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Chip, Atlanta, GA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:18:33 GMT

Good grief. She sounds like a combination of talking points and a fifth-grade book report. She doesn't know anything! You can SEE Russia from here, so I understand them!?!??!?!

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Nashville_fan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:20:36 GMT

Dear News Media,

You know, there is a chance, that once McCain/Palin is elected, the ensuing war or wars could negatively impact you. Don't wait until then to do your jobs, 'kay? Geez.

P.S. We can't blink? We can do whatever we want? Guess that means that every other country can too, huh? Also, notice that Governor Palin had NO IDEA what the Bush doctrine was. None.

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Aida, Phoenix, AZ — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:22:09 GMT

She doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is!!? Where has she been the last eight years? In a small town in Alaska?

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swe 123 syracuse ny — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:22:14 GMT

OMG...was this the Palin-Robot? Three times "we shouldn't second guess what Israel has to do to defend themselves" Talk about a broken record...obviously this was one line that the Bush advisors had her memorize. Oh...and what was the Bush Doctrine? Obviously she's never heard of it...and last did she answer yes or no to anything?
I can't wait for the debate...Biden is going to eat her alive!

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Eyes Wide Open — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:22:57 GMT

This tiny bit of "insight" speaks for itself about who's ready to lead, defend, and honor this country honorably.

Obama/Biden '08

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Mike H, Philly, PA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:24:11 GMT

Palin is being coached on foreign policy by former Bush advisors and they didn't bother to teach their new puppet about the Bush Doctrine?

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swe 123 syracuse ny — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:24:14 GMT

oops and I forgot another one...her only insight on Russia is that it's close enough to see from Alaska???
Is she kidding me?? and is anyone else paying attention to this?

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Charlotte McCowan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:25:05 GMT

Terrible interview. These were softballs and she had the questions in advance. He did not press her on any answer. Total crap. This is such a joke that is being played on the American people. Please America, WAKE UP!!!!This women is not qualified to be vice president and probably not qualified to be governor of Alaska. Oh!! I forgot! She can SEE Russia from Alaska. Vote her in!!!

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Bill Liebman — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:25:20 GMT

I think the domocrats need a game changer. How about Obama naming Hillary Clinton his choice for Sec of State if he is elected. If she accepts the invitation she has more vested in his campaign and will work harder for him>

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Josh WA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:26:41 GMT

that much trouble to ask her about Bush Doctrine? good grief Sarah, stop playing dumb and coy, or is it truly that you didn't know what that is?

Yikes!

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AnthonyG. Seattle — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:28:59 GMT

Qeustion - GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

Response - PALIN: They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska

All I can say is WOW.... even more scary is that she actually identified where you can see Russia from in Alaska. Also, if seeing Russsia is so important, why didn't she notify Bush when she seen Russaia them going into the country of Georgia? Maybe being so close to Russia didn't help... Duh!

"Come on America... Wake up!"

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God help us — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:29:04 GMT

sounds like a lot of right wing regurgitation to me. no wonder they are keeping her sequestered. they need to pump as many neocon talking points and soundbites into her as possible.

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Horrified — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:30:02 GMT

The Bush doctrine must not have been covered in Palin's briefing! The idea of "ridding the world of Islamic extremism," as opposed to fighting terror, is way beyond the pale in our society, has nothing to do with Iraq (which was largely secular before we invaded) and sure sounds like a crusade to me - I can only imagine how Arab-Americans must feel.

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TKD — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:30:14 GMT

Oh, holy cow. Please don't let this uninformed, unprepared person into the White House. She's worse than Bush, which I didn't think was metaphysically possible.

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Dave in OC, Vets for Obama — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:30:47 GMT

Gibson: "I got lost in a blizzard of words there."
---------
So did I, but of course we're not electing Miss Alaska!

Gulf War Vets for Obama!

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bearnut — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:30:50 GMT

Wow. What an empty suit. A little more spoon feeding from Bush and Rumsfeld please.

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Andrea, New Jersey — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:32:20 GMT

Judging from these responses... Ms. Palin seems to be trying very hard to stick to her script - afterall, this is the extent of her knowledge/depth on these issues. Is this who we really want a heartbeat away from the presidency??? Also... it appears the new "hot" word in Ms. Palin's extensive vocabulary is "BLINK." Note to the Obama campaign: now there are two words that can not be used without throwing the McCain campaign or media into a frenzy: Lipstick or Blink. Exercise caution accordingly.

