...
I will make this prediction, however: Palin will prove herself to be absolutely clueless on foreign policy.

Whether this will hurt her remains to be seen. George W. Bush's cluelessness in that regard did not hurt him in 2000 or even in 2004, by which time he had been conclusively proven to be a dunce on foreign affairs.
.

The problem Bush had, and which Palin will almost certainly have, is that there is an inherent contradiction in any conservative's involvement in foreign affairs. We conservatives by definition believe in small government and thus we concentrate on affairs closest to us. That's why I devote most of my writing to local and state politics.

The idea of a conservative rearranging the politics of, say, Iraq represents a contradiction in terms. Most people who profess to be conservatives are too poorly read to realize this, of course. But it remains true. And it is the reason that Bush's sole foreign policy position of any note in 2000 was an opposition to nation-building.

I suspect that Palin, should she rise to the presidency in the near future for some reason, would do an excellent job in the area of domestic politics for the simple reason that to do so one must simply oppose what those inside the Beltway propose.

But on foreign affairs I expect major gaffes. I suspect her general earnestness and religiosity to lead her to endorse every initiative the nonconservatives - a term that I am adopting to replace the oxymoronic "neoconservative" - propose.
...

[url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003844485]Surprise? First Two National Polls Find Palin Gains LESS Support from Women
[/url]
By Greg Mitchell | Published: August 30, 2008 1:35 PM ET

NEW YORK The first national polls on John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin yesterday came out today from Rasmussen and Gallup -- and contrary to what the GOP probably hoped, she scored less well with women than men.

Here's a finding from Gallup: Among Democratic women -- including those who may be disappointed that Hillary Clinton did not win the Democratic nomination -- 9% say Palin makes them more likely to support McCain, 15% less likely.

From Rasmussen: Some 38% of men said they were more likely to vote for McCain now, but only 32% of women. By a narrow 41% to 35% margin, men said she was not ready to be president -- but women soundly rejected her, 48% to 25%.
...

Posted September 11, 2008

In her interview today with ABC News’ Charles Gibson, Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin stated in no uncertain terms “we cannot repeat the Cold War”. However, in a follow-up question about a possible hot war with Russia, the Alaska Governor’s answer was an unsettlingly non-committal “perhaps”.
...

Earlier today, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin linked the Iraq war to the attacks of September 11, 2001, “telling an Iraq-bound brigade of soldiers that included her son that they would ‘defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.’” “America can never go back to that false sense of security that came before September 11, 2001,” said Palin at the deployment ceremony.
...

During her much anticipated interview with ABC’s Charles Gibson, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had a “deer-in-headlights moment” when Gibson asked her if she agreed with the Bush Doctrine. Surprised at the question, Palin asked Gibson what he meant. When Gibson asked, “Well, what do you interpret it to be?” Palin replied inquisitively, “His worldview?” Gibson then explained his understanding of the Bush Doctrine and asked if Palin agreed:

GIBSON: The Bush doctrine as I understand it is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense and we have the right of preemptive strike against any country we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that?

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

By Anne E. Kornblut

WASILLA, Alaska -- Aides to Gov. Sarah Palin are scrambling to explain details of her only trip outside North America -- which, according to a new report, did not include Iraq, as the McCain-Palin campaign had initially claimed.

Palin made an official visit to see Alaskan troops in Kuwait in July of 2007. There, she made a stop at a border crossing with Iraq, but did not actually visit the country, according to a new report in the Boston Globe.

Earlier, McCain aides had said that Palin visited Iraq, and expressed indignation at questions about her slim foreign travel.

The campaign also said she had been to Ireland; that turned out to have been a refueling stop.
...

...
She has ditched her previous talk of an “exit plan” for Iraq, and now supports John McCain’s endless war. At a troop deployment ceremony last week, Palin even linked Iraq to 9/11.

Palin’s hawkish turn is likely due to the influence of neoconservatives who have made Palin their new pet project.
...