Palin Flunks First Foreign Policy Quiz

[HKCavalier]

Even I was shocked at how poorly she did in her first national interview. Not only does she have no idea what the Bush Doctrine is, but even after Charlie very kindly hands it to her, she misunderstands the concept. Seems you can't learn foreign policy in two weeks of cramming! Who knew?

GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?

PALIN (pause, think of something, some way to deflect the question, try to get him on the defensive): In what respect, Charlie?

GIBSON: Bush -- What do you interpret it to be?

PALIN (pause, you've failed to deflect him, so stall him): His worldview?

GIBSON: Well, the Bush Doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq war.

PALIN (okay, it's do or die time, start b.s.ing): I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hellbent on destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though...

GIBSON: The Bush Doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a pre-emptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that?

PALIN (keep moving, sharks die if they stop moving): Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against the American people, we have every right to defend our country.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/200...rine/index.html

[bathory]

the Bush Doctrine is a pretty broad term that has essentially been invented to describe a broad range of policies by the Bush administration

it isn't an official term, and Gibson shows a limited understanding of what the term implies by centering it around the Bush admin's policy of preemption

HKCavilier, what do you think of the Obama doctrine?

Put it this way'

GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?

PALIN : In what respect, Charlie? (pause, what exactly does he mean? Is he refering to preemptive strikes, encouraging democracy, increased presidential powers, things like the patriot act, WHAT?!?!?)

GIBSON: Well, the Bush Doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq war. (theres no such thing as the Bush Doctrine, but lets ignore that)

PALIN: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hellbent on destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though... (a very broad answer to describe a very broad question, asked by a journalist who doesn't even understand the question he just asked)

GIBSON: The Bush Doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a pre-emptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that? (thats part of what has been described as the Bush doctrine, you'd think a journalist would be informed about the questions he asks)

PALIN: Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against the American people, we have every right to defend our country. (Question answered)

Edited September 12, 2008 by bathory

[HKCavalier]

the Bush Doctrine is a pretty broad term that has essentially been invented to describe a broad range of policies by the Bush administration

it isn't an official term, and Gibson shows a limited understanding of what the term implies by centering it around the Bush admin's policy of preemption

HKCavilier, what do you think of the Obama doctrine?

Well, first of all, the point is she was stumped by the question--couldn't even come up with the weasel-words you offer here.

And secondly, I was there--that is, alive and paying attention in 2002 when the term came into use. And it's not a broad range of policies, it's a couple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_Doctrine She could have mentioned any or all. If she thought as you do, she coulda said so. But she didn't.

And lastly, there is no wikipedia entry for "Obama doctrine" and I know you just made it up on the spot because I've been paying attention. Charlie Gibson did not simply make up the Bush Doctrine. Sarah Palin didn't know the definitive "post-9/11" foreign policy. You can't learn foreign policy in two weeks. But y'all still want to hand the country to this walking publicity stunt?

[bathory]

sigh

The Bush doctrine is an unofficial term thrown about by the media, it can refer to almost anything

as your precious Wikipedia points out, the term first made its appearance in 2001 in reference to the missile defence program, so am I to take it, the Bush Doctrine refers to

Interestingly enough, the wikipedia article has been edited to remove the part which was highly critical of the term...

Sorry but its a hugely broad term that isn't officially recognized, and can be applied to a great deal of policies put forth by the Bush administration

Sarah Palin didn't know the definitive "post-9/11" foreign policy. You can't learn foreign policy in two weeks. But y'all still want to hand the country to this walking publicity stunt?

and yet she was able to answer it when it was framed as preemption

puh lease, it was a **** question, using a poor term, by a guy who didn't even understand the question he was asking...

[Karlis]

sigh

The Bush doctrine is an unofficial term thrown about by the media, it can refer to almost anything

In fact, I don't think it would be too far a strerch to suggest that the USA has been implementing this policy for close to a century -- overthrowing some 40 regimes in South America alone.

as your precious Wikipedia points out, the term first made its appearance in 2001 in reference to the missile defence program, so am I to take it, the Bush Doctrine refers to

Interestingly enough, the wikipedia article has been edited to remove the part which was highly critical of the term...

Sorry but its a hugely broad term that isn't officially recognized, and can be applied to a great deal of policies put forth by the Bush administration

Regards,

Karlis

[Rosewin]

The Bush Doctrine is a very specific term as shown in the link provided by HK. The foreign policy can be run as it is and they can get away with enforcing the Bush Doctrine is because so few care to know it even exists.

[Aztec Warrior]

Let's ask Obama what the Carter doctrine was and how it failed.

[Startraveler]

Unfortunately, "Bush doctrine" isn't one of the key phrases they gave her a stock response to. But she crammed one in any way. She's a wonderful performer.

