Laura Bush: ‘Of course’ Palin doesn’t have foreign policy experience.
By on Sep 24th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Laura Bush: ‘Of course’ Palin doesn’t have foreign policy experience.
In an interview with CNN today, First Lady Laura Bush said that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) doesn’t have the foreign policy experience the McCain campaign has been insisting she has.
CNN: Do you think she has the foreign policy experience that everyone’s criticizing her about?
BUSH: Well, obviously — Of course she doesn’t have that. That’s not been her role. But I think she’s a very quick study, and fortunately, John McCain does have that experience.
Watch it:
Bush’s comments echo those of Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), who recently said of Palin, “I think it’s a stretch to, in any way, to say that she’s got the experience to be president of the United States.”
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It is a disconnect from McCain saying that she does have the experience.
But, Laura Bush makes the point that McCain does have the experience.
Is she right that McCain has foreign policy experience?
Does Obama have any significant foreign policy experience, seeing he would be president on day one? What is it?
September 24th, 2008 at 4:16 pmUh oh — somebody forgot to give the First Lady her marching orders, and she’s doing a Carly.
Does this mean Laura Bush is going to “disappear”?
September 24th, 2008 at 4:16 pmThe stepford wife speaks.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:20 pmI think the entire foreign policy experience factor is overblown… I think what we should be looking at is the ability for the person to lead. And looking at the disjointed and scattershot approach that McCain has demonstrated in the financial crisis as compared to Obama’s calm, on-message and focused approach, McCain suffers in comparison.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:20 pmCNN: Do you think she has the foreign policy experience that everyone’s criticizing her about?
BUSH: Well, obviously — Of course she doesn’t have that. That’s not been her role. But I think she’s a very quick study, just like my George.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:21 pmbackup Says
September 24th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Does Obama have any significant foreign policy experience, seeing he would be president on day one? What is it?
____________________________________________________________
Obama is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as being Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on European Affairs.
This already puts him ahead of Dubya, whose foreign policy experience at the time he was running for Prez consisted only of his being Governor of a state that borders Mexico.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:22 pmGeorge Bush doesn’t have any foreign policy experience either, even after 8 years.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:23 pmraynman Says:
I think the entire foreign policy experience factor is overblown…
September 24th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
_______
I couldn’t agree more. Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Condi Rice, and the rest of the crooks in this administration probably have a few centuries of foreign policy experience between them, and look what they did with it.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:25 pmBut but but, Obama is a Muslim, no wait, he is inexperienced, no wait, he is a community organizer, no wait, he is black, no wait, he is an Arab, no wait, he is inexperienced – quick, where are today’s talking point lies? AAAHHHHHH /snark off
September 24th, 2008 at 4:26 pmbackup Says:
Is she right that McCain has foreign policy experience?
I don’t know. Does being wrong all the time count as experience?
September 24th, 2008 at 4:27 pmRaynman, the ability to lead is important but not as important as where you lead them to. i.e. Bush. Beware of leaders with bad ideas.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:28 pmJeebos, they are marching out bush’s prozac queen to give coment’s before we hear his usual bumble speech later….I’m gonna go watch an old western movie, you all remember where the good guy’s shoot the hell outta everything and no body die’s, yep, that’s what I’m gonna do…..Pop corn popping in micro….Blessings
September 24th, 2008 at 4:32 pmbackup; you are needed at home immediately. It seems that your septic tank has backed up.
’nuff said.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:35 pmWe have now heard from Laura on the big issue, will Barney be next?
If so, I think they may be ‘barking’ up the wrong tree!
September 24th, 2008 at 4:35 pmHow many ways do we have to say it b-kup? Flippy and Chippy, by their own words and actions, have proven they are unqualified. It has nothing to do with experience, it’s about capacity.
Our next President must be of extraordinary capabilities. He, (sorry gals), MUST be careful, cautious, honest, accountable, and he MUST make sound, reasoned, decisions. Flippy and Chippy are, in contrast, reckless radicals who “won’t blink”.
We need a President who does blink. We need a President who will consider all angles, close his eyes, and THINK. And I’ve seen nothing to suggest the GOP candidates posses those skills.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:44 pmApparently Ms. Palin lacks experience talking as well. Why else would she avoid unscripted questions?
