Sarah Palin and North Korea
by Richardson ~ August 30th, 2008. Filed under: Election 2008. 
John McCain’s pick for vice-president, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, doesn’t have a clear record on North Korea policy that I can find. However, as GI Korea points out, she is well aware of South Korea-U.S. ties having proclaimed Korea-Alaska Friendship Day.
As governor, Palin is the head of the state’s National Guard and has been to the Iraq theater of operations to visit her troops. Her son joined the Army last year and will soon be deployed to Iraq as an infantryman.
It is highly likely that Governor Palin knows something about National Missile Defense (NMD), since Alaska’s Fort Greely is the proverbial tip of the spear in that endeavor. The state has several related radar and missile sites, with the primary potential threat being a North Korean Taepo Dong 2 (대포동 2호) missile, which likely could easily range all of Alaska with an estimated 10,000km range (if it didn’t blow up in the first few seconds of flight, or perhaps on the launch pad, that is).
(Note: TD-2 ranges vary widely depending on a number of factors; 10,000km is a
general estimate, which is significantly greater than depicted in the image above.)
Leftist pundits are jumping all over Palin’s “lack of experience,” something that needs a closer look. The focus has been a “what if McCain dies,” which is expected – so a comparison to Obama rather than Joe Biden is in order. Palin has about as much experience as Obama in government, but she has a couple year executive experience running a state while Obama has none at that level. She’s also head of the state’s Army and Air National Guard, again vs. Obama’s zero military leadership. And unlike Obama, she has actually, and against the system, accomplished a great deal in her two years of governor of Alaska. On the other hand, you can’t name any significant legislation with Obama’s name on it because there just isn’t any. The bottom line here is that anyone who complains about Palin’s experience and points to Obama instead is a hypocrite. Not to mention that Palin isn’t heading a ticket.
Obama has spoken more about North Korea, but what he’s said has only made him look foolish. McCain has a much better grasp of the North Korean issue. Obama would also kill NMD (see video), while McCain (and presumably Sarah Palin) understand and are for missile defense; if you don’t fund it now, it won’t be there when it’s needed most (though there are smart and stupid ways to spend the money getting there).
Probably no North Korean sponsored newspapers will be endorsing McCain-Palin any time soon, unlike some candidates.
Still, an update will be in order when more information on Palin’s views on North Korea become available.
August 31st, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Richardson,
You hit it right in the head. You couldn’t say any better about comparison from Obama to Palin.
As for Alaska-Korea Day, I believe that South Korea is one of the largest customer for Alaskan fishing industry. (Japan may be the largest.) Along with Anchorage Airport being the fuel stop for both Korean Air and Asiana Airline in the past. When I stopped in Anchorage Airport on the way to Korea for TDY, I saw so many signs written Hangul. Which is unusual for US airports.
September 1st, 2008 at 3:24 am
I am still iffy on McCain, but is sure as hell better than Obama.
September 3rd, 2008 at 8:05 pm
See this cat for posts on McCain’s and Obama’s positions on North Korea; http://www.dprkstudies.org/category/election-2008/
If North Korea were my only issue, no contest, advantage McCain.
But there are of course a bunch of other issues, advantage to the same. In a best of two bad choices sort of way.
September 4th, 2008 at 10:14 am
When it comes to North Korea, Obama is completely and utterly clueless. I was laughing my ass off when I heard him talk about it.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:31 am
What I find interesting is how experience for the dems is suddenly an important issue. It wasn’t the case (according to them) when the focus was on Obama….still he went with Biden. Palin has emerged with, in my mind better experience than Obama & the dems are abruptly concerned about her foreign relations experience?
Sorry this doesn’t wash with me & the reason is Bill Clinton. Or more precisely, Gov. Bill Clinton…..who was elected in spite of his inexperience by dems (even though Republicans hammered him on it & we’ve paid a stiff price for his lack of it). So it didn’t matter to them for 2 of their recent presidential candidates, but now they’re concerned with our VP candidate? Nonsense.
