29 September, 2008

Sarah Palin’s Foreign Policy Credentials

America has long been generous to comedians, electing dudes like Dan Quayle and George W Bush for their derision, and Sarah Palin is a worthy addition to that list. This excerpt from her interview with Katie Couric is unbelievably WTF:

Here’s a transcript of the excerpt above:

Couric: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign-policy experience. What did you mean by that?

Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land — boundary that we have with — Canada. It, it’s funny that a comment like that was — kind of made to cari — I don’t know. You know. Reporters —

Couric: Mocked?

Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that’s the word, yeah.

Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our — our next-door neighbors are foreign countries. They’re in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia —

Couric: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

Palin: We have trade missions back and forth. We, we do. It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where — where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to — to our state.

I don’t know what’s funnier: her fumbling over the word ‘caricature’ or the image of Vladimir Putin rearing his head and flying over America, only to get beaten back by (presumably airborne) hockey moms in Alaska. Palin reminds me of a certain Miss South Carolina.

My dream is to see Sarah Palin, president of the USA, get into a mud wrestling encounter with Mayawati, prime minister of India, in front of a cheering UN general assembly. My life would then be complete.

More on Palin: 1, 2, 3.

Update: Via Patrix, and separate emails from Joby Joseph and Sanjeev Naik, here’s SNL’s brilliant recreation of the interview:

Tina Fey is awesome. But the original interview, even without a laugh track, is funnier.