[supercar]

HKCavalier you and Charlie Gibson have flunked your foreign policy quiz. The Bush Doctrine was first promulgated by columnist Charles Krauthammer in May of 2001:

'The new Bush Doctrine holds that, when it comes to designing our nuclear forces, we build to suit. We will build defensive missiles to suit our needs. We will build offensive missiles to suit our needs'

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/krauthammer050701.asp

Edited September 12, 2008 by supercar

[Startraveler]

FP

Google Scholar

A Lexis-Nexis search reveals thousands of usages of the phrase in the press over the last 5 years. The results overwhelmingly concur with the above: the Bush Doctrine is a policy of taking preemptive, unprovoked action against emerging threats.

Now, if you'd never read a newspaper, academic paper, or foreign policy periodical it's totally understandable you wouldn't know what it refers to.

[supercar]

the Bush Doctrine is a policy of taking preemptive, unprovoked action against emerging threats.

Nope.

'The new Bush Doctrine holds that, when it comes to designing our nuclear forces, we build to suit. We will build defensive missiles to suit our needs. We will build offensive missiles to suit our needs'

Charles Krauthammer

May 7,2001

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/krauthammer050701.asp

[Homer]

Even the wiki link HKCavalier provided states the Bush doctrine is a ‘phrase’ describing ‘various’ foreign policy principles.

So when Palin asked ‘in what respect Charlie?’, that was kind of my thought as well. It is obvious Charlie’s intent was to catch her off guard with the question. However, even before Charlie asked the more specific question, Palin’s answer to the broad question was appropriate, because part of the purpose of the Bush doctrine is to rid the world of Islamist extremists.

[Incorrigible1]

Even I was shocked at how poorly she did in her first national interview.

Sure you are. Shocked, I tell you!

[Whangarei]

I saw this interview where she discussed her use of "God's Will" and she is a total idiot in my opinion. She is barely hanging on by a thread and he's treating her with kid gloves. I too was pretty shocked at how bad she did. She's a great speech giver not a great thinker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSmWVCRJWOw...feature=related

[Incorrigible1]

I saw this interview where she discussed her use of "God's Will" and she is a total idiot in my opinion. She is barely hanging on by a thread and he's treating her with kid gloves. I too was pretty shocked at how bad she did. She's a great speech giver not a great thinker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSmWVCRJWOw...feature=related

Charlie doesn't provide Palin's full quotation regarding the "God's will" thing. He's clearly guilty of what Glenn Beck describes as "hard-core journalistic malpractice." From nxt2hvn's above thread:

"Sarah Palin believes God told her to go to war with Iraq!"

There has been some hard-core journalistic malpractice on this one. The Associated Press ran this headline about a speech she gave at her church: "Palin: Iraq war 'a task that is from God'"

In the story, they omit the first part of the sentence they're quoting along with the entire previous sentence for good measure.

Here are her actual words: "Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

Palin is clearly praying that we're doing the right thing in Iraq, something sensible for an introspective woman of faith concerned about the lives of our troops to do. She's not saying that she just received a text message from heaven's BlackBerry ordering her to launch missiles. Sorry to disappoint you.

[Whangarei]

I'm not talking about what she said at the church. I agree with her and understand what she meant totally. It is her way of explaining herself on this clip that made my skin crawl. Even her posture was off putting. She reminded me a bit of Tom Cruise in some strange way. Her comments were aimed at the religious people listening and not the whole society. She should have said "Obviously we don't want to say anything to construe this as a religious war, and nor do we want to indicate that we think we are doing God's will."

Otherwise its just more of the same dreck and even worse.

Edited September 12, 2008 by Whangarei

[Incorrigible1]

I'm not talking about what she said at the church. I agree with her and understand what she meant totally. It is her way of explaining herself on this clip that made my skin crawl. Even her posture was off putting. She reminded me a bit of Tom Cruise in some strange way.

Were you fine with BHO constantly leaning close to O'Riley and nearly brushing his leg?

So it's her posture you dislike? Wow. Just wow. Hey, you're entitled to your opinion, however it is you derive it.

[Whangarei]

Were you fine with BHO constantly leaning close to O'Riley and nearly brushing his leg?

So it's her posture you dislike? Wow. Just wow. Hey, you're entitled to your opinion, however it is you derive it.

Why would BHO's behavior have anything to do with my opinion of Sara Palin. She stands on her own (or sits sloppily as the case may be) but she looks exhausted and out of her depth. Its one thing to nail someone for not being able to explain a policy but quite another for not being able to explain their own words, what they themselves said. She actually tried to tie it to Abraham Lincoln which is pretty funny because he said exactly the opposite of what she actually said.

