# Palin punts in the interview with Charlie Gibson **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 11, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178 "2008-09-11T23:06:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/141 "2008-09-12T16:54:00Z")
> [@ArizonaTeach](#): > > Is it true that ABC deleted the “exact quote” exchange in the airing? If that’s true (and all I’ve heard are assertions, not proof), whoa boy. Huh? Even if they did, it was an exact quote! There’s a video tape of her saying exactly what he quoted. I don’t understand this bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/142 "2008-09-12T16:57:21Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Well **duh**. That’s why she’s like, a _maverick_, y’know? In Russia, beauty queens want **war**! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/143 "2008-09-12T17:06:49Z")
> [@CJJ](#): > > Yeah, and I can see the moon when I look out my window. Doesn’t make me a fucking astronaut though. Yeah, well maybe if you were from Alaska, home of the highest spot in America… 😉 Stolen from a late night comic. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/144 "2008-09-12T17:18:54Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It occurs to me, though, that her mindless, hackneyed pagent answers will probably appeal perfectly to her base. They don’t want nuance or information. They just want to be reassured that America is pure good, and that we’re fighting pure evil, and that it’s just that simple. They probably think the Bush Doctrine question was unfair and tricksy and that Gibson is a meanie for asking her something so haaaard. > > Nobody ever lost conservative votes by being too stupid. > [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > if I’ve ever heard the term “Bush Docrine” at all, I don’t recall it I think you now have proof for your statement , **Diogenes.** ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/145 "2008-09-12T17:24:55Z")
Obviously, the governors of South Dakota and Oklahoma have more foreign policy experience than those from Nebraska and Kansas. Which governor has the most foreign policy experience on African affairs? Maine, that’s who. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/146 "2008-09-12T17:27:25Z")
Edit: Damn, Maine is closer than Florida. [This](http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm)site is freakin’ cool ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/147 "2008-09-12T17:31:15Z")
I missed the interview. Does she, through her words, tone, and body language, know that Georgia is not a member of NATO and that the USA has no treaty obligations to defend it? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/148 "2008-09-12T17:32:46Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I missed the interview. Does she, through her words, tone, and body language, know that Georgia is not a member of NATO and that the USA has no treaty obligations to defend it? No - she knows what her tutor told her to know for the interview. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/149 "2008-09-12T17:37:34Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I missed the interview. Does she, through her words, tone, and body language, know that Georgia is not a member of NATO and that the USA has no treaty obligations to defend it? Are we sure she knew which Georgia was the subject of the discussion? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/150 "2008-09-12T17:48:12Z")
> [@ArizonaTeach](#): > > Is it true that ABC deleted the “exact quote” exchange in the airing? No. I saw it. It was in there. > [@](#): > > I don’t understand why asking for clarification on the Bush Doctrine is an issue. [It’s huge](http://media.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ODFkOTU3MjUwYWM4N2I1NzE2ZjU3NGQzZjg0MzYyZjk=) - [it covers a number of aspects](http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0920-05.htm). It’s like asking her what she thinks about Bush’s Foreign Policy decisions. “Which ones?” is a perfectly cromulent question to ask. > > “She answered in sound bites! GET HER!” > “She didn’t answer in sound bites! GET HER!” She didn’t know what the fucking phrase meant. She wasn’t asking for clarification. It was clear she simply didn’t have any idea what Gibson was talking about. She sat there blinking stupidly and then tried to fish for hints. She then took a wild guess that the Bush doctrine is Bush’s "worldview\<’ and got it wrong. None of her responses had any real reference to the Bush Doctrine (_any_aspect of it), and nothing she said revealed any knowledge of it. She reacted exactly like a pageant contestant trying to bluff her way through. Why can’t some of you ever be intellectually honest? Just admit she didn’t know what the Bush Doctrine was. You’re not fooling anybody, so why bother? Hell, even I admitted that ABC was deceptive with “task from God” question. Can’t both sides try for a little objectivity here. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/151 "2008-09-12T17:48:53Z")