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Benny, SFBayArea, California — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:32:24 GMT

PALIN: You know, there is a very small percentage of Islamic believers who are extreme and they are violent and they do not believe in American ideals, and they attacked us.

Well, that's the Bush version of events and the motivation behind the attacks. The reality is that we had and still have US troops in holy lands to Muslims and they were offended by that. The bin Ladens of the world warned of infidels putting troops in Islamic lands and we, being white and better and more powerful, refused to honor their religious beliefs. Their warnings went unheeded after the barracks bombings and the Cole bombings and even the first WTC attack. The Bush administration ignored all of the intelligence about the "Islamic extremists" and allowed the US to be attacked again and again. They wanted a broader war with Islam and those who control the oil and we got it. This has nothing to do with our ideals but our actions. I'm not blaming the victims of 9/11, but the stewards of our security were asleep at the wheel. And even after the first WTC attack, what did Rudy Giuliani do to strengthen NYC and prepare for subsequent attacks?

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darla, gr, MI — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:33:06 GMT

Didn't the Georgia gov't provoke the Russians?

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S. Holt, Chicago, Ill. — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:33:19 GMT

There, you see. Not an intelligent answer
or thought through all those questions. No
wonder Republicans wanted her to keep her
mouth closed. Now, can we get on with the
campaign and away from this hockey, PTA mom? We
need a Pres. and VP.

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Mark Thieme — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:33:30 GMT

This is tragic.

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john henry, boulder, CO — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:33:37 GMT

Hi -- I think Mccain can win. And he can do it by letting Palin go.

The are several things running through the Jewish and Black communities.

Her being in Church when the person said [para.] that Jews deserve to be killed if they are not Christian. She had a chance to get up and leave and she did not.

Then there is the may be rumor that she said,"darky musical." There seems to be from her staff several words "artic arabs and f@%cking eskimos."

I think he can still win if he drops her fast.

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VRM, NY — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:33:52 GMT

It's clear that we have to stop the terrorists that are hell bent on destroying America and our allies. It's also clear that she didn't know what the heck she was talking about. This is a sad day for our country.

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tj — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:34:12 GMT

Please put call forwarding on those calls at 3AM.

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American Voter — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:35:37 GMT

It was terrible interview. She did a horrible job. It was cut and pasted together in the editing room - you could tell by the tape. She memorized the same answer and repeated over and over again on Israel.

By the way - this article on Rick Davis is very disgusting. I am offended by Rick Davis as a Chistian. And he is talking about nonsense. More lies - the media put Barack under a microscope regarding his faith. The GOP are still doing smear campaigns and whisper rumors about whether he is a muslim. The GOP has launched a nasty, reprehensible campaign against Barack who has been nothing but honorable. Rick Davis, the GOP, McCain and Palin - they are what is wrong with our country - idiots.

Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, seems to be living in an inverted universe. In Davis' world it is Barack Obama, not John McCain, who has launched "the most negative" campaign in political history; the media is not spending enough time focusing on Obama's church but is hell-bent on turning over every stone of Sarah Palin's religious background; and the press is literally engaged in "an attack on Christianity" itself.

Appearing on conservative Hugh Hewitt's radio program Wednesday, Davis -- fed a nice menu of softball questions -- provided a variety of remarkable interpretations for how the campaign has progressed to this point in time.

Taking his cue from a report (still unsubstantiated) in the Wall Street Journal that the Obama campaign and DNC sent a team of lawyers to Alaska, Davis said that tactic was "consistent with everything else they've done. It's the most negative campaign I've ever seen waged."

It's not unusual for the campaign throwing stones to turn around and play victim. But immediately after pleading clean hands, Davis broached such touchy topics as Obama's relationship to William Ayers and Reverend Wright.

"It's a disturbing relationship," he said of the Ayers connection (Obama held a fundraiser and served on a board with the former Weather Underground member). "As a campaign, we've chosen not to make this relationship a big case in the campaign."

This statement simply isn't credible. The McCain campaign posted a blog item on Ayers no less than two weeks ago.

