[taildragger]

Sarah Palin is sitting on between 11 and 12 years executive experience. This is more than almost any other President we have had. The Governorship of Alaska as defined by the state Constitution is the most powerful in the nation. This has left Sarah Palin uniquely qualified to go from being the most powerful Governor in the nation to being the most powerful national leader in the world.

And maybe one better Mr Smith...

I Posted a thread right after McCain picked her and I got conflicting answers from "Mil" types.

She may have had a higher security clearance than the other candidates given Alaska's unique 24 / 7 / 365 status and the front line "toys" they use to prevent the Ruskies and the Chi-Coms from coming over the horizon.

But did she have authority to launch? Was she fully briefed?

After some 3 years now does anyone have a deep enough Military background here to say definitively?

[Melas]

But did she have authority to launch?

Launch what? It's just an educated guess, but it's safe to say that she could have scrambled defenses on her own authority. Alaska is in a unique position for North American defenses, and she was at the helm.

Now launch something headed outside of Alaska's airspace? No.

[ansel12]

I wouldn’t think that a Governor is in the chain of command to give launch orders at all, unless there is some sort of last ditch contingency plan based on great loss within the normal command structure and succession order of the Federal government and military.