September 24th, 2008 at 4:46 pmI think with all her years of experience, Laura qualifies to be head of Dept of Alcohol, Tobacco and Alcohol.
I know with Dumbya for a hubby, I’d drink. (and probably chain smoke too.)
September 24th, 2008 at 4:50 pmLipstick on a talking pig.
Wow.
September 24th, 2008 at 4:55 pmIs anyone else having a problem with the vids today? All I’m seeing is a little box that says get adobe flash player. Anyone else?
September 24th, 2008 at 4:56 pmIgnoranceIsNotBliss Says
September 24th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Is anyone else having a problem with the vids today? All I’m seeing is a little box that says get adobe flash player. Anyone else?
___________________________________________________________
It’s happening to me, too. Of course, I’m at work where I can’t play the videos anyway, and the only browser I have access to is IE. When I get home, I’ll check to see if I’m having the same problem on Firefox.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:00 pmStepford wife speaking about Caribou Barbie…..quaint.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:02 pmFor those that think the need for foreign policy experience is overblown, do you feel that the attention given to Palin’s lack of foreign policy experience is unwarranted?
September 24th, 2008 at 5:04 pmDissed by Laura Bush and KKKarl Rove on the same day. That’s gotta hurt !
However, this is still making the mistake of letting the Right frame the election in terms of foreign policy experience – which isn’t the prime question.
Look at how well Bush I and II did with their cadre of foreign policy wonks.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:06 pm…and neither did her idiot husband – look how well that worked out, right Pickles?
September 24th, 2008 at 5:08 pmUm… Obama serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committeee and is chairman of the sub-committee on Europe…
does that count?
September 24th, 2008 at 5:08 pmThe attention given to the Mayor of Wasilla is unwarranted, period.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:08 pmDamn. I should have known missmolly would be on top of that Senate Foreign Relations Committee thing. It was just too easy. I should have had some patience and read through the comments.
My bad.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:10 pmStill don’t get it, b-kup? Ms. Palin’s actual foreign policy experience is only relevant because she, and the campaign, made the asinine assertion that she had “lots”. She does not have “lots of experience” she has virtually none.
So, the assertion that she has “lots” of foreign policy experience is just, another, ridiculous lie from the GOP campaign. That’s what’s disturbing. The ridiculous lies.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:13 pmbackup Says:
For those that think the need for foreign policy experience is overblown, do you feel that the attention given to Palin’s lack of foreign policy experience is unwarranted?
September 24th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
_______
Nope. Anyone who brags about her foreign policy credentials based on the fact that an almost uninhabited island in Alaska is two miles from an almost uninhabited island in Russia deserves to get pummelled for her lunacy.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:18 pmpete. If they felt compelled to misrepresent her experience, it was because of scrutiny about her experience as a measure of her qualifications to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
The question is: Is experience important or not?
September 24th, 2008 at 5:18 pmbackup Says:
Absolutely barking up the wrong tree my lass.
Didn’t you mean to post that on redstate?
YOU’RE the only one who thinks it’s overblown, so ask yourself, mmkay?
September 24th, 2008 at 5:20 pmApparently, it is important enough to some people to cause other people to make outrageous claims about it in the interest of satisfying the first people’s concerns.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:20 pmI might add that Sen. Obama has made countless statements which reveal an understanding of history, sociology, law, and foreign relations. Much of which is the result of a well rounded education driven by curiosity and tempered with wisdom.
Neither Flippy nor Chippy display any such traits. I am 100% certain that I could personally identify a subject of urgency, which she is utterly ignorant of, in five questions or less. As could anyone with average or greater general education.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:20 pmralph. It is important, but consider some of McCain’s experience:
http://www.nysun.com/national/mccains-foreign-policy-experience-has-breadth/72988/
Would that make him more qualified than Obama? If some experience is required, is more experience preferable?
The arguments begin to become subjective.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:21 pmDieforPeace. Well, these posts are from this thread:
raynman Says:
I think the entire foreign policy experience factor is overblown…
hussein toasterhead Says:
raynman Says:
I think the entire foreign policy experience factor is overblown…
September 24th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
_______
I couldn’t agree more…
September 24th, 2008 at 5:27 pmbackup Says:
The arguments begin to become subjective.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
_____
Duh. It’s politics. It’s all subjective.
