Palin traveled abroad rarely
By Bryan Bender and Sasha Issenberg, Globe staff
ST.PAUL _ Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin got her first passport in 2006 and has visited just four countries, and she had little involvement in her state's cross-border issues, raising questions about her supporters' assertions that Alaska's proximity to Russia has given her unique experience on foreign affairs.
In seeking to demonstrate the first-term Alaska governor's readiness to be John McCain's second-in-command, campaign officials have maintained that Palin has had to deal with a range of security challenges and diplomatic and trade issues.
However, a review of Palin's 20 months in office shows that aside from overseeing the National Guard's state-level emergency missions, as all governors do, the first-term governor played no role in any territorial defense or other national defense operations involving military forces. In an interview with the Globe, the head of the Alaska National Guard said her role commanding the National Guard was no different from that of any other governor.
Palin has also visited one fewer country than originally acknowledged by her Alaska office. Earlier in the week, the governor's Alaska spokeswoman was quoted as saying Palin had traveled to Iraq, Kuwait, Germany, and Ireland, McCain campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella acknowledged yesterday that Ireland was only a refueling stop on a trip in July 2007 to visit Alaskan National Guard troops in Kuwait and Iraq.
Comella said today that the 2007 trip was her only foreign travel apart from visits to Canada. Comella said Palin first received a passport in 2006. The New York Times reported last week that Palin had traveled very little, and had needed to apply for a passport so she could visit the troops.
According to Alaskan officials and Alaska political analysts, Palin has demonstrated little interest in expanding the state's trade ties with neighboring Canada or Russia compared with some of her predecessors.
"So far as I know, Sarah has not been involved in international affairs whatsoever," said Victor Fischer, professor emeritus at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage, a Democrat and former state senator. "Alaska is a large state, there's a lot going on within the state. We've had governors who have been very involved with world issues, but she's concentrated pretty much on the domestic side."
Palin's knowledge of international affairs and security issues is likely to be tested when she debates her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Comella said yesterday she had been huddling with the campaign's top foreign policy and national security aides this week to study the issues.
One line of attack for Democrats is likely to be McCain's contention that being head of the Alaska National Guard gives her special experience in national security matters.
"She's been commander-in-chief of the Alaska National Guard," McCain said in a refrain repeated often by GOP leaders this week. "I am proud of her knowledge."
McCain's wife Cindy, meanwhile, has cited the specter of neighboring Russia as preparing her for the vice presidency. "Remember that Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia," she said this week in an appearance on ABC News on Sunday.
Due to its strategic location, Alaska has a large number of military installations established during the Cold War to keep watch on Russia, including Elmendorf Air Force Base, home of the Air Force's 3rd Wing, and Forts Wainwright and Richardson, where active-duty Army units are stationed for operations in the Pacific. The Aleutian Islands chain that runs southwest toward the Russian coast is also home to sensitive radar installations.
But those units are under the control of the president, not the state governor, according to top military officials and specialists.
And while the Alaska National Guard operates a launch site for a US anti-missile system at Fort Greely, about 100 miles south of Fairbanks, the Alaskan governor is not in the site's chain of command and has no authority over its operations, according to Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell, the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard who commands the roughly 3,800 state militia members.
"Our National Guard is basically just like any National Guard," Campbell, a native of Springfield, Mass., said by telephone. "You could call [Adjutant General] Joe Carter in Massachusetts and he would say he is organized the same way."
Nor are the recent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan by the Alaska National Guard under Palin's purview, despite assertions this week by McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds to that effect. "She is head of the National Guard that has been deployed overseas," Bounds said. "That's foreign policy experience,"
Campbell also said that Palin has authority over the National Guard's domestic missions -- such as fighting wildfires and rescuing stranded residents, but that she has a limited role in determining how the forces are trained or equipped.
About 75 percent of the Guard's budget, he said, is the purview of the National Guard Bureau in Washington, which is responsible for ensuring the Guard is prepared to be called up by the president in a time of war. Her primary role, he said, is in recruiting National Guard volunteers.
Campbell said he has met with Palin about once a month, but communicates with her by phone and email more frequently. Earlier this week, he noted, she ordered the Air National Guard to fly a planeload of supplies to hurricane victims in the Gulf Coast.