> [@ArizonaTeach](#): > > Is it true that ABC deleted the “exact quote” exchange in the airing? If that’s true (and all I’ve heard are assertions, not proof), whoa boy. > > I don’t understand why asking for clarification on the Bush Doctrine is an issue. [It’s huge](http://media.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ODFkOTU3MjUwYWM4N2I1NzE2ZjU3NGQzZjg0MzYyZjk=) - [it covers a number of aspects](http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0920-05.htm). It’s like asking her what she thinks about Bush’s Foreign Policy decisions. “Which ones?” is a perfectly cromulent question to ask. > > “She answered in sound bites! GET HER!” > “She didn’t answer in sound bites! GET HER!” Oh BS, she had no clue what the Bush Doctrine was and you know it. Look she has shown ZERO interest in foregin affairs prior to be tagged the VP candidate. ZERO. So she has osme executive experience, much of it bad, and Obama has none (he has some but whatever). He is light years ahead of her in the consideration of national policy on not just foreign affaris but EVERYTHING. She has never met a foreign leader. She got her passport two years ago. She “read something about” the surge in the paper. At [OnTheIssues.org](http://OnTheIssues.org) has ONE comment from her under foreign policy…on the freaking Peace Corps. She regurgitated the idiocy that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. Her Foreign Policy comments at the Convention were written for her and sounded like they were pulled from Wikipedia. ANd in this interwiew her answers were vacuuous and without any substance. If Joe Biden, or Hillary Clinton or Olympia Snowe had given those answers folks would have been shocked and appalled…as they reightfully are with Palin. She does not get to be graded on a freaking curve! Gibson knows more about foreign policy than she does. We cannot simply say she did well. considering… She did horribly for someone who wants to be my freaking Vice PResident and needs to be ready to step into the Presidency at a moment’s notice. It is ridiculous, it is scary and I’ll be damned if I am going to sit here and pretend that it is anything than what it is. She is woefully unqualified, there is no way around it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/152 "2008-09-12T17:52:21Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Huh? Even if they did, it was an exact quote! There’s a video tape of her saying exactly what he quoted. I don’t understand this bullshit. What Gibson quoted was accurate but truncated. She did say [paraphrasing here] “let us pray …that we are on a task from God.” It wasn’t a flat statement. I have to give her that one (even though she did submarine her own point by then making an unambiguously declarative statement in that same speech that the natural gas pipeline was “God’s will”). ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/153 "2008-09-12T17:56:40Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No. I saw it. It was in there. It seemed very odd when that claim was made, so good. > [@](#): > > She didn’t know what the fucking phrase meant. She wasn’t asking for clarification. It was clear she simply didn’t have any idea what Gibson was talking about. She sat there blinking stupidly and then tried to fish for hints. She then took a wild guess that the Bush doctrine is Bush’s "worldview\<’ and got it wrong. None of her responses had any real reference to the Bush Doctrine (_any_aspect of it), and nothing she said revealed any knowledge of it. She reacted exactly like a pageant contestant trying to bluff her way through. Disagree. She asks for him to clarify what he means by the Bush Doctrine, which, as I pointed out, means **several different things.** Can you dispute that? > [@](#): > > Why can’t some of you ever be intellectually honest? Just admit she didn’t know what the Bush Doctrine was. You’re not fooling anybody, so why bother? Mostly because you’ve demonstrated that **you** don’t know what the Bush Doctrine is, and God knows you’re far, far smarter than her. > [@](#): > > Hell, even I admitted that ABC was deceptive with “task from God” question. Can’t both sides try for a little objectivity here. Well, that’s because you’ve been throwing everything against the wall and very little of it has stuck. To use your own words, Epic Fail. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/154 "2008-09-12T17:57:57Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > What Gibson quoted was accurate but truncated. She did say [paraphrasing here] “let us pray …that we are on a task from God.” It wasn’t a flat statement. I have to give her that one (even though she did submarine her own point by then making an unambiguously declarative statement in that same speech that the natural gas pipeline was “God’s will”). Ah, I see now. I retract my statement. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/155 "2008-09-12T18:09:31Z")
> [@davidw](#): > > I think [James Fallows nails it](http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/09/the_palin_interview.php). Good article. Fallows explains very concisely what most media consistently get wrong about the Bush Doctrine, and why it’s different from “preemption”, which has always been an option claimed by the US. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/156 "2008-09-12T18:11:18Z")
> [@ArizonaTeach](#): > > Disagree. She asks for him to clarify what he means by the Bush Doctrine… You are a teacher, right? And you couldn’t tell that by her pause and facial expression that she was completely clueless what the Bush Doctrine was, by ANY definition? And her request for clarification was to buy more time while she made up a bullshit answer? And that the answer wandered until she thought she had something that was close to the right answer? I take it you do not teach at a high school or college and that you were a better student than Palin or I. I caught on immediately and nodded sympathetically saying, “Been there. Tried that. Didn’t work for me, either.” ---