Sarah Palin is a conservative governor of a state that has a large number of ties to international businesses & governments…..she may not be as nuanced in every facet of foreign diplomacy, but this is less of an issue to me because;
1. She’s doesn’t need to be 100% up to speed day 1…she’s the VP. Unlike Obama, she has a bit of a luxury where she can learn a little on the job.
2. She’s a conservative, & her values & intuitions will guide her judgments on the base issues.
For the most part Pres. Bush has done OK on foreign relations, especially given the extraordinary circumstances he was immediately thrusted into, & his lack of experience was tempered by his base values….I think Gov. Palin can be expected to be the same way & will be OK in this arena.
Certainly John McCain is an enormously heroic individual & I respect him a ton for his service to our country….even if he’s not a true conservative. But the distinct differences between him & Obama are stark & can be seen in numerous issues….first & foremost in their selection of VP candidates.
Viva McCain/Palin 08!!!
September 9th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Oh, and the reason the democrats are making a stink about Palin’s inexperience is because the republicans made the six months all about Obama being unsuitable because of his inexperience - what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If you’re going to make inexperience a core criticism of someone and then pick someone equally inexperienced for your own ticket, you should expect to get called out.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Oh, poor diddums doesn’t like being called out on parroting talking points that are as grounded in reality as his ego. Abloo, abloobloobloo.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Oh, the “running a state of 600,000 qualifies as enough experience to run the US” canard. And the “head of the Alaskan National Guard” rubbish too - yeah, because we all know how much of them has been left to actually command in the last six years or so. The Alaskan National Guard is a joke at full strength anyway, let alone mid-Iraq, it’s like saying she’s had command experience leading a street gang of 12 people.
Just because Obama’s **** doesn’t make Palin good automatically. I hate to break it to you, but it’s entirely possible - and in fact REALITY - that both ARE ****.
Also lol “Pres. Bush has done OK on foreign relations”. How’s that fantasy world going for you?
September 10th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
He dude, did you miss your meds or are you always this mental?
You never addressed my main point which is in regards to conservatives acceptance of Gov. Palin & the rejection by hardcore libs.
Experience was not an issue for 2 Democratic nominees, Clinton & Obama, but for some reason a Republican VP nominee is cause for alarm? Regardless of how many National Guard troops Alaska has, it’s always going to be more than Obama has ever commanded.
Palin isn’t full of foreign relations experience, but she’ll be put in a position where she can get it & not put anyone at risk. This isn’t the case for Obama who on Day 1 will be hammered with responsibility.
As far as what republicans said about Obama’s inexperience, don’t blame them as all they did was repeat what Hillary & Biden had been saying since last year. The harshest criticism to Obama came from his own party. That’s on them, not the republicans.
Now I’m a conservative & I make no apologies for it…in fact I’m also an Evangelical Christian too….take a breath & don’t get to mad, but we haven’t gone anywhere. I wrote my response based from that viewpoint. If you disagree, that’s OK….no need to get too worked up over it. Honest folks can have honest disagreements.
Finally, I’m not out to change your mind as I know you won’t change mine….I was just expressing my opinion. Feel free to retort or point out an error in my logic…..but keep the cursing out of it. It adds nothing to the discussion & this is a site that any 10 year old can read…..so let’s exchange ideas & opinions in a polite manner.
September 10th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Tetsuo, please refrain from curse words within the forum. Try to use… something less vulgar to get your point across. That is why your post was moderated, not because of your opinion. Feel free to post opinions, however, keep it clean.
September 11th, 2008 at 2:12 am
This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn7UzxXv8p4) makes me almost want to vote for the ticket headed by the man who tried to ban the UFC. Just a quick thought at the end of a diaper change cycle.
September 11th, 2008 at 3:58 am
“Palin has about as much experience as Obama in government, but she has a couple year executive experience running a state while Obama has none at that level.”