"She is very much engaged in what we are doing and she asks a lot of questions," Campbell said. "Maybe not the most engaged, but definitely engaged. She is very much involved in ensuring that I am recruiting enough people."
"The notion that she is experienced because she is commander-in-chief of the Alaska National Guard is not going to get you very far," said John Pike, a military specialist at GlobalSecurity.org, a nonpartisan think tank in Alexandria, Virginia. "It's awfully thin."
The McCain campaign has also cited other foreign policy experience, including in the area of trade and energy issues.
"She's got experience in a state which has unique features," said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a McCain policy adviser. "It has to address issues in international trade in a way most governors don't."
But Palin has demonstrated limited initiative on such cross-border issues compared to previous governors, according to Alaskans who deal with cross-border trade. Among her predecessors, Walter Hickel, a Republican first elected in the 1960s, proposed a "Multi-Modal Transport Corridor" across the Bering Strait, which he imagined would link the Trans-Siberia Railway to American train lines. Democrat Tony Knowles, whom Palin defeated in 2006, pursued expanded trade opportunities, particularly for Alaskan seafood, with Taiwan during the 1990s.
Russ Howell, director of the American Russia Center in Anchorage, said that while there is much interest in Russia on the part of Alaskan oil-field companies whose expertise is expected to be crucial to future gas-exploration in eastern Russia, Palin has not played a noticeable role.
The center has helped to facilitate contact between business and government leaders on both sides during past gubernatorial administrations.
"I have not heard that Governor Palin has done anything like that and we have had no contact with her about visiting Russian officials," said Howell. "There have been certain governors that have taken in an interest in the Russian Far East, but I don't see that happening under Governor Palin."
Asked to respond to contentions that Palin does not have sufficient foreign policy experience, spokeswoman Comella said: "Governor Palin has the judgment required for these dangerous times and the background as an executive making tough decisions needed to manage large organizations. She oversees responsibility for the National Guard and State Defense Force responsible for responding to state emergencies and has displayed leadership in the energy security discussion."
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Sarah Palin's church is a cult. Look it up. They're insane, she's insane, and I don't want her imaginary friend telling her to blow stuff up in the name of jesus. She is not a candidate of tollerance. If you live in the United States and you're not a member of the Assembly of God, you can't let this woman near Washington D.C. and value your freedom at the same time.
Hypocrisy of the Grande Old Party
If you grow up in Hawaii you're "exotic." But if you grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, you're the quintessential "American story."
If you name you kid Barack you're "unpatriotic." But if you name your kid Track, you're "colorful."
If you say that for the "first time in my adult lifetime I'm really proud of my country, you are "unfit" to be First Lady. If you are a registered member of a fringe political group know as Alaska Independent Party that advocates secession from US you are fit to be a patriotic "First Dude."
If you are a pregnant black teen, you represent "crisis" in black America. But if you are a pregnant white teen you represent “blessed family values."
If you're a Democrat and make a VP pick without fully vetting the individual you're reckless. But if you a Republican and vet your VP once for 15 minutes you are a maverick.
If you are a female democratic and complain about sexism, you are a whiner. But if you are a female republican, you are being subjected to sex-discrimination.
When major public and community accomplishment of Hillary were discussed she was considered as a divisive person. But when the minute accomplishments of Sarah are described, she is considered as a work horse reformer.
If you are democrat female running for a high office you are considered s rebel. But if you are republican you are considered as historical.
I have been listening to all the coverage on the radio and Ammerica will like her not obama
I can only see ONE reason why McCain would pick the most attractive, but least experienced female Republican Governor or Senator. And it's not a good one, given all the ugly rumors.
Who cares? Why is this being put out there as news? She was the governor of Alaska! Should she spend her time overseas? Idiotic.
This gal just keeps getting better. I know the Republicans want to wash right over the issue of her daughter, but if it was the other way. I could see that fat pig Rush Limpbaugh, and FOX noise going on for ever about family values.
Palin also wants to take the Polar bear off the endagered species list. My guess is the Alaska Oil company's put this mindless bimbo in the Governors seat, and now the Oil Company's want to put McLame, and his trailer trash VP in the White House. I think not.
