Palin Says She did Not Have Money to Travel in Youth;
But She went to College in Hawaii!
On seeing this part of the Couric interview of Palin, I suddenly remembered something about her:
' Couric: In preparing for this conversation, a lot of our viewers … and Internet users wanted to know why you did not get a passport until last year. And they wondered if that indicated a lack of interest and curiosity in the world.
Palin: I'm not one of those who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and their parents give them a passport and give them a backpack and say go off and travel the world.
No, I've worked all my life. In fact, I usually had two jobs all my life until I had kids. I was not a part of, I guess, that culture. The way that I have understood the world is through education, through books, through mediums that have provided me a lot of perspective on the world.'
Video here:
But, but . . .
she went to college for a while in Hawaii!. Do you know how long it takes to fly to Hawaii from Alaska? And do you know how expensive it is to live in Hawaii? Milk is $5 a gallon (not many places to put cows on the islands, so it is imported).
It is a five and a half hour flight from Anchorage to Honolulu, i.e. an hour less than the flight from JFK to London.
So Palin seemed to have money to gallivant around plenty, hopping from college to college over 6 years. Maybe she held down part time jobs as an undergraduate. So do lots of people. Studies show that such students get better grades because they have to organize their time.
I just don't think she was interested.
And, if you think she ever read any books about foreign countries, raise your hand.
posted by Juan Cole @ 9/27/2008 02:09:00 AM
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Palin SAYS she went to Hilo Community College, which has since become U of Hawaii at Hilo. The registrar says there is no record of her every enrolling. Perhaps she just went to Hawaii to party, never enrolled at all, and told her parents she had enrolled. Someone in the press should ask her friends who went with her to Hilo.
London!? What about the neighbouring Yukon Territory or British Columbia? I know up until recently one didn't need a passport to cross the border by car (although I don't know if you'd really drive from Anchorage to Whitehorse), but can we assume that someone who might shortly be VP of the USA has never flown to Canada? I mean, it is further (i.e., more $$) to travel to the rest of the states (assuming she is well-traveled in the country she might soon be co-governing) than it is to visit either of those Canadian provinces!
I, too, believe she did not travel abroad until 2007 because she was simply not interested in what or who lies outside the borders of the United States - nor is she to this day, really. Provincial is part of the definition of Sarah Palin.
Realistically, however, whether or not she actually had the means to travel abroad is not nearly as relevant as is the simple fact that she did not travel abroad even once until last year. Whatever her reason for waiting until she was 43 years old to obtain a passport, the fact is that she had never set foot outside of North America, and therefore did not have even the most minimal international experience (outside of living in a state that is between Russia - well, sort of - and Canada, that is).
And it is extremely difficult to see her one trip outside North America as any kind of international experience. Hopping directly from one American military base to another in Germany and then Kuwait, a refueling stop in Ireland, and a visit to an American military installation on the Kuwait-Iraq border do not by any stretch of the imagination constitute visiting those countries.
And it certainly does not add up to even the most superficial international experience, let alone does it prepare her for even the most modest ceremonial role in an international arena. I mean, look at the way she behaved with Zardari, for the sake of heaven (not to mention the way he behaved with her)! Grasping his hand with both of hers - completely inappropriate, particularly for a woman national leader meeting the male leader of a Muslim country - and giggling and flirting like a silly school girl with no dignity whatsoever, responding with no self respect or respect for her position to his completely inappropriate behaviour. It looked more like a meeting with a call girl in a bar or nightclub than anything else - incredibly embarrassing on the part of anyone, let alone a wannabe head of state.
Scandalous is not too strong a word. This woman is beyond clueless. She doesn't even have decent intuition about how to behave like a respectable woman, let alone a head of state.
"Palin SAYS she went to Hilo Community College..."