Obama
Attended Columbia University
Worked at the Business International Corporation
Worked at the New York Public Interest Research Group
Spent three years as the director (read: the executive in charge of) the Developing Communities Project. During his tenure, the staff grew from 1 to 13, and the budget increased from $70,000 to $400,000. He also created a job training program and a college prep tutoring program as well.
Attended Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude
First African-American President of the Harvard Law Review
Director of Illinois Project Vote during the 1992 election. He had a staff of 10, with 700 volunteers, and Project Vote achieved its goal of registering 150,000 previously unregistered African-American voters.
Joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a civil rights law firm, in 1993. Was an associate for three years (1993-96), and of counsel for eight (1996-2004).
Eight years as an Illinois State Senator (1996-2004)
Taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years, first as a Lecturer (1992-96), then as a Senior Lecturer (1996-2004)
Elected to the United States Senate in 2004
Currently the CEO of his own presidential campaign, with a staff of hundreds and a budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Palin
Point guard for her high school basketball team
Winner, Miss Wasilla beauty pageant
Runner-up, Miss Alaska beauty pageant
Attended the University of Idaho
Worked as a local sports reporter in Anchorage
Worked in commercial fishing with her husband
Four years, City Council of Wasilla (population: 6,715 according to the city itself)
Six years as mayor of Wasilla
One year on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation board
Elected governor of Alaska in 2006 (population: 683,478 — by contrast, the city of Austin, TX has a population of 743,074)
Also:
MCCAIN: “She’s the commander of the Alaska National Guard. … She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities,” he said on ABC.
THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under “federal status,” which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska’s national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.
But hey, she has ‘executive experience’! More than McCain, in fact; maybe they should switch places on the ticket, as executive experience trumps all! And Alaska is just across the water from Russia; she must know a lot about foreign policy!
The hilarity of watching people who just a few days ago were ranting about how inexperienced Obama was suddenly coming to the overnight revelation that “gosh, experience ain’t THAT important” is pretty funny. Almost reminiscient of a devoted Communist reacting to the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. You know they’ll eventually find some way to reconcile being told that black is actually white; the fun is purely in watching the mental gymnastics and sophistry they’ll use to make it seem like they aren’t COMPLETE hypocrites.
Examples:
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=184086
I have no problem with someone who supports either the Democratics or the Republicans while holding both parties feet to the fire and criticizing both for their poor decision-making. What I can’t stand is being a ‘creature of the party’, embracing intellectual dishonesty and molding your views on an issue to fit the party line. If you thought Obama was too inexperienced for the job a few days ago and now think Palin would be a worthy replacement for McCain should he die, then I cannot take you seriously, and I’m not sure how anyone else could without really, really wanting to agree with you already.
September 11th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Some obvious and petty bias in the wording of accomplishments and what to include, but that’s to be expected.
Also bear in mind; Palin is the VP candidate - but comparing Obama to her is more fair.
To me it seems absurd to even consider Obama; if (a bigger if every day) he is elected, it’s my prediction he’d be America’s Roh Moo-hyun.
Update: Bigger if than I thought;
http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/09/quinnipiac_polls_fl_oh_pa.html
September 11th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Richardson,
Roh had no executive leadership experience prior to the election just like Obama. I am one of those voter who looks at the candidate’s resume to see what type of executive or legislature he/she will become. It is a common sense. Just compare McCain’s resume to Obama’s resume and decide who is the best qualified for the job of chief executive of the US or even the Free World. I am not too concern about what they are promising now during the campaign. Most of candidates will say anything that voters wanted to hear just to get elected. Most of them do not keep their promise anyway.
September 12th, 2008 at 2:51 am
Richardson,
Naturally it’s biased; the whole point is to emphasize how ludicrous it is to simply stack their years in government side by side and suggest that one is as qualified as the other. However, is any of it anymore absurd than Republicans attacking Obama’s lack of experience only to pull a complete 180 and suggest a two year governor of a state with no foreign policy experience and an extremely skimpy resume (by Leader of the Free World standards) whether in government or out is the best qualified person to stand in for McCain should he become ill or die? Is any of it anymore laughable than the suggestion that ‘executive experience’…which McCain does not have…somehow makes that skimpy record a complete non-issue, or the ultimate laugh-riot that Alaska being next to Russia means she has foreign policy experience?
