Thursday, September 11, 2008

McCain Still Struggling With The Basics

CBS NEWS - Steve Benen

I'm afraid this is just embarrassingly incoherent. First, the notion that Palin's proximity to Russia counts as national security experience continues to be unusually stupid, even for McCain.

Second, "Energy" is not a response to the question, "What experience does she have in the field of national security?"

And third, to insist, publicly and on the record, that Sarah Palin "knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America" is, quite literally, laughable. We are, after all, talking about a politician who isn't sure about the human impact on global warming, and hasn't demonstrated any real expertise on the issue. Ever.

As Yglesias recently noted, "Give Sarah Palin this much -- her understanding of the geopolitics of energy is every bit as daft as that of much more seasoned conservative pseudo-experts. She can spin out outlandish and ultimately nonsensical scenarios about Iran (or Venezuela) deploying the mythical 'oil weapon' and she, too, can ignore the fundamentally global nature of hydrocarbon markets by prattling about 'energy independence.'"

Stepping back, it's striking that McCain still, even now, can't answer obvious questions about his own running mate. Caldwell's question was direct, but hardly an unexpected curveball. Indeed, the obvious answer for McCain is that Palin doesn't have a background in national security, but neither do most governors who seek national office, but he's confident in her judgment, her ability to learn quickly, etc.

But, no. Asked an obvious question, McCain offers a confused response that doesn't make any sense.

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