**Author:** ![Kokopilau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Kokopilau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kokopilau)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/157 "2008-09-12T19:01:02Z")
> [@ArizonaTeach](#): > > Disagree. She asks for him to clarify what he means by the Bush Doctrine, which, as I pointed out, means **several different things.** Can you dispute that? Hmm…how about we ask Vice President Dick Cheney (you know, the current holder of the job she wants), what the Bush Doctrine is: > [@](#): > > After 9/11, President Bush decided that the artificial distinction between the terrorists and their sponsors could no longer be allowed to stand. \*\*The Bush doctrine makes clear that states supporting terrorists or providing sanctuary for terrorists will be deemed just as guilty as the terrorists themselves of the acts they commit. \*\*If there is anyone in the world today who doubts the seriousness of the Bush doctrine, I would urge that person to consider the fate of the Taliban in Afghanistan and of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/06/20030616-3.html](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/06/20030616-3.html) Or perhaps George Bush himself, who acknowledged the same definition in the following exchange with the press: > [@](#): > > Q Thank you, sir. Perhaps the clearest, strongest message you have ever sent from any podium has been **what you like to call the Bush doctrine – that is to say, if you feed a terrorist, if you clothe a terrorist, if you harbor a terrorist, you are a terrorist.** And I’d like to follow up on the Middle East. You have noted that Yasser Arafat is compromised by terror; Condi Rice has said he cavorts with terror. You’ve both noted that he is an obstacle to peace. He has, in political terms, choked off your last two Palestinian interlocutors. What is it that prevents you from concluding that he is, in fact, under your own definition of what a terrorist is, a terrorist, and should be dealt with in the same way that you’ve dealt with Saddam Hussein and Charles Taylor? > > THE PRESIDENT: Well, not every action requires military action, Jim. As you noticed, for example in North Korea, we’ve chosen to put together a multinational strategy to deal with Mr. Kim Jong-Il. Not every action requires military action. As a matter of fact, military action is the very last resort for us. And a reminder: When you mentioned Saddam Hussein, I just wanted to remind you that the Saddam Hussein military action took place after innumerable United Nations Security Council resolutions were passed – not one, two or three, but a lot. And so this nation is very reluctant to use military force. We try to enforce doctrine peacefully, or through alliances or multinational forums. And we will continue to do so. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/10/20031028-2.html](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/10/20031028-2.html) Why didn’t she go with what the Administration itself claims is the Bush Doctrine, instead of floundering around like a student called on in class who hadn’t read the assignment the night before? ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/158 "2008-09-12T19:13:10Z")
I’m sure she’ll get plenty of hard-hitting questions in her next interview–[with Sean Hannity](http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/12/hannity-palin-interview/). Did I say “hard-hitting questions”? I meant “Sean’s tongue up her ass”. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/159 "2008-09-12T19:50:21Z")
> [@davidw](#): > > I think [James Fallows nails it](http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/09/the_palin_interview.php). Great essay. > [@James Fallows](#): > > What Sarah Palin revealed is that she has not been interested enough in world affairs to become minimally conversant with the issues. Many people in our great land might have difficulty defining the “Bush Doctrine” exactly. But not to recognize the name, as obviously was the case for Palin, indicates not a failure of last-minute cramming but a lack of attention to any foreign-policy discussion whatsoever in the last seven years. I think the essence of why BD ignorance and canned replies are so grating is that this was her first chance to dispel rumors and allegations about her worldliness. I would have loved it if it came across that she’s had a subscription to the _Economist_ for years and at the very least skimmed the major sections with some regularity. If not the _Economist_ than maybe the\* The National Review\*. The way she came across suggested that she didn’t didn’t make it as far as the Limbaugh Letter. How does this not bother the right wing? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178/160 "2008-09-12T19:56:26Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Edit: Damn, Maine is closer than Florida. > > [This](http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm)site is freakin’ cool Cool. Apparently, the governors with the least foreign policy experience are: Hawaii - 1,277 miles from Kiribati Mississippi - 546 miles from Mexico Kansas - 496 miles from Mexico Alabama - 494 miles from Canada S. Carolina - 448 miles from Canada Missouri - 439 miles from Canada Georgia - 431 miles from Bahamas Nebraska - 413 miles from Canada N. Carolina - 360 miles from Canada Colorado - 358 miles from Mexico Tennessee - 339 miles from Canada Iowa - 315 miles from Canada Utah - 311 miles from Mexico Wyoming - 277 miles from Canada Delaware - 267 miles from Canada Virginia - 211 miles from Canada Rhode Island - 208 miles from Canada S. Dakota - 207 miles from Canada Kentucky - 206 miles from Canada Connecticut - 201 miles from Canada New Jersey - 189 miles from canada Maryland - 189 miles from Canada Mass. - 156 miles from Canada W. Virginia - 135 miles from Canada [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-punts-in-the-interview-with-charlie-gibson/463178.md?page=9)