Davis went on. Agreeing with Hewitt's assertion that the media was engaged in a double standard when it came to Palin and Obama's churches (focusing on the former while "hands off" on the latter), Davis then proclaimed that the church was, in fact, under assault by the fourth estate.

"You know, I would say beyond that, there's something going on in the media right now, and I've seen it on television in the last couple of nights, and that's literally an attack on Christianity itself. I mean, every one of these candidates are good Christians."

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Jennifer, Chicago Illinois — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:36:26 GMT

Oh my lord. McCain has just picked Caribou Barbie as his V.P choice.

And Chuck, please post this response. You know it's an accurate description.

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A Moose In The Headlights — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:36:33 GMT

First Read,
You should post the part where Palin doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is and Charlie has to explain it to her---jeez, I guess Charlie should be VP!

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Carolyn Garza McMinnville, OR — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:36:51 GMT

She comes off as about as intelligent as GW. What are people thinking in even entertaining such a pick as a leader of our nation???

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Steve, Towson, MD — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:39:32 GMT

Sarah was blatantly lying when she claimed she was quoting Lincoln about God and war. Someone told her to try to get away with that malarky. I've watched that "sermon" and she wasn't saying anything like Lincoln in his quote. She didn't mention Lincoln in the sermon and her message was completely different from what Lincoln meant. Lincoln did not bandy God as a political messenger. His quote was an admonition against anyone claiming to know what God's will is or to think there can be such a thing fighting on God's side. Lincoln did not believe God had any plan for the world. She doesn't understand that the 9-11 terrorists thought they were on a mission from God.

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TK, Towson, MD — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:40:07 GMT

Sarah Palin continued to prove she may have the cajones to be VP (and, yes, that is a sexist comment!) but she clearly does not have the intellect or even a rudimentary understanding of how the rest of the world lives or functions. She did not provide answers to most of the questions, she merely gave responses that mostly had little to do with answering the question. She has absolutely no knowledge of foreign policy. She has beliefs based on the good book. She is even more clueless than GWBush. She may as well have been talking about how cold it gets in Alaska. "Charles, you know it gets real cold here. Really, really cold. And I could see Russia if I wanted to go to that itty bitty island. Russia is our neighbor. I know it's there but we really don't talk much. We don't go to the same church."

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Susan Ruesch, Pinole, California — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:40:09 GMT

She understands how Russia thinks and acts because she can SEE Russia from Alaska??????? Well gee, I guess that means I understand how France thinks because I can see the Eiffel Tower on the casino when I go to Vegas!!! Can I be Vice President?
WHO IS THIS WOMAN?????

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Sue, Chicago — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:41:17 GMT

GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

PALIN: They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.

A Palinism, in the tradition of Bushisms.

She apparently is absorbing some of the talking points being fed to her.

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Steven Wright, San Francisco, CA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:41:33 GMT

Well, she sure can stay on message, even if it means sounding like a broken record. It is obvious that Gov. Palin was carefully coached for this interview. She really is a very common shrew.

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unaffiliated voter, Hickory, NC — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:41:54 GMT

I've been a First Read 'lurker' for, like, ever - but I feel compelled to respond for the first time to this one. I'm motivated mainly by the obvious redemption of C.Gibson, whom I've hardly been able to look at since the slanted ABC debate fiasco during the primaries. This made my day!

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Independent Female White Vote, Florida — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:44:27 GMT

She's hopelessly clueless, isn't she? She's a complete and embarassing novice. You could tell she was repeating a few lines she memorized, that even a sixth grader would know. My goodness, God help us if she and McCain ever make it to the White House.

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twocanpete — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:45:24 GMT

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/
Great post by the way, Firstread. This is exactly what is wrong with the national media. When we have a someone like Charlie Gibson on the national stage who isn't intelligent enough to understand that proximity does not imply expertise.

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mama stacy — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:45:58 GMT

Wow. I'm surprised and kind of impressed with Charlie. I thought he'd be Barbara Walters in drag tonight, but he's actually trying to conduct a real interview...

(Haven't seen it; just read the excerpts.)

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Ken, Pittsburgh, PA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:46:07 GMT

There are there those out there that think that Isreal is just a puppet on a string to do the bidding of the USA. While Isreal is a close friend, and we are very important to them, we can't stop them in that case. Isreal is a very small country, and it wouldn't take much on a nuclear scale to kill most of their population. She answered the only way you can.