Well, that's another thing. There are two main reasons people go to a community college straight out of high school. Either they can't afford to go straight from high school to a four year college or university, or they don't have the grades to go to a four year institution right out of high school. If money were an issue, why on earth would anyone incur the expenses of traveling all the way to Hawaii, and then to remote Hilo to attend community college? Not to mention the housing and other costs of living so far from the family home, and, of course, the out-of-state tuition, which makes community college about as expensive as the average four year college?
As usual with her, this story just doesn't add up.
Ah, but you have to admit, that she gained foreign policy insight when she studied in Boise - she might have flown over Canada.
"And, if you think she ever read any books about foreign countries, raise your hand."
Does watching "The Wizard Of OZ" movie count? If she becomes Vice-President, she can handle all the visits with the Ooompa-Loompas.
I am sure she read a few romance novels where the hero is a barbarian and the heroine is a Celtic princess. Those count, right?
On the subject of cows and Hawaii, the islands are know for their large cattle industry, nearly as large as their pineapples. They do have to import a lot of food and fuel, which most of it goes to the US military anyway, and they may not have as many dairies, but cows they do have.
In fact a significant number of Puerto Ricans moved to Hawaii in the 19th century, so among the native and Japanese surnames you can find a smattering of Spanish ones as well.
http://hawaiicam.com/index.php/hawaiicam/more/quick_wheres_the_largest_cattle_ranch_in_the_us/
The US dependencies/colonies and "outer" States get the short drift by the people living in the lower 48, but the decisions made in Washington affects us as much if not more than those living in the mainland. To bad that having two citizens from the states of Alaska and Hawaii has not changed the public's perception (or increase their knowledge) of these states or the remaining American colonies.
The dog who would be queen says, "Palin: I'm not one of those who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and their parents give them a passport and give them a backpack and say go off and travel the world."
The problem is that one who has grown up that way, i.e., working for whatever they got, would have developed a sense of "what not to accept because it is phony to do so." In other words, character.
Case in point:
Rove/Cheney/McCain "Sarah, we want you to become the next in line to be President."
Imaginary Sarah, the one with character, "So sorry, I'm not qualified."
You don't need to be "wealthy" to travel abroad as a student. I spent a school year in Europe and met many fellow Americans who were living abroad very cheaply. They were not the sons and daughters of wealthy parents. Palin's failure to understand this is more proof she's unqualified to be (vice) president.
I'm surprised that she hasn't touted living in Moscow (Moscow, Idaho, that is) as part of her foreign policy experience.
As an ordinary American, I am embarrassed that a candidate for the vice presidency of the United States pronounces Iran and Iraq as “Eye-ran” and “Eye-rack”, respectively.
Countering a perception in the mass media that Sarah Palin lacks general interest in foreign affairs, columnist David Brooks of the New York Times commented on PBS during the Russia-Georgia crisis: Palin has learnt the correct English pronunciation of Ossetia, for example, and therefore shows an understanding of other countries.
However, as late as Palin’s interview with Katie Couric of CBS, it is evident that Palin’s tutors on Iraq and Iran continue to overlook the vice presidential candidate’s mispronunciations. Perhaps the McCain campaign’s advisors on the Middle East are not as concerned with pronunciation as the Russia experts?
Banana Republics are known to have a single product.
Each Republican candidate seems to have one name that is answer to all questions.
Rudy Juliani is was 9/11
McCain it is Iraq
Sarah Palin it is Ahmadinejad.
I wonder how many times she is going to repeat her name in the vice presidential debate.
I think I read somewhere only 20% of American citizens possess a US Passport. Even if it's a higher percentage, it certainly isn't a majority of Americans who look beyond the borders of their country with anything beyond a vague sense of foreboding coupled with their ever present blanket of ignorance. Informed, knowledgeable, global citizen is not a term that applies to either Palin or the vast majority of Americans.
Well, I think we all know passports are spiritually UnAmerican and Palin is just speaking good sense as usual. If you need to see more of the world than is accessible by snowmobile or dogsled--you're probably a pansy Liberal delaying the Rapture and in dire need of Jesus.