And she also received more votes than Biden did! HA!!!
In order to have 'balanced" reporting,and be true news reporting ,how about the same evaluation of Obama for comparison."truth in journalism".OH I long for the days when both views,comparisons,were reported in the same article!
I wasn't going to vote for John McCain. But the thinly-veiled attacks by you and the other left-wing media have convinced me to change my mind. So, keep on carrying the water for Obama instead of unbiased reporting. You'll insure a Republican vicyory in November.
THIS IS FRIGHTENING WHEN YOU CONSIDER SHE COULD BE PRESIDENT OF THE US
I especially like cindy mccain's comments about alaska being close to russia. I guess she hasn't checked the map to see where moscow is:)
Where's the article on Obama's travel itenerary? Palin isn't the candidate at the top of the ticket, McCain is. You exclusive negative tone/spin on everything about the VP nominee is really pretty silly. Get on with reporting and less time focused on where the candidates spent their summer vacation.
Gov. Palin hasn't chosen to use state taxpayer dollars to fund world tours, except to visit Alaska troops stationed in Kuwait and Iraq, and to visit wounded soldiers in Germany (something, by the way, the Democratic PRESIDENTIAL candidate has never done).
Since you're focused on thin resumes, would you mind telling me how long a piece you two did on Sen. Obama's executive or command experience? Since that experience is limited to operating a lemonade stand one summer day in 1970, I assume it would have been a pretty short piece, unless you puffed it up with quotes to make him look as unqualified to be PRESIDENT, as you did to make Gov. Palin look unqualified for the same office, an office she isn't seeking, by the way.
Thanks for a well-written fact-based article.
boy, you guys are really scraping the bottom of the barrell here looking for anything to destroy palin. its really ugly and extremely obvious to us all. what on earth do you think you're accomplishing by pointing out minutia of the kind you do here, when the woman is running for VP not President? and if you really think about it, she has MORE experience in this area than Obama has? Hmmm? Did you think of that before you wrote this? Geez, we're not that stupid!
"one fewer country than originally acknowledged by her Alaska office..."
Just a nitpick. You can't "acknowledge" something if it is not true. You can "claim, contend or assert", but not "acknowledge".
She is a compelling personality, an extraordinarily gifted speaker, very telegenic and extremely likeable....which makes her a formidable candidate. But what about AFTER the election? She is wrong on every issue, economic, international and social.....and is absolutely unqualified to step in and lead this country if John McCain should be hospitalized even for a week. She will be totally dependent on the Secretary of State to tell her what to do, and we have no idea who that will be.
This is a well intentioned, but dangerously misguided, ticket. They have great speechwriters and they have successfully repositioned McCain in just 5 days. But can they govern well? Absolutely not.
Does Obama have as much experience as McCain? Of course not. But he sees the world as it actually is rather than through McCain's 1950s POV. His temperment and his judgment are especially well suited to these difficult times, unlike McCain's. He is knowledgeable on the issues and has had extensive campaign experience of being directly tested and vetted. He surrounds himself with smart advisors and is willing to listen to, AND LEARN FROM, both sides.
Both McCain and Palin are extremely likeable.....but remember, that's what got George Bush elected and look how that turned out. The McCain/Palin ticket is driven by antiquated ideas, personal "convictions" delivered by God rather than honed from reality, and a profoundly disrespectful view of anyone who is not a hardline Christian conservative.
The Republican convention speeches have been extraordinarily contemptful of any one who doesn't agree 100% with them. Don't want to invade Iran and Russia on day one? You're unqualified to be Commander In Chief. Don't want to drill for oil? You're not patriotic enough. Believe in choice? You're the "angry" fringe. Contrast that with Obama's point of view, which is one of inclusion, one that doesn't marginalize the vast majority of America in favor of promoting exclusively the agenda of the religious right. He tries to find the common ground that we can agree on, that bring all Americans into the process.
All presidents will make mistakes. I want a president who will learn from them and not make the same mistakes twice. Palin's got a pregnant daughter, but still doesn't see the value of sex education? Gotta wonder about her ability to adjust to changing realities.
