.

[Senator Sbane]

In defense of "our" girl, here is a copy and past for NRO's The Corner. For every offense, there is a defense.

came from a reader who plays the game and it jibes with my knowledge.

Alaska is the first line of defense in our missile interceptor defense system.  The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska National Guard is the unit that protects the entire nation from ballistic missile attacks.  It’s on permanent active duty, unlike other Guard units.

As governor of Alaska, Palin is briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counterterrorism.  Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's.

She's also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security's counterterrorism plans.

Palin is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital to the entire country's defense.  Given Alaska's proximity to Russia, she may have security clearances we don't even know about.

According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in February, but nobody ever found out.  This is a woman used to keeping secrets.

She can be entrusted with our national security, because she already is.

All resistance to Palin is futile. Give it up.

So she has more foreign experience than Biden. LOL. Who is this quote from again? Newty?

[Torie]

Palin does have foreign policy experience, sbane. Your bat is hitting nothing but air.

The problem is that the bumblers got sucked into the national guard red herring tarbaby. One needs to pick the right terrain to to defend, and avoid charging up cemetery hill.

[Pictor Ignotus]

What Gingrich said was BS, but his execution was flawless. The reporter looked like an idiot. They're all looking like idiots. I miss Russert. The man knew how to ask a question.

[HardRCafé]

As ridiculous, of course, as glossing over Palin's time as governor of a state with ridiculous riders like "oh, it's not that big of a state."

I have enjoyed the drumbeat online and off that Alaska is a stupid state of nothing but inbreds.  Very educational!

[InsaneTrollLogic]

So, somehow she is very well expierenced, but we don't know about it?

[JSojourner]

PWNS?  What does PWN mean?  Aren't you missing a vowel?

[memphis]

Maybe I can find Dan Rostenkowsi for retort. Nobody has cared about Gingrich in ten years.

[cinyc]

2007-onward
Obama:
Senator & Major Presidential Candidate Debating the Issues Every Day & Overseeing Own Campaign

Palin:
Governor of a small state

2005-2006
Obama:
U.S. Senator

Palin:
Mayor of tiny town of 6,000

1996-2004
Obama:
State Senator for District of 653,647 people, dealing with statewide issues in the legislature.

Palin:
Mayor of tiny town of 6,000

I'm not even going to get into previous education because I don't believe it necessarily defines intelligence. But there is NO COMPARISON here, folks. No Comparison.

WRONG.  Governor Palin was mayor of Wasilla from 1996-2002.  She was not a "small town mayor" two years ago.  Repeating a lie over and over and over again doesn't make it correct.

Palin was the CHAIRMAN of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Board from 2003-2004.   Obama was a State Senator, running his mouth running for Senate.  Energy is a key issue in this campaign.  Yet partisan Democrats rarely giver her credit for that.

Palin resigned from that post because she was concerned about ethical violations by a fellow commissioner, who was the REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN.  That could have killed her political career.  The chairman was FINED $12,000 for those violations, and she won the governor's race in 2006 DESPITE taking on her own party.  Barack Obama has NEVER taken on corrupt Democrats.  Because we all know there are no corrupt Democrats in Chicago.

She was also on the Wasilla City Council while Obama was a "community organizer".  I still don't know what a "community organizer" is or does - but I darn well know what a city council does.

[cinyc]

And as people have repeatedly pointed out, the Pentagon and General Petraeus command the Alaskan National Guard, not Sarah.

Those "people", whoever they are, are wrong and don't understand federalism.  A governor commands all state national guard units unless a unit is nationalized.  If there's a major natural disaster where the Alaska National Guard is needed, the governor is responsible for calling members to active duty, NOT the President.  And Alaska has its own separate defense force that is never under federal control.

Try again.

[Lіef]

And as people have repeatedly pointed out, the Pentagon and General Petraeus command the Alaskan National Guard, not Sarah.

