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<p class=MsoPlainText>The Atlantic<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>The Daily Dish<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Andrew Sullivan<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>19 Oct 2008 04:20 pm<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin XIV: What Trade Missions To
Russia?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>This lie has already been <a
href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/the-odd-lies--6.html">documented</a>
by the Dish, but the invaluable Anchorage Daily News <a
href="http://www.adn.com/palin/story/542833.html">adds a new detail</a>. Not
only has Palin never gone on or received a trade mission from Russia, she
actually spurned such an offer from Russia:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;background:#E9E9E9'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>In an
interview last week with CBS News anchor Katie Couric, Palin suggested that her
contact was more than just awareness of Russia's nearness. When Couric asked
Palin if she'd "ever been involved with any negotiations, for example,
with the Russians," the governor replied, "We have trade missions
back and forth." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;line-height:150%;background:#E9E9E9'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>But
Steve Smirnoff, the Russian Federation's honorary consul in Anchorage, said
Palin never accepted his invitation to open a dialogue with Alaska's neighbor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:30.0pt;
margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:26.25pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:150%;
background:#E9E9E9'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:
"Georgia","serif"'>When Palin took office in December 2006, Smirnoff says, he
sent her a letter suggesting "she could be instrumental in reviving
relationships between Alaska and Russia, and the rest of the world." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:30.0pt;
margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:26.25pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:150%;
background:#E9E9E9'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:
"Georgia","serif"'>Smirnoff said he'd met Palin years before, when they both worked
on then-Gov. Frank Murkowski's campaign. Smirnoff had hoped for some rapport,
but "I never received a response," he said. "I don't know if it
was taken to heart or thrown in the trash basket." Patricia Eckert, who
works in the governor's Office of International Trade, confirmed that Palin had
not held meetings with Russian officials during her term. The closest
interaction she cited was when the Seattle-based Russian consul general
attended a reception for the diplomatic corps that Palin hosted in Fairbanks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><a
href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-odd-lies--1.html">http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/the-odd-lies--1.html</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
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