And experience is, I argue, far less important than competence. McCain’s experience visiting the Bahamas and Palau and Estonia may have given him plenty of experience, but it didn’t give him the competence to understand the difference between Sunni and Shi’a, or to formulate a policy more nuanced than “bomb bomb bomb Iran.”
Obama may not have as many stamps on his passport, but I trust him a hell of a lot more to know what’s actually going on in the world and how to deal with it.
And Palin is a brainless pig in lipstick. She has neither experience nor competence.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:27 pmUhhh, backup,
Any time you use the Right-wing NeoCon NY Sun as a source, you are immediately discredited. Sorry, that’s just the way it is.
And, I have visited over 55 countries but that doesn’t make me a foreign policy expert.
Given the odds that McDepends will not make it through his first term, do you REALLY want Sarahcuda as your POTUS?
September 24th, 2008 at 5:27 pmIf they felt compelled to misrepresent her experience, it was because of scrutiny about her experience as a measure of her qualifications to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Don’t try to be condescending. You haven’t the wit.
It doesn’t matter why they lied, or what they lied about, the problem is that they lied. Lied, lied, lied, lied, lied. Virtually every public statement about her qualifications has been a lie and she’s not been asked unscripted questions.
So, the ONLY thing we know about her is that they LIED, and whatever we can find on YouTube, all of which supports the conclusion that THEY LIED!
And yes, experience matters if that experience leads to greater knowledge and wisdom. Sens. Obama and Biden display a lot of such experience while Ms. Palin and her running mate do not. And even the most casual, objective, examination of their respective bodies of work makes such a conclusion obvious.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:30 pmYou see the problem. On one hand, progressives lambast Palin because of a lack of foreign policy experience. But, when you compare McCain’s experience to Obama’s the charge becomes that experience is less important than competence.
Strictly speaking of experience, I suggest you can’t (or shouldn’t) have it both ways.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:35 pmBackup,
You still haven’t addressed the REAL issue here and that is Palin vs. Obama, as she would be the leader within a year of the elections, if the Repugs win. If that doesn’t scare you, you are a bigger NeoCon fool then I ever imagined.
But then, intelligence has never been a Repug requirement (See Dubya and McCain as prime examples.
Within a year, Ol’ Johnny Boy won’t remember how to flush the crapper.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:41 pmIt’s the “of course” that kills me. Hee hee.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:46 pmWTF? Who wants what both ways?
I’ll go way out on a limb and say that Sen. Obama has not personally lied about his credentials, foreign policy or otherwise. I can’t speak about Biden.
I can personally guarantee that both McSpin and his Chippy have personally lied about their credentials. And then lied abut the original lies.
I can’t speak for anyone else but I am led to believe that they are ashamed about their views and inadequacies so they lie. It’s very common but, when one takes it to an extreme such as McCain and Palin? It’s pathological.
And specifically on foreign policy? Both display a reckless, aggressive, vindictive, nature that has no place in rational foreign policy.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:46 pmThis woman was robbed of any opportunity to pursue any of her passions as First Lady. It is sad, she seems intelligent and well meaning person.
Anyone not personally invested in a McCain presidency cannot support the farce of Palin; credit where credit is due, but that is it.
September 24th, 2008 at 5:51 pmbackup Says:
Mr. McCain has been across the world so many times that aides named off the tops of their heads some 69 countries he’s visited — including Azerbaijan, Estonia, Laos, and Palau — and warned the list was far from exhaustive.
Aides say he keeps up to speed on the politics and policies of many nations — a passion he regularly displays to reporters traveling with him…
And yet, McCain was completely wrong about the invasion of Iraq, he doesn’t know the difference between Shia and Sunni, he doesn’t know that Spain is our NATO ally, and he thinks Spain is in South America.
What’s wrong with this picture?
September 24th, 2008 at 5:51 pmShorter StepfordBush:
The skank can’t hunt!
September 24th, 2008 at 6:19 pmOkay. I get the argument of competence vs. experience in regards to Obama and McCain. But, if we compare apples to apples (Biden to Palin), we can easily see that Palin has the relatively light resume, but what about Biden’s voting record?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Biden oppose the military build up credited with ending the Cold War? And the first Gulf War (to free Kuwait from Saddam)? And then supported the War in Iraq? And then opposed the surge?
