Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said on Wednesday she would be ready to deal with foreign policy if she and John McCain win the White House and offered to play “stump the candidate” to test herself on specific policy issues.
In their first joint “town hall meeting” with Palin taking questions from voters, an audience member asked Palin to dispel concerns that she lacked foreign policy experience. She responded by saying she expected critics to look for things to attack. “I think because I’m a Washington outsider that opponents are going to be looking for a whole lot of things that they can criticize,” she said.
“As for foreign policy, you know, I think that I am prepared and I know that on Jan. 20, if we are so blessed as to be sworn into office as your president and vice president, certainly we’ll be ready,” Palin said.
“I’ll be ready, I have that confidence,” she said. “If you want specifics with specific policy or countries, go ahead and you can ask me, you can even play ’stump the candidate’ if you want to, but we are ready to serve.”
The crowd applauded and McCain stepped in to highlight Palin’s experience dealing with energy issues in Alaska, command of the Alaska National Guard, and her son’s deployment to Iraq.
“I think she understands national security challenges and we’ve had many conversations, and I … am convinced she understands the challenges this nation faces,” McCain said.
About an hour had passed at that point — roughly the time allotted for the campaign event — and McCain opted not to take any more questions. Neither did Palin, who made closing remarks after the Arizona senator had concluded.
“Stump the candidate” would have to wait for another time.
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Photo Credit: Reuters/Aaron Josefczyk
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Bill Brown,
Good-Old Boys/Girls is republican, and it’s more just like Good-Old Boys. Everybody in Washington is rich, some just richer than others, some were just born or just married into it and some actually earned it. And by the way who has been in the Whitehouse running the country for the last 8 years, oh yeah, some republican guy named GW Bush…interesting. And just so you know, I am republican, but one with a brain smart enough not to vote for McPalin aka Senile old man-Clueless Bimbo
- Posted by tuptoThe scarriest thing is that so many people see her as someone who could assume the presidency and be competent. I think way too many people with vote for a sandwich if it had an (R) on the line next to it.
- Posted by ScottThe Republican “Good ole’ Boys club”, if you have not noticed, it is most REPUBLICAN’s that are the 5% wealthy in this country. McLame is the one who changed his message to “Agent of Change”, thus is the liar. Obama’s message has been the same from the begining. Palin comes from the 3rd least poplulous state, and has fewer people in the state than Chicago has. So please…. Palin experience vs. Obama experience. Not even close to the same. A low population state governor vs. the 5th largest population state Senator is a HUGE difference in experience. State politics vs. Washington politics, again huge difference. As for “wanting your country back, sorry, the republican are the ones that had it for the last 8 years, and look at the sorry state of it now. Republican days are numbered, and that number is 47, same as the number of days to the election.
- Posted by TonyI see Senator McCain picking Gov. Palin the BEST thing that could happen for our country. Wow what a team. As you read the above comments, you can see why the Librials are running scared. And they should be. With McCain & Palin going to Washington, they will be cleaning up and closing all of the “Good-Old Boys/Girls” clubs and get things straighten out. I hope they run all of the Rich Lying, Liberals with no morals out of Washington. I want my country back. The Liberal Houses have had this country tied up way to long. Pack your bags librials, here we come.
- Posted by Bill BrownInteresting that the ninnyhammers here are citing Palin’s “lack of experience”. She has roughly the same, if not more, the Mr. Obama. The Dem ticket really should have been reversed. Currently it’s like putting your 5 year old as the head of family, and then spinning up the Hollyweird media freakshow to convince people it’s good, for the “change”. Laughable.
- Posted by CaelWhy did you not mention in your blog that the “town hall meeting” was an invitations-only, Republicans-only event?
- Posted by Greg WorleyWant more brilliant answers? Here’s part of her town hall meeting with a hand-picked audience:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1fXaqSUI HY
The NYT did a great expose on her rule in Alaska. I think there’s a lot to hide. Mccain is trotting her out there because he has no new ideas to run on, and I think he’s losing his marbles
(McCain doesn’t know what his own committee does:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/16/mcca in-commerce-committee/
McCain gets both acronym and purpose of SIPC wrong:
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/0 9/16/mccain-sipc-wrong/
bizarre McCain remarks appear to reject Spain as ally:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/18 /bizarre-mccain-remarks-ap_n_127346.htm l
Folks, with McCain’s health history (see http://therealmccain.com/doctors/), his chances of living through the next 4 years are 1 in 3. You’re putting a cheerleader in charge.
- Posted by CharlotteIts more like stump the Chump
- Posted by Jeff ScottWow someone asks her about specifics and she dodges the question. Maybe Palin and McShame think that the American people are stupid and can not see through the bull but guess what you two we can and we have.
- Posted by NathanTheoretically I believe that incompetent women have as much right to hold a job as incompetent men, but imagining Palin holding the job of President after McCain suddenly dies is too frightening.
- Posted by J. StilanI think she is going to beat the pants off of Biden in the VP debate. I think McCain will beat Obama in the Pres. debates. As long as it is live and unscripted, Obama will come off as the empty suit he is.
- Posted by BillCommand of the State Nat’l Guard??? Give me a break!!! If McCain thinks for one minute this is experience he really knows little or nothing about our reserve forces.
- Posted by JMA complete staged joke. totally bs. unbelievable…. i’m leaving this country….for alaska, where you can get away with anything.
- Posted by WillardStump the Candidate? This is starting to get weird for Sarah Palin, I mean it doesn’t take a genius to figure out she is totally unprepared.
- Posted by Aaron JohnsonQuestion for Sarah Palin:
Did you really spend $50,000 to decorate the mayor’s office as some of your fellow republicans contend?
- Posted by sgpi think mclame would have been just as well of asking jessica simpson to be v.p. they both stand there and look alright, but the stump is hollow
- Posted by joeOkay. Now she’s starting to sound like she’s not qualified to be vice president of the Miss Alaska contest, much less vp of this country. This is not a game show. This is an election for the presidency and vice presidency of the united states. Since when is “confidence” a “specific skill” for running the most powerful country in the world. That is a beauty contest answer, not a vice presidential answer. Confidence should be a given. WHAT ABOUT COMPETENCE!!!! I honesty didn’t realize until now that she was this stupid. Please, let’s send them back to alaska folks. We need somebody with basic intellectual skills for this job.
- Posted by PhDivaI, for one, would love to engage in a couple rounds of “stump The Candidate”
- Posted by BubbaSounds more like “stump the stump”.
- Posted by jimboSarah Palin is becoming a real laughing matter. I bet she doesn’t get reelected as govoner of Alaska. I bet Mcsame is sorry he ask her. She is such a liar. And what a disservice she has done for women of alaska. Shame on her and Mcsame thinking us women will be stupid enough to vote for her cause she is a woman. Sad day in Hell.
- Posted by joni young