Alaska is right next to Russia. She understands that.

Below is the video of Sarah Palin speaking at her church. At 3:50 she says that the Iraq war is a “task that is from God,” (Note: corrected from earlier version where I somehow missed that part), and at 2:10 she discusses God’s will for there to be a pipeline, and how Alaska needs to get right with the Lord. At 4:30 she tells us all about Track’s tattoos.



Yesterday, McCain was interviewed on ABC by Charlie Gibson:

WHAT SARAH PALIN’S RESUME INCLUDES: “I mean, she’s got an incredible resume, including a beautiful family and a wonderful, loving, caring family.”

ON THE VETTING OF SARAH PALIN: “Well, the people of Alaska have vetted her.” They call her Sarah Barracuda, is that what you mean? Geddit, barracuda, vet, geddit?

WHAT SARAH PALIN UNDERSTANDS: “Alaska is right next to Russia. She understands that.”

BUT DOES BARACK UNDERSTAND GEOGRAPHY AS WELL AS SARAH?: “Look, Sen. Obama’s never visited south of our border. I mean, please.” I didn’t realize going to Tijuana and seeing a donkey show was a sine qua non for the presidency. Oh, and, dude, Palin hasn’t visited south of our border either.

WHAT PEOPLE IN AMERICA WANT, AND DON’T WANT: “But most importantly, people in America want change. They don’t want somebody from inside the beltway.” Um, dude, where have you worked for the last few decades? Oh, and, dude, aren’t you accusing Obama of lack of experience for only having been inside the beltway 3½ years?

WHAT SARAH PALIN KNOWS: “Gov. Palin knows the surge has succeeded. She’s the commander of the Alaskan National Guard. He said that Iran was a tiny problem. He’s never visited south of our border.” You know, if Junior Soprano taught us anything, it’s that if you do go “south of the border,” you’d prefer it not to be mentioned in public.

WHAT MCCAIN CAN LOOK THE COUNTRY IN THE EYE (THE COUNTRY HAS AN EYE?) AND SAY: “I can look the country in the eye and say this is a person who will bring change to Washington and start working for you and upon your side. ...” I DON’T THINK I WANT HER WORKING UPON MY SIDE. “...This is what Americans want. They don’t want somebody who has -- who is, frankly, necessarily gone to Harvard or an Ivy League school. She probably hasn’t been to a Georgetown cocktail party.”

A LOT OF THIS OTHER STUFF: “That’s what she has to offer. And I’m telling you, Charlie, I believe, I am convinced -- if I’m convinced of anything, tonight’s performance, I think, will convince a lot of Americans and a lot of this other stuff’s going to go away immediately.” Oh yeah, that other stuff is so going to go away immediately.

Asked about the $27m in earmarks Palin got for Wasilla: “And then she learned that earmarks are bad.”

Asked about Palin’s saying that the Iraq war is a task from God: “I think that, obviously, that we are facing a transcendent evil of radical Islamic extremism that wants to destroy everything we stand for and believe in and value. I know that’s what she was talking about.”

Asked about her support for creationism being taught in public schools: “I don’t want her in a position of power and influence in America because we’re talking about jobs that school boards do and other things. We can have differences on various issues. Americans want jobs. They want affordable health insurance. They want an education. They want all the things that are compelling issues to their families today.” In other words, if I understand what McCain is saying, yeah, she’s obviously too batshit insane a religious nutjob to be on a school board, but she’s good to go for veep.

WHAT MCCAIN KNOWS HOW TO DO: “Well, look, President Clinton [had] opportunities to get Osama bin Laden. President Bush had opportunities to get Osama bin Laden. I know how to do it and I’ll do it. And I understand and I have the knowledge and the background and the experience to make the right judgments.” You know how to do it? Why didn’t you tell us that before?

WHAT NO RATIONAL OBSERVER WOULD DENY: “no rational observer would deny that we’ve succeeded [in Iraq], and he [Obama] refuses to do so”. So is he saying that Obama isn’t an observer, or that he isn’t rational? Ah, he’s just a cynical political operator: “He took the position that he did for political reasons to get the far left of his party’s support and win the nomination of his party. And now, incredibly, he still refuses to acknowledge that the surge is succeeding.” Yeah, he’s already got the nomination, so why shouldn’t he just admit that he was lying about how the surge is totally succeeding? “We just turned over Anbar province to the Iraqis, the bloodiest battleground of the whole Iraq War, and he refuses to acknowledge that.” Did I miss an interview where Obama was asked if we had turned over Anbar to the Iraqis and he said no?