She appeared to me as grasping at straws. And if Charlie Rose had been even a little hard on her she'd have crumpled.

Here are her actual words: "Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

Here's a useful article.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate...;entry_id=30187

Edited September 12, 2008 by Whangarei

[HollyDolly]

Let's ask Obama what the Carter doctrine was and how it failed.

HaHa, that's a good one. My later father could answer that for you.He could tell you not only how,but why it failed.

He could also tell you about the founding of the state of modern Israel and the problems in the middle east

going way back when,plus a lot of other things that have happend in the past, which have a bearing on today's political goings on in the world, some of which are the result of polictical manuverings in the past and now come back to haunt us today.

[HKCavalier]

Some folks just love to be manipulated and lied to, I guess. The point here, even though y'all want to claime the Bush Doctrine is some kind of airy-fairy mysterious concept that no one can pin down, is that Sarah Palin was clearly stumped and was b.s.ing her way through the question. If she thought any of the things y'all are offering, she woulda said 'em--instead she deflected, she stalled, she b.s.ed a generic response that any 12th grader could have given. That's the point.

But y'know, once it's clear to y'all that she doesn't know jack, I can't wait until the Right starts up with the "Who said the President needs to know foreign policy anyway? Isn't that what they have cabinet members for? They're running for President, not Secretary of State!!!"

[Pinky Floyd]

Let's ask Obama what the Carter doctrine was and how it failed.

Ding! Winner! Do you remember 20% mortgage rates under Carter (the last time that the House, Senate and Executive office was held by the Dems)?? I sure remember them..They wrecked the economy big time. And as far as his foreign policy is concerned, the only thing that got the hostages out of Iran was the fact that Reagan was going to take the office the next day and the Iranians knew he was going to put an American boot up their a**.

The Bush Doctrine is a phrase used to describe various related foreign policy principles of United States president George W. Bush, enunciated in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

wiki

So it's "a phrase used to describe various related foreign policy principles"?? Which I take to mean not one certain thing but a melange term that is used to describe Bush's overall foreign policy. So why didn't he just call it 'Bush's foreign policy'?? Hint: too easy and forthright to do that and obfuscation during an interview is the way to go evidently. Even the Washington Post had a time trying to figure out exactly what it was: Link Notice the link was not at all lavishing any praises on Bu****he writer was just trying to explain what exactly the 'Bush Doctrine' actually was..(it's not simple at all to explain and even harder to comprehend in a one line question)

Jacob Weisberg, in his book "The Bush Tragedy," actually identified six Bush Doctrines: Bush Doctrine 1.0 was Unipolar Realism (3/7/99--9/10/01); Bush Doctrine 2.0 was With Us or Against Us (9/11/01--5/31/02); Bush Doctrine 3.0 was Preemption (6/1/02--11/5/03); Bush Doctrine 4.0 was Democracy in the Middle East (11/6/03--1/19/05); Bush Doctrine 5.0 was Freedom Everywhere (1/20/05-- 11/7/06); and Bush Doctrine 6.0 (11/8/06 to date) is the "absence of any functioning doctrine at all." linky

My question: Which 'Doctrine' was he referring to when he asked her? It's not cut and dry like explaining the Monroe Doctrine.

Edited September 12, 2008 by Pinky Floyd

[Startraveler]

My question: Which 'Doctrine' was he referring to when he asked her?

I suppose the first major clue was when Gibson said "No, No, the Bush Doctrine. He enunciated it in September 2002, before the Iraq War." But that wasn't enough for her.

[Pinky Floyd]

I suppose the first major clue was when Gibson said "No, No, the Bush Doctrine. He enunciated it in September 2002, before the Iraq War." But that wasn't enough for her.

I imagine that very question would have stumped many in DC (Democrat and Republican). To term it as 'Bush's Foreign policy' would have been much more accurate and would have garnered a response.

[HKCavalier]

My question: Which 'Doctrine' was he referring to when he asked her?

He even gave her the option to define it herself when he asked her "What do you interpret it to be?" It's a good interview technique, gives the subject an opportunity to define her position. Opened the question right up, allowed her to expound on what she thinks differenciates Bush's policy from pre-9/11 policies and all she can do is give her hack party-line about "ridding the world of evil." That's scary folks. For a knowledgeable person, such a question is strictly softball. But for someone who's desperately trying to cover up her ignorance, these kinds of open ended questions can be deadly.

Can't wait for the outcry, "Charlie Gibson is sexist!"

Edited September 12, 2008 by HKCavalier

[HKCavalier]

I imagine that very question would have stumped many in DC (Democrat and Republican).

Not quite "Who said the President needs to know foreign policy anyway?" but close enough!