Only rich elitists (or their shiftless progeny) would ever be curious about life beyond the boundaries of Flag, Bible, satellite TV, and bragging about blowing away wildlife inhumanely. Y'see, real Americans don't travel abroad except for war against "bad guys"...
In fact why travel to DC at all, Sarah? It is diverse, rife with passports, and thus an abomination. Don't sully yourself with all the complexities, maps, and foreign languages.
Stay local. Aren't there still plenty of books to ban and state employees to intimidate in your lovely, meth-capitol town of Wasila?
May her 15 minutes of fame soon be over.
"Palin’s tutors on Iraq and Iran continue to overlook the vice presidential candidate’s mispronunciations."
I understand that before her Convention address she received coaching in the correct pronunciation of the work nuclear, so she would not embarrass the party by saying nukyular. And apparently they spelled it phonetically on her teleprompter script to remind her.
The Eye Ran and Eye Rack thing is like fingernails on a blackboard, and bespeaks more than ignorance about foreign affairs. Whenever someone says Eye Ran in my hearing, I ask "Why did you run? Where did you run? What did you run from?" My colleagues are slowing learning to avoid my response by pronouncing it correctly.
er,..um.., Obama lived in Hawaii and Indonesia when he was a child. By her logic, he should have that at the top of his resume.
I heard Palin's sister interviewed for a one hour CNN bio and she said since Alaska is so remote, they did not have the opportunity to travel to potential colleges and that is why Sarah attended 6 colleges - because she could not see them first! God forbid she become President and make foreign policy decisions based on countries she could not visit ahead.
FWIW... Hawai'i and Alaska had reciprocal in-state tuition deals in the 80s. I went to UH-Hilo as a Hawai'i resident, and it's a very cheap school.
And, yeah, 135,000-acre Parker Ranch, one of the biggest cattle ranches in America, is there on the Big Island. Everything costs more in Hawai'i, largely I think because it's what the traffic will bear. Not like you can drive over a state line to get a better deal.
"I'm allergic to Palin"
I could go on and on about what I have seen and heard from the Republican VP candidate. I won't, we all have an issue to deal with.
I will say that her foreign travel experience is the least of my worries. The most of my worries, how will she speak with the members of congress?
It is the members that we need to assume will give respect to the sitting VP. It is this experience that makes a good VP. Presidents speak with foreign dignitaries, the VP speaks to American dignitaries.
I certainly agree with your comments on Palin, but on a side note I have to quibble with your assertion that kids who have to work get better grades. "Studies show that such students get better grades because they have to organize their time." What studies are you referring to? I've done some research on that question, studying school persistence and retention in African American and Latino students, and the evidence I've seen indicates just the opposite. The statistics indicate clearly that the more students have to work the worse they do in school, and the less likely they are to stay in school. Those who work part-time drop out more than those who don't have to work at all, and those who work full-time drop out more than those who work part-time. And the more they work the worse their grades are. On average. I'm sure there are plenty who, like you say, gain character from the experience and learn to better organize their time, but for most poverty is a major obstacle to getting an education, an obstacle the majority, in the end, are unable to overcome. (Interestingly though, poor women are much more persistent in college than poor men; they really stick at it.) And if they are able to graduate they come out with larger school loans, are much less likely to go to graduate school, and are less likely to able to use their degrees to accomplish what they want later in life. Many people want to believe that poverty and suffering build character. In my experience, the opposite is true. Coming from a poor family handicaps most people for the rest of their lives. Which is not to suggest that rich kids necessarily have better characters; heavens no! Often they are spoiled and lazy and wastrels, like George W. Bush and Ted Kennedy. But for most it's an enormous advantage.
Reminds me of the movie "The Scent of a Woman," where the poor kid displays more integrity than the rich ones. Nice Hollywood fantasy, but in reality that kid would have done pretty much anything to stay in school and avoid having to go back home branded a failure. Anything, legal or otherwise.
