Katie Couric, Sarah Palin, and Alaska's proximity to Russia.

[cinyc]

It is scary that some of you people are so blinded by her looks that you cannot see her ineptitude.

It's scary that some of you people are so blinded by partisanship that if Palin gave the Gettysburg address, you'd still be saying she's completely over her head.

The answer makes sense.  She has met the Consul General of the Russian Federation, and Russia has sent trade delegations to the state.  That's a fact.

[cinyc]

She's just basically saying she is more in tune with the threat of Russia because Russia invades Alaska airspace from time to time.

nothing wrong with her saying that

Which threat? Do you really believe Russia would attack the US?

And I count 15 states which have a border with a foreign country. Does this make e.g. the governor of Washington a foreign policy expert?

It makes the governor of Washington more of a foreign policy expert than the governor of, say Missouri, all things being equal.  Why?  Because the governor of Washington and Premier of British Columbia regularly meet on issues of mutual interest - just like the Governor of Alaska meets with the Premier of Yukon.  Relations with Canada matter more to a governor of Washington or Alaska than Missouri.   Relations with Mexico are more important to a governor of Texas than Missouri.  Canada and Mexico are foreign countries.

[cinyc]

Of course. But does this make her an expert on foreign policy? And how much trade is there between Yukon and Alaska, and Kamchatka and Alaska? I don't think this is a lot (especially Kamchatka has been a Russian military zone for decades and is now finally opening up).

Anything that's trucked to Alaska goes through Yukon.  Anyone who drives from Anchorage to Juneau drives through Yukon and B.C. (before getting on a boat).   Alaskan exports to Canada were $445 million in 2006.  

 Japan ($1.1 billion) and South Korea ($726 million) and China ($474 million) were bigger trading partners in 2006 - they import a lot of Alaskan seafood.  Palin has met with the consul from Japan.  Trade with South Korea is so important that South Korea recently re-opened its permanent consulate.  And Governor Palin has met with the South Korean consul in Anchorage, too.  He had glowing things to say about governor Palin after she was named veep.

[cinyc]

ok, I agree, that qualifies her a bit, though I won't concede that easily and don't know by how much it quelifies her. She has been governor only for 1 3/4 years, as you know. And I don't know why she keeps riding on that Russia thingy (even the Russians here laugh about her comment, since they don't think Siberia is really Russia to them), whereas the trade with the other countries are much higher and this is obviously much more important.

She raises the Russian thing because the media keeps asking her about it.  It's not her strongest foreign policy point. 

If I were advising the McCain campaign, I'd be playing up her ties with Canada (especially her 3 meetings with the Yukon Premier and renewed Yukon-Alaska accord - which included a new provision on climate change), South Korea (the consul told a Korean newspaper in Korean "Palin is one of the few politicians who understands the importance of Korean related trade and diplomacy, and if she wins the election on November 4th, and becomes the vice president, Korean-American relations will likely become much stronger."), Japan and China.  Heck, Alaska may be one of the few U.S. states with a trade SURPLUS with China.

It's not the highest level stuff, but everyone needs to start somewhere.  She understands the benefits of free trade more than most.

[cinyc]

Of course. But does this make her an expert on foreign policy? And how much trade is there between Yukon and Alaska, and Kamchatka and Alaska? I don't think this is a lot (especially Kamchatka has been a Russian military zone for decades and is now finally opening up).

Anything that's trucked to Alaska goes through Yukon.  Anyone who drives from Anchorage to Juneau drives through Yukon and B.C. (before getting on a boat).   Alaskan exports to Canada were $445 million in 2006.  

 Japan ($1.1 billion) and South Korea ($726 million) and China ($474 million) were bigger trading partners in 2006 - they import a lot of Alaskan seafood.  Palin has met with the consul from Japan.  Trade with South Korea is so important that South Korea recently re-opened its permanent consulate.  And Governor Palin has met with the South Korean consul in Anchorage, too.  He had glowing things to say about governor Palin after she was named veep.

Makes sense. What on earth they were doing pushing the 'she can see Russia from Alaska' line god only knows - but thats one narrative that has well and truly stuck. A second narrative appears to be developing that she can't cope with interview pressure - will be interesting to see if that comes out in the debate.

Palin took reporters' questions after visiting Ground Zero today.  That meme isn't going to stick.