I don't want a Presidential ticket that thinks we're all Georgians. We're not. We're Americans and it is not to America's advantage to start a military war with Russia over what is basically a civil war and one in which the Georgians made the first military move. Have we learned nothing from Vietnam, Iraq, etc? Military "solutions", particularly ones with no endgame, are not to our advantage unless there is absolutely no other choice. I don't want a Presidential ticket that advocates teaching Creationism in our schools. We're fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan....why are we thinking of electing them at home? I don't want a Presidential ticket that thinks that anyone who doesn't agree with the Republican right is a fringe lunatic. We've had that ticket for the last 8 years and look where they have taken our country.
This is a savvy election pick by McCain....he's got someone as telegenic as Obama and now they will control the news cycle for the next 8 weeks.....but a terrible governing pick. Let's hope America is smarter than we've proven to be the last two times.
It is my understanding that her 'visit' to Ireland was a refueling stop at Shannon airport. If that's true, then John McCain seems to be asserting that visiting a Duty Free shop and a rest room constitutes foreign policy experience. As a journalist, are you buying that? If you know it was an actual visit to Ireland, then please don't publish this comment.
For those of you who think that this article isn't relevant, the McCain campaign's ludicrous claims make it highly relevant. To assert that Alaska's proximity to Russia and time spent as Commander in Chief of the ANG are foreign policy credentials is ridiculous and moronic.
If Palin is more qualified than Obama and Biden, then tell me if she has done any of these things:
- been a member of the Senate Foreign relations committee for many years
- developed comprehensive and coherent plans on Iraq, Iran, Israel, Africa, Russia, China, and Pakistan
- travelled abroad and met with foreign leaders
- voted on numerous treaties, international aid bills, and defense appropriations
- worked extensively with current and former diplomats
- met with military leaders and questioned them in committee sessions
Legislators make decisions all the time. They run their office, take positions on every bill, develop and co-sponsor legislation, etc. Obama will have 12 years of state and federal government experience by the end of this year. 12 years. 12 is greater than 2. Period.
Calling McCain camp on their VP picks trumped up resume (which most people call "lying") does not equal "carrying the water for Obama" -- it's called journalism.
For those trying to compare her credentials to Obama's I suggest that is not the issue. It is McCain and the Republicans who have been making Obama's "lack of experience" the issue. Does McCain truly believe that someone with Obama's experience lacks the qualifications to become president? If so, then what does that show about his judgement in putting someone with fewer qualifications a heartbeat away from the presidency? If McCain doesn't truly believe that, then why is he lying to us? It's all a reflection on McCain's judgement. He's proven in his first presidential appointment, and most important decision of his campaign that he does not consider the ramifications before he acts. He has a shoot from the hip mentality. Do we really want someone with that lack of judgement sending our sons and daughters into harm's way? Can America really afford to have McCain making decisions that affect our lives with the amount of care that he gave to the selection of his VP?
Biden received 75,000 plus votes. That's more than 10% of the entire population of Alaska. Try checking your facts before you comment.
This is insulting. All this talk that Palin "fights back" in the headlines. Fights back against who? The McCain camp tried to pull Obama in to attack Palin so that they could play this "tough, fight back" position. But, when Obama didn't retaliate with what they expected, they started making up the retaliations themselves and labeling "they" as saying them, hoping Americans would interpret "they" as the Obama camp.
I don't think Americans are that stupid to fall for these mind games. Talk about the issues. Stop trying to make the country's issues about who is a man or a woman. No one from Obama's camp was noted as saying anything about her being a female or about being a bad mother for having 5 children and taken on this campaign. When these comments are said in the media, the ones saying them are the Republicans themselves.
Considering how "conservative" the party is, they are sure taking an extremely understanding view of Palin and her career and family circumstances. Let the roles be reversed (for example, Obama having a pregnant teenage daughter) and McCain's camp would be slamming his character, saying what a horrible father he must be and how bad a president he would be. I think the #2 comment above by jammie, says it best with pointing out the hyprocrisy of the Republicans.
To the McCain republicans: stop trying to distract us (the ones that don't support McCain) with crazy family drama from Palin, with the nasty and false attacks on Obama and with playing the gender sexism card. All this simply underlines that they just "don't get" what Americans are really worried about and what we really want to hear.