Sarah Palin has demonstrated a greater ability to get elected than she has to manage after she's won: mayor; governor; possibly VP. Her lack of international (btw everybody I wish you'd stop saying "foreign" and use "international" instead. Foreign reinforces the concept of American exceptionalism.) Her base probably applauds her lack of curiosity and experience in an international arena.
I'm more concerned with who her handlers would be if she were to succeed to the presidency.
I suggest a great and simple nickname for Palin: "Heartbeat" (as in hb away from AF1)
While I agree with the comments about Palin's lack of almost everything needed to be a VP, its very disconcerting that the people who screwed up the county so bad over the past eight years had all the attributes that Palin is missing.
Condie Rice is probably one of the best examples. Brilliant in every way, a Russian expert(not just from seeing it through her patio telescope), university head, jock, musician, and tough as nails (like Palin). Also I'm sure she has gone through many passports. Yet she is a major shareholder in all the Bush administration foreign policy failures.
Then there is Dick Cheney; experience and credentials beyond imagination, but I would venture to say that the nation would be better off today if,in 2000, Bush had scooped Palin out of the mayor's office in Wasila and made her his veep. In a Cheney vs Palin runoff I'd pick Palin in a heartbeat.
Condi Rice, brilliant? In what way, exactly? Based on what, exactly?
As for her alleged expertise on Russia, a degree does not make one an expert, and she has not displayed any noticeable insight into Russia during the recent episode. If anything, quite the contrary.
She is, in fact, quite unimpressive except, perhaps, in her ability to recite robot-like the talking points of the day, which by all appearances are programmed each morning into a chip embedded in her head.
c'mon juan, you're being too hard on her. as far as foreign policy goes, the governor has often consumed french fries - and even on occasion is known to whip up french toast. and let's not forget the time she wolfed down a big steaming bowl of hungarian goulash. yes, i feel much, much better about her ability to become chief steward of US foreign policy in the event duty calls.
The way that I have understood the world is through education, through books, through mediums that have provided me a lot of perspective on the world.
She is probably referring to the Christian missionary talk circuit.
ref : “Mrs. Palin's . . . experience overseas ? ”
surely you jest: How many times, before being plucked from political wilderness ~ has this woman ever been to a real City?
iow, imho it is not so much that the candidate lacks ‘worldliness’, rather, urbanity :
“. . .related to the Latin urbanitas with connotations of refinement and elegance, the opposite of rusticus, associated with the countryside... Oxford English Dictionary notes that the relationship of urbane to urban is similar to the relationship humane bears to human. In language, ‘urbanity’ still connotes a smooth and literate style, free of barbarisms and other infelicities. In antiquity, schools of rhetoric flourished only in the atmosphere of large cities, to which students flocked from smaller settlements in order to gain polish.”
crosspost BagNewsNotes : “Demographics consistenly show that the essential distinction between McCain and Obama [supporters in The States] is that divide between URBAN and non-URBANE Cultures. Even when you drill down in the ‘RedStates’, even in the belly of the beast, Texas ~ you see the URBANE core Dallas & Houston being RATIONAL : all else being "Proletariat Identity", or an otherwise singular faith- or wedge-issue, or base ANGST-driven American electorate.”
After wastching her interview wIth Katie Couric i can't believe McCain doesn't have a plan to accept her departure from the ticket. The last time I saw a comparable interview was when Bo Derick said she couldn't remember where she attended high school.
What I find even scarier, than the possibility she could become our VP, is that there actually are people that would consciously vote for her.
Forget London, if we're talking about places that are closer to her than Hawaii, then why didn't she just go to Russia? I mean, she can SEE RUSSIA, surely she could have gotten to Russia faster and cheaper than going to Hawaii, right?
I don't know if anyone has asked yet but did parents issue passports 30 years ago? Why would anyone want Joey from Friends as the VPOTUS?
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