House of Eratosthenes

Nevertheless, I eagerly await someone to approach me with an argument that this was a fair, enlightening interview around the 1:48 mark, at which point Mr. Bounds directly and substantially addressed the question put before him…something I rarely see Messrs. Obama or Biden do, ever.

And it’s pretty damned embarrassing when the Los Angeles Times does a better job than you do at being impartial, even-handed, fair and educational. Good on ya, LAT. When people talk about presenting both sides, I think most would agree this is what they have in mind.

Seeking to buttress the foreign policy credentials of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Republicans have repeatedly cited the vice presidential nominee’s experience as commander of the Alaska National Guard.

As governor, Palin oversees military units whose duties include serving overseas, search-and-rescue missions across the state’s vast landscape and manning key elements of the U.S. missile defense system at Ft. Greely. But foreign deployments of Guard units and the operation of national defense assets like the Ft. Greely missile interceptors are not the responsibility of state governors. Those functions come under the regular U.S. military chain of command.
:
Overseeing a state Guard is a “chief executive role” with real management responsibilities, said Mark Allen, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau, the federal office that coordinates state National Guards.

“I don’t think people should think it is a casual relationship, or is like the king putting on the medals,” Allen said. “It is not that at all. But the role of the governor is to use the Guard to help the citizens of a state, as opposed to declaring war on a neighboring state.”

See, that’s called presenting both sides. Pro and con. Letting the readers decide for themselves. Campbell Brown could stand to learn something from this…but why in the world should she? She’s proven herself so adept at giving a speech and making it look like an interview.

The article goes on to point out something that hasn’t received a great deal of mention in this little tempest-in-a-teapot —

The Alaska National Guard is unusual in that its jobs include manning part of the U.S. missile defense system. The 49th Missile Defense Battalion works on interceptor missiles designed to shoot down intercontinental missiles.

Members of the Alaska National Guard also were deployed to Iraq, and Palin visited their unit in July 2007. The McCain campaign has pointed to that experience as an example of Palin’s foreign policy background. [emphasis mine]

So it really depends on the point of comparison you’re trying to make. If you’re asking whether the Republican ticket substantially improved its foreign policy credentials the day McCain picked Gov. Palin to be his running mate, the honest answer is no, of course what she possesses in terms of this kind of experience is next to insignificant. If what’s being asked is whether the McCain/Palin ticket is superior to the Obama/Biden ticket in this area of experience, even if something should happen to President McCain on his very first day, then the answer is absolutely yes…and the responsibility as the commander of Alaska’s National Guard, is relevant to qualifying that.

Nevertheless, I do have to admit that where the conversation is going — McCain and Palin are sworn in on a Tuesday, McCain has to step down on that Wednesday, then a standoff emerges on Thursday with Achmadinijad. Can Sarah Palin negotiate with this guy? The answer is probably: Somewhat, but no better than anyone else who is somehow competent to communicate verbally, and briefed here-and-there in whatever way incoming Vice Presidents are briefed.

She has very little helpful experience here. National Guard Commander is worth mentioning elsewhere, but not quite so much here…just admit it. In fact, let’s have a national debate about just that.

But let’s follow through on this good habit, and be even-handed about it. Which means some firm, scrutinizing questions are directed toward the An Idea Bomb guys. Gone, forever, are the days of skating by with weak cliches like “we need to talk with our enemies” — please, Senators, if you could, elaborate on what would be going on in those talks. What would be asked? What would be granted? What would the goals be of such talks, exactly?

I mean, really, how many questions can you think of to ask, that are more important? It’d be only fair.

Yeah, I know. I’m dreaming. Well, back in the world of reality…we’ll be right back with the next soapbox-speech thinly disguised as an interview, after a brief word from our sponsors…

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Campbell Brown’s Speech…I Mean, Er, InterviewFriday, September 26th, 2008

Campbell Brown’s Speech…I Mean, Er, Interview
Friday, September 26th, 2008