I have heard this question frequently, "If Palin were a man would we be asking these questions?" What I'd like to ask some of you, honestly, would you be asking some of your questions if Senator Obama was a white man? This whole thing is going to get ugly I can tell after watching Palins devisive speech last night. McCain should be ashamed of himself for using the far right to try and win this election. Obama/Biden '08
I am not concerned with her travel itinerary but I have a number of concerns about her acceptance speech. I did not walk away as a women voter wanting to render my vote for her many snide comments.
The press I believe is doing the same job that it always has with an election and to whine about it is showing your inexperience. The Republican party needs to do something besides make mudslinging commericals and persist in namecalling to gain my vote. I would like to see issues attacked verses people.
Obama an elitist. Are they looking at what elitism is? Elitism is the belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources. When you read this definition, of the two candidates which comes to mind? How about not knowing how many homes you have and then it is reported you have seven? I would say across the board McCain would be considered more of an elitist and I still believe omission is lying as well. If you have them no big deal, but to not know means you are being senile and your memory is slipping or you have so much abundance that you can not keep a track of it. Either way can you understand what I am going through in this present housing market, can you understand my concern over how to feed my family, my desire to send my children to college, or the rising prices of gas.
Obama has been criticized for being a celebrity but journalism just reports on what sells and if you are doing nothing then there is nothing to say about you. So come on Republican party give us something more to make us feel that your candidates are worthy of leading this nation.
Bottom line I am tired of the drama and want to get down line by line about the issues.
To all who wish to compare Palin's "executive experience" to Obama's keep in mind that a.) she is not running for president so her minute experience is a moot point, and b). the job she is running for historically relies on legislative experience.
The full extent of Sarah Palin's legislative experience is four years on Wasilla's City Council (population somewhere between 5,000 and 9,000, nobody seems to know for sure).
In contrast, Joe Biden has spent 36 years in the US Senate, and before that 2 years on the New Castle County Council (New Castle County, Delaware has a population of 500,000).
Boston is closer to Moscow than Juneau is, as are the capitals of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut. Augusta is the closest. Would John McCain ever tout Howard Dean's foreign policy experience?
I want the person a heartbeat away from becoming President to be a human being, not a pit bull with lipstick. McCain can no longer claim that he puts America first. Most of the responses to Palin seem to be negative, except for the true believers in the "base." It appears that this nomination will finish his already slim chances in the election, as well it should.
Wait a minute...how can you seek to be "Leader of the Free World" when, after more than 40 years, you've never bothered to go see how the world works first hand? How about at least trying to promote trade? I live under the Governator (R-CA) and he's constantly globetrotting and drumming up opportunities for California.
Forget a moment about how many countries she's visited (...or more to the point, has NOT visited) and tell me "HOW MANY STATES HAS SHE VISITED?" Seriously.
Well at least she visited her troops - including the wounded - in Kuwait and Iraq. Obama had a fleeting thought about visiting injured Americans in Germany, but opted to go shopping instead.
How many Blackhawk helicopter pilots, who were shot down in Iraq, walked off the Republican Convention stage on two artificial legs after telling the world how their presidential candidate, as a Senator working for our nation, visited them in Walter Reed Military Hospital, without TV cameras in tow, as they were recovering from the loss of their legs?
Sarah Palin needs to check on the Alaska Guard Generals often. They are nothing but self serving politicians and pathetic leaders. Giving General Campbell another star did not further the cause of the Alaska Guard. It's unprecedented and undeserved and hyprocrisy. He is nothing but a self serving politician and caters to his cronies and good old boys. The Generals need investigating. The Guardsmen do an outstanding job with few exceptions (the Generals' cronies.)
Sarah Palin is a big disappointment as far as controlling what goes on in the Alaska National Guard leadership. As the parent of an Alaskan National Guardsman who served 2 tours in Afghanistan with great bravery and honor, I am angry about the treatment he received from the Guard's Generals. He will not speak out due to retaliation and is going to get out of the military. However, after he is out, we are going to the media on all of the injustices perpetrated by the Generals and how it was ignored by the Governor.