after ABC. It is offensive.
I want to know who this offensive scum Martin Bashir is, that he dared to intro her with “she is definitely Christian”. Is he a Christian? Moslem? Atheist? American? I am “definitely a Christian”, aren’t all Christians?????
“DU`ers are already all over this.”
They’re nuts. Except for the ones who are merely unscrupulous.
I went to look up Martin Bashir (no idea who he is) to see if i could answer your question. No mention of religion, but I found this:
In July 2008 Bashir provoked a storm of protest when serving as a presenter at a dinner held for the Asian American Journalists’ Association. Bashir was eventually forced to apologise for referring to his female colleagues as “Asian babes”, stating he was “glad the podium covers me from the waist down” and making suggestive comments about his co-presenter’s dress. [3]
Eww lol.
I’ve been thinking about this, and ... I’m wondering if the appearance that she wasn’t exactly versed on the Bush Doctrine doesn’t work to her advantage. After all, this election is about change, right? So, why would it be a good thing for Palin to appear to be a disciple of the neo-conservative wing of the Administration?
I think she was asked if they should be in Nato and she said yes. And then came the question of whether we help them or not.
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