Those "people", whoever they are, are wrong and don't understand federalism.  A governor commands all state national guard units unless a unit is nationalized.  If there's a major natural disaster where the Alaska National Guard is needed, the governor is responsible for calling members to active duty, NOT the President.  And Alaska has its own separate defense force that is never under federal control.

Try again.

And the Alaskan National Guard has been nationalized, as it's currently serving in Iraq. And as far as I know, there hasn't been a significant natural disaster in Alaska under Palin's tenure.

[Gravis Marketing]

Palin:
Governor of a small state

I'm glad you didn't/wouldn't have supported Jimmy Carter in 1976 or Bill Clinton in 1992.

Georgia is not and was not a small state. Arkansas, yeah, small state, but not only was it 4 times the size of Alaska, but Bill Clinton had been governor for 12 years. Doesn't matter, Bush Sr. ran ads against Clinton on the same line of attack that McCain supporters now argue is no longer operative because Sarah's a woman.

[Pictor Ignotus]

Just to go down memory lane, these are two of my favorites from Gingrich:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=2937633&page=1

Constantly espousing family values even while he carried on an affair, Gingrich linked his party to wholesome family values and Democrats to, well, something else.

During the 1992 Democratic National Convention, Gingrich said, "Woody Allen having nonincest with a nondaughter to whom he was a nonfather because they were a nonfamily fits the Democratic platform perfectly."

In 1994, Gingrich linked Democrats to Susan Smith, a woman who had murdered her two children in 1991.

"I think that the mother killing the two children in South Carolina vividly reminds every American how sick the society is getting and how much we need to change things," he said. "The only way you get change is to vote Republican."

[Former Moderate]

And, of course, George Bush's time as governor of Texas didn't matter, because Texas is a weak governorship.  Alaska's constitution is modeled after New Jersey's (how's that for a trivia question), meaning that they have a "strong" governorship.

Does it really matter how many people are in the state?  Not for those here and elsewhere who considered Gov. Schweitzer a strong candidate for the Vice Presidency.  (How much experience does he have, anyway?)

Alaska has a massive amount of oil wealth that must be managed and redistributed to state residents.  Contracts and deals must be made with foreign entities.

Though not especially populous, it has a tremendous amount of land area, creating challenges that are unique to Alaska.

Honestly, any type of executive experience should be seen as a plus, considering the lack there of with Obama, Biden, and McCain.

[Gravis Marketing]

Does it really matter how many people are in the state? 

Yes, it does, unless supporting your ticket depends on believing it doesn't.

[cinyc]

And as people have repeatedly pointed out, the Pentagon and General Petraeus command the Alaskan National Guard, not Sarah.

Those "people", whoever they are, are wrong and don't understand federalism.  A governor commands all state national guard units unless a unit is nationalized.  If there's a major natural disaster where the Alaska National Guard is needed, the governor is responsible for calling members to active duty, NOT the President.  And Alaska has its own separate defense force that is never under federal control.

Try again.

And the Alaskan National Guard has been nationalized, as it's currently serving in Iraq. And as far as I know, there hasn't been a significant natural disaster in Alaska under Palin's tenure.

Some COMPANIES/UNITS from the Alaska Army National Guard have been nationalized to serve in Iraq, but I seriously doubt the whole Guard was sent to Iraq at the same time.  The DoD wouldn't do that.  And to my knowledge, the Alaska Air National Guard has not been deployed to Iraq.

There have been natural disasters under Palin's tenure - at a minimum,  river flooding in the Fairbanks area, a fire on the Kenai Peninsula and a Volcano Eruption in the Aleutians.  Count the number of state agencies involved in the recent Chena River Flood.  Hint: The Alaska Army National Guard was there  (along with the Alaska Air National Guard, Alaska State Troopers, and Alaska Homeland Security... among many others).

But we all KNOW Barack Obama has more experience dealing with natural disasters than Sarah Palin because he's talked about it on the Senate floor....

