[Vision2020] GOP Sen. Hagel: Palin Has No Foreign Policy Credentials

[Saundra Lund]

Thanks for posting this article, Nick.  Sen. Hagel's thoughts mirror those of *many* of my Republican friends who were initially enthused by the sleeper VP candidate, but who have become disillusioned now that her credentials and executive decisions are seeing the light of day.  Well, I guess those executive decisions might not see the light of day now that the McCain/Palin ticket has brought in those high-priced "consultants" to try to shut down Troopergate -- that investigation Palin lied by saying she welcomed --  until after the election.

"Rhetorical" question:  should the McCain/Palin ticket win, what would be our "we-the-people" recourse if we wind up with a VP who is proven to have abused her power as governor?  Would that be another freebie for the GOP?  I suppose impeachment might be an option, but would it be a realistic option?

As for the GOP party line, I'm not sure there is one anymore . . . I can't recall a time in my life when I've seen a political party so eager to shed the "uniform."  Of course, they really have no choice but to try to distance themselves from their chosen political party to have *any* hope of winning the election, particularly given our current economic crisis -- I guess the consequences of deregulation didn't work out so well for the anti-choice Palin/McCain ticket.  Oops . . . that's the McCain/Palin ticket!  No wonder I'm confused given that Palin herself seems to be confused  :-)

I'll tell ya -- I've been giving prayers of thanksgiving multiple times a day for the past couple of days that the GOP's various plans to privatize Social Security were stopped.  I've got quite a few older "regular" American friends who rely on their monthly SS checks for luxuries like paying the rent, food, power bills, and skyrocketing medical costs (thanks to the laissez faire mentality regarding necessities).  I shudder to think of the consequences had that money made it into the hands of those greedy Wall Street b*st*rsds  & the "casino culture" McCain has been attacking of late.



Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.
~ Edmund Burke

***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2008 through life plus 70 years, Saundra Lund.  Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside the Vision 2020 forum without the express written permission of the author.*****


-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of nickgier at roadrunner.com
Sent: Thursday, September 18, 2008 9:43 AM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] GOP Sen. Hagel: Palin Has No Foreign Policy Credentials

Greetings:

With regard to having a border with Alaska, Hagel: "I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, 'I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia,'" he said. "That kind of thing is insulting to the American people."

Wouldn't it wonderful if other Republicans were as honest about this as Hagel is.  Or I guess he is not a Republican now because he does not toe the Party Line.

Nick Gier

Sen. Hagel doubts Palin's ready
BY JOSEPH MORTON
OMAHA WORLD-HERALD,  September 18, 2008

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska on Wednesday became the nation's most prominent Republican officeholder to publicly question whether Sarah Palin has the experience to serve as president.

"She doesn't have any foreign policy credentials," Hagel said in an interview. "You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don't know what you can say. You can't say anything."

Palin was elected governor of Alaska in 2006 and before that was the mayor of a small town.

Democrats have raised questions about Palin since Sen. John McCain picked her as his vice presidential running mate. Most national Republican officeholders have rallied to Palin's candidacy.

Palin has cited the proximity of Alaska to Russia as evidence of her international experience.

Hagel scoffed at that notion.

"I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, 'I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia,'" he said. "That kind of thing is insulting to the American people."

A senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Hagel has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war and had considered making his own run for president. He skipped the Republican National Convention in favor of a trip to Central and South America.

Hagel, who says he has no plans to endorse either presidential candidate, traveled with Democratic nominee Barack Obama to the Middle East in July.

In criticizing Palin, Hagel broke with other Nebraska Republicans, including Gov. David Heineman, who have praised the selection.

Tom Kise, a McCain campaign spokesman, responded to Hagel's comments by questioning Obama's experience.

Kise pointed to statements that Obama's running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden, made during the Democrats' primary fight. At that time, Biden was seeking the nomination and questioned whether Obama was prepared to be president.

"It's much more alarming that Barack Obama's own vice presidential nominee doesn't think he has the experience or the judgment for the job," Kise said.

Palin herself has addressed the question of her foreign policy experience in a recent interview with ABC News.

"We've got to remember what the desire is in this nation at this time," she said. "It is for no more politics as usual, and somebody's big, fat résumé, maybe, that shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment where, yes, they've had opportunities to meet heads of state."

"I'm ready," Palin said. "I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink."

Hagel offered a couple caveats on his assessment of Palin: Experience is not the only qualification for elected officials — judgment and character are indispensable.

Washington experience isn't the only kind of experience, Hagel said, and he noted that many White House occupants have been governors with no time inside the Beltway.

"But I do think in a world that is so complicated, so interconnected and so combustible, you really got to have some people in charge that have some sense of the bigger scope of the world," Hagel said. "I think that's just a requirement."

So is Palin qualified to be president?

"I think it's a stretch to, in any way, to say that she's got the experience to be president of the United States," Hagel said.

Hagel supported McCain's unsuccessful bid for president in 2000.

Hagel said voters ultimately will decide between McCain and Obama, and he hopes that the debates will refocus both campaigns on the important issues of the day, including the economy, energy policy and international relations.

One recent squabble between the campaigns revolved around whether Obama was being sexist toward Palin when he used a turn of phrase about putting lipstick on a pig.

That kind of back-and-forth is not what the American people want or need, Hagel said.

"It's terrible," he said. "It debases the system."


	

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