I see Palin’s relative lack of experience as a negative. And her ‘embellishments’ are cause for significant concern. But, although Biden has had significant experience (and seems like a very personable guy), is there any one here that is willing to admit that his voting record has been less than stellar?
September 24th, 2008 at 6:28 pmEnjoy the tumbleweeds down in crawford, Pickles.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:37 pmYou can let the sales ladies at the “Dress Barn” savour your brilliant insights from now on.
Me, I’m done caring about anything that comes out of your piehole.
Adios sister, and don’t forget to water down the hooch when you get back to texas. You wouldn’t want little georgie to get too wasted in his first week as a nobody.
backup says:
I see Palin’s relative lack of experience as a negative. And her ‘embellishments’ are cause for significant concern. But, although Biden has had significant experience (and seems like a very personable guy), is there any one here that is willing to admit that his voting record has been less than stellar?
At least Biden and Obama HAVE a voting record. Something neither Palin nor McDepends have. Johnny Boy has been AWOL from the Senate more than Dubya was from the ANG during Vietnam.
But that is the kind of record you want for your leaders, right, b/u?
September 24th, 2008 at 6:52 pmJesus H. Christ, backup, anyone who’s been in the Senate for as long as Biden (or McSame) has an extensive voting record that can be cherry-picked to demonstrate whatever you want to demonstrate. You use four controversial votes across twenty-five years, and broadly characterize a couple of ‘em (”oppose the military build up credited with ending the Cold War?” ??? indeed.) and intend that to stand as a convincing argument against Biden’s capability to fill the role of Vice-president?
Seriously???
I don’t get you, backup. Sometimes you serve as a relatively reasonable dissenting voice, but most of the time you just make bizarre, absurd arguments, almost as if you just enjoy seeing your own words in a blog forum.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:57 pmSimple site, simple premise:
If you had the opportunity to ask Sarah Palin one question that she was forced to answer, what would it be?
Leave your own question for Palin, or vote for other people’s questions.
September 24th, 2008 at 7:07 pmhttp://www.OneQuestionForPalin.com
She’s married to a man who is
All Hat and no Cattle
She’s perfectly qualified to comment on someone who is
All Hair and no Moose
http://www.wilytrax.com
September 24th, 2008 at 7:39 pmralph. I think you’re cool, but come on. He voted against the first Gulf War. He voted for the War in Iraq. And he voted against the ’surge’.
Those are significant positions on which to gauge someones judgement. Of what kinds of decisions they might make in the future.
I assume that you consider McCain’s support for the War in Iraq and his support for the ’surge’ as significant determinants of his judgement. I would not accuse you of cherry picking if you did.
But, we can agree to disagree.
I’ve got to split, good nite.
September 24th, 2008 at 8:17 pmbackup
You’re completely off of your rocker. You use the word experience, but I don’t think you mean to use it. On its own, it doesn’t mean much politically. Yeah you can experience something, but are you capable of using that experience for the better. George W. Bush had executive experience, but that doesn’t really mean F-all now does it? You’d actually be willing to look back at Bush’s executive experience and say that having ‘experience’ alone is what has worth, and not the USE of the experience. A capable politician uses experiences for the betterment of the country.
And what does McCain’s experience in the long run prove? Again, he is a person who has experience, but that in and of itself is MEANINGLESS. A person must be able to harness experience, and learn from experience and UTILIZE it! It’s not enough just to HAVE experience.
And after this sham of McCain wanting to call off the debates, instead of focusing the debates on the economy–it’s just ridiculous, it’s all a circus game for him. He is playing to the base emotions of fear. He campaigns not on his ability, he attempts to lift himself up by trying to put people down (and with lies at that!). Unthinking Americans will buy this hook, line and sinker. I think it’s the greatest tragedy that he targets their stupidity, and they have no idea that they are being played.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:25 pmbackup Says:
ralph. I think you’re cool, but come on. He voted against the first Gulf War. He voted for the War in Iraq. And he voted against the ’surge’.
September 24th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
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Two out of three ain’t bad…
September 24th, 2008 at 10:36 pm