[Gravis Marketing]

There have been natural disasters under Palin's tenure - at a minimum,  river flooding in the Fairbanks area, a fire on the Kenai Peninsula and a Volcano Eruption in the Aleutians.  Count the number of state agencies involved in the recent Chena River Flood.  Hint: The Alaska Army National Guard was there  (along with the Alaska Air National Guard, Alaska State Troopers, and Alaska Homeland Security... among many others).

Come on, though. Do you think Palin was hands on in helping to put out that fire in the Kenai Peninsula as Commander of the Alaska National Guard? I'm sure she got some reports from them, that's great, but do people really think that hearing "there's a fire" "we're fighting it" "fire's out" is the kind of standard that is so awesomely executive that it outweighs Barack Obama, say, meeting with foreign leaders?

[HardRCafé]

Does it really matter how many people are in the state? 

Yes, it does, unless supporting your ticket depends on believing it doesn't.

So, Biden was a crappy pick, too.

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

What was Olberman's response?

You mean to suggest that Olbermann's responses to anything are entirely predictable?  Surely you jest.

Is there a video of Olbermann's response somewhere?  I wanted to see it.

[Gravis Marketing]

Does it really matter how many people are in the state? 

Yes, it does, unless supporting your ticket depends on believing it doesn't.

So, Biden was a crappy pick, too.

That's asinine on two different counts. You should have gone with the Schweitzer angle.

[Keystone Phil]

Palin:
Governor of a small state

I'm glad you didn't/wouldn't have supported Jimmy Carter in 1976 or Bill Clinton in 1992.

Georgia is not and was not a small state. Arkansas, yeah, small state, but not only was it 4 times the size of Alaska, but Bill Clinton had been governor for 12 years. Doesn't matter, Bush Sr. ran ads against Clinton on the same line of attack that McCain supporters now argue is no longer operative because Sarah's a woman.

Sorry, I mixed arguments. That was supposed to go under the "only Governor for a short period of time" category.

Arkansas is still a small state, regardless of how much bigger it is compared to another. Yes, Clinton had more time as Governor but that doesn't take away from the argument that he had no foreign policy experience and only had to run a small state.

We don't argue that you can't criticize Palin because she's a woman. I'm tired of hearing about how smart and fair you are when you use stuff like this.

Bush, Sr. highlighted an advantage he had but I, personally, don't think that disqualified Clinton. You guys claim that it disqualifies Palin but it was good enough for Clinton.

[HardRCafé]

That's asinine on two different counts. You should have gone with the Schweitzer angle.

Delaware just underwent a population surge?

[Gravis Marketing]

We don't argue that you can't criticize Palin because she's a woman. I'm tired of hearing about how smart and fair you are when you use stuff like this.

The woman thing is the McCain campaign today and their surrogates. Carly Fiorina had a stupid comment about it. No one here is doing it, at least, no one's doing it that I've cared about.

[Gravis Marketing]

That's asinine on two different counts. You should have gone with the Schweitzer angle.

Delaware just underwent a population surge?

Biden's qualifications aren't that he managed the state's business, but that he's been a senator for ages and involved in foreign affairs. For something like that, it doesn't matter much if you're from a small state or a large state, because every senator is potentially equal, although surely it's harder to get to the Senate in the first place from a large state. (No one holds up the current senators from Florida as the brightest lights in the body, for example, while small states can produce senators of note.)

If he were governor of Delaware--or Vermont, for an even smaller state and one with no urban concerns whatsoever--it would be relevant.

[??????????]

If he were governor of Delaware--or Vermont, for an even smaller state and one with no urban concerns whatsoever--it would be relevant.

Yeah, no one from middle America or small town America should ever run for high office!

[Former Moderate]

We don't argue that you can't criticize Palin because she's a woman. I'm tired of hearing about how smart and fair you are when you use stuff like this.

The woman thing is the McCain campaign today and their surrogates. Carly Fiorina had a stupid comment about it. No one here is doing it, at least, no one's doing it that I've cared about.

Certainly Palin has been held to a double standard that would not be applied to a male.  Specifically, the charges that she is somehow neglecting her family and a down syndrome baby by trying to further her own career.  Because a woman should take care of the family first, hur hur hur.