Sarah Palin Displays Ignorance on Issues and Current Events

Main List: The Ultimate Sarah Palin is Unfit to be Vice President List

Last Updated: 11/8/2008

Except for some local and state issues, Sarah Palin has little knowledge of history or current events. She has been undergoing "crash courses" by former Bush people on political issues, and as such has largely been shielded from media reporters. The few interviews she has given have revealed not only ignorance, but an astonishing inability to articulate coherent answers to simple questions.

She asked when interviewed, "What exactly does the VP do every day?" ^[13]

Palin had to use detailed notecards to directly read answers to questions in debates when she ran for Governor. ^[14]

Palin incorrectly thought the Pledge of Allegiance was written by our founding fathers (it was written in 1892). ^[86]

She incorrectly believed privately owned Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were run by the government and said they "Got too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." ^[56]

When interviewed, she was unable to explain Bush's foreign policy principles commonly called the "Bush Doctrine." ^[64]

Speaking to troops deploying to Iraq, who even Bush eventually admitted had nothing to do with 9/11, she said, "defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans." ^[60]

When Gibson asked "what insight into Russian actions does the proximity of the state give you?" Palin replied, "they’re our next door neighbors. And you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska." ^[69]

Palin was a journalism major in college, but in her Katie Couric interview, she could not name one specific news source that she reads. "Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years." ^[110]

On Oct 20th, when asked by a student what the Vice President does, Palin erroneously replied: "They’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes." ^[128]

A Fox News reporter revealed that Sarah Palin, in preparing for the VP debate, didn't know that Africa was a continent and what countries were in NAFTA. ^[141]

Categories: US Elections
People: Sarah Palin

List Views: 21567

List Sources

[13]
Article: Sarah Palin: What exactly does the VP do everyday? - Huffington Post, Friday, August 29, 2008
[14]
Article: Palin's swift rise wins both admirers, enemies - Seattle Times, Monday, September 01, 2008
[56]
Article: Palin makes her first gaffe - Huffington Post, Monday, September 08, 2008
[60]
Article: Palin Links Iraq to Sept. 11 In Talk to Troops in Alaska - Washington Post, Friday, September 12, 2008
[64]
Article: Sarah Palin, The Bush Doctrine, and Why It's Smart to be Dumb - Huffington Post, Thursday, September 11, 2008
[69]
Article: Raw Data: Palin Interview with ABC News - Fox News, Thursday, September 11, 2008
[86]
Article: Palin on Pledge of Allegiance: "If it was good enough for the founding fathers it was good... - Huffington Post, Monday, September 01, 2008
[110]
Article: Palin, a Journalism Major, Can't Name a News Source That She Reads - Huffington Post, Tuesday, September 30, 2008
[128]
Article: Palin Claims the Vice President is 'In Charge of the US Senate'. - Think Progress, Tuesday, October 21, 2008
[141]
Article: Palin Didn't Know Africa Was A Continent, Says Fox News Reporter - Huffington Post, Wednesday, November 05, 2008