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TheNest, VA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:46:50 GMT

Please. Can we cease pretending this was a serious election event? I'm more knowledgable about issues than that demonstrated by either interviewer or interviewee ... But I have daughters who do synchronized swimming. (Would this disqualify me?)

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John Irvine — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:48:18 GMT

Let me tell you...there will be more wars my friend.
Don't blink, it could happen that fast

The John McCain Doctrine

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Ryan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:48:43 GMT

WE MUST THROW HOCKEY PUCKS AT THEM

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Paul Theis; Milwaukee, WI — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:49:50 GMT

OK, Colin Powell and Geraldine Ferraro, what more do you need to see? Ms. Palin's simplistic and uninformed responses were embarassing. Especially on the reasons why we were attacked on September 11, 2001. The Bush Doctrine? She obviously did not know that that is. She sounded very much like a beauty pageant contestant.

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LoOK — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:50:13 GMT

How prepared do her remarks seem? I can;t wait until she hits the real circuit and debates Biden. Let's see what she really thinks when she is on her own.

http://lastofourkind.blogspot.com

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Mark Thieme — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:50:57 GMT

The scariest thing about this is that there seems to be no wise woman or man who has enough clout in the republican party to redirect this situation.

Obviously, anyone with an IQ above 50 will vote against her just to save our collective skins...

But Karl Rove and Company have everything to lose if she loses and these people are more dangerous than Al Quaida...

These are the terrorists to fear and they seem to be pretty good at stealing things... putting lipstick on a Lara Croft knock-off.

The horror. The horror.

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Jake Liston — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:51:24 GMT

Is it just me or does this seem a little scripted.

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Scotty, Chigaty — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:51:40 GMT

I think it was pretty obviously that these were coached answers

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Tom, K — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:52:29 GMT

So now what is the difference between her answer on the question on Pakistan and what Obama has long advocated for and being carried out recently by Bush? Wow, I can see the headlines on drudge if Obama or Biden had said we should invade Russia if they attack Georgia again.

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Linda Schatzer — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:52:31 GMT

Omg she didnt even know what the Bush doctrine was lol. This is our next President possibly????? Scare me. And she repeated the same answer over and over again to Israel question.

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Linda, Allen, TX — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:52:36 GMT

Well, she has obviously learned the McCain talking points. And, as a good politician, she's also learned the non-answer, answer. Scary.

By the way, was there more to her first answer about the proximity of Russia to Alaska. If not, we should all fall down laughing.

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jtm, Edmonds, WA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:52:41 GMT

These non-answers are as palpably bad as they are scripted. If this is who would accompany a 72 yo President (with a cancer history) into the Whitehouse next Jan., we all should be very afraid.

The sad thing is that McCain did have good alternatives. He just chose politics over the public good.

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The Other Ed — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:52:46 GMT

After seeing the ABC interview, Palin is not ready to be President. Anyone with even a passing interest in foreign affairs is familar with the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive war and her not being able to answer shows that she was prepped with some set talking points and has no real inherent understanding of the issues.

She is not ready to be a heartbeat away from the leadership of the free world.

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Mike Jester, Exeter, california — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:52:53 GMT

Well scripted, automaton responses, I guess the McCain people really strapped her down, so that when she is asked to elaborate...she just repeats her "canned" response over and over until the interviewer gives up. Sounds just like the way McCain answers questions...except he also has the added option of "when i was a P.O.W."
Maybe when she gets in a corner she should blurt out "I shot a Moose once!" over and over until the interviewer succumbs to exasperation and gives up.

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Dawn, Hampton Roads, VA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:52:54 GMT

She did great. Of course Gibson was an a**.

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Eva, VA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:53:28 GMT

I can see my apartment neighbors doors from my door. That is enough to say I KNOW them?? We're doomed.

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Eric in LA — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:53:39 GMT

Palin is an idiot. If McCain/Pailin is elected, the USA will be a heartbeat away from a soccer mom deciding whether or not we go to Russia, allow Isreal and Iran enter into a regional conflict that will be the beginning of World War III, and invade soveirgn countries like Pakistan without their knowledge.