Oh, I should also mention: others have also looked for her record on North Korea and Iraq. Outside of suggesting that the war on Iraq was a mission from God, she has no record on North Korea and Iraq because she has no record.
McCain had met her once….once…before she was picked. She just happens to be a pro-Life female. She is young where he is old.
She was chosen to win an election. That’s it. Obviously that’s been good for the Republican’s poll numbers, but I hope you and others, no matter political leanings, have the integrity to admit that among all of the possible Republican choices for Vice President, Palin was an extremely poor choice in regards to an actual effective replacement for McCain in an emergency.
As for Obama being another Roh, I don’t know. I certainly hope not. Despite what it may sound like, given my defense of him here, I’m not a huge Obama supporter; in regards to North Korea, especially, I’m opposed to his approach. However, over the past eight years, the United States has been falling apart under the Bush administration, whether in foreign policy or the economy or education or just about any area you care to name. The idea of another four to eight years of the same stupidity, won through the same smarmy tactics and contempt for the intelligence of the voting public, makes me ill, and given how Roveian McCain has become since 2000 it seems pretty clear that would be what we’re getting. Obama may be a great leader or he may be terrible; it’s an open question, whereas McCain seems to be pretty clear in that he would be terrible.
MAJ K,
For me, it is precisely looking at McCain’s resume which is so off-putting about him. He went from being the Republican maverick to simply doing and saying whatever he needs to in order to win. The McCain of 2000, who said there was a special place in hell for the people who concocted the rumor about him siring an illegitimate black baby, is a different creature from the McCain of 2008 who just made a commercial suggesting Obama wants to teach sex education in kindergarten.
The whole comes across as very….Faustian.
In any case, he’s still better than Romney or Giuliani, and Obama is still better than Clinton, so thank god for small favors that whoever wins, it could have been worse.
September 12th, 2008 at 3:36 am
Pardon for the follow-up to an already long post, but I have an update; she does have a record on foreign policy now! It’s very recent, so you’ll have to forgive my prior claim that she does not.
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=Z75QSExE0jU
That record is…not knowing what the Bush doctrine is and making vacuous, unclear statements which practically scream ‘empty suit.’ They’ve been drilling her for a week for this interview and…this is it.
She is an election and a heart attack away from the Presidency of the United States, the most powerful political office on the planet. Please watch that video, consider the McCain campaign’s decision to keep her away from the press as long as possible, and consider that carefully, not as a partisan of one party or the other, but as a sane and rational individual.
To me, it’s utterly terrifying.
September 12th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Ivan,
You write “However, over the past eight years, the United States has been falling apart under the Bush administration, whether in foreign policy or the economy or education or just about any area you care to name.”
You do realize that, despite the loose talk of recession (two consecutive quarters of economic decline), the United States has so far enjoyed uninterrupted growth (albeit smaller growth in the last year or so), right?
Far from “falling apart,” there have been both successes and reverses during the Bush administration, and frankly most of these have been marginal in nature, rather than anything dramatic, i.e. “falling apart.”
But I suppose, as one Democratic grandee advised recently, Obama has to make people angry about something to win the election, so inventing fake disasters is par for the course.
September 26th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
“You do realize that, despite the loose talk of recession (two consecutive quarters of economic decline), the United States has so far enjoyed uninterrupted growth (albeit smaller growth in the last year or so), right?”
James,
Sometimes you need to reply to someone’s argument, and sometimes reality just does all the replying for you, doesn’t it? Heh.
The foundations of our economy are strong. McCain should campaign on that.
In any case, I think we now know that Palin proved to be a kool-aid moment for conservatives. You either drink and show party loyalty or set it down and show some regard for the future of this country.
I assume you’re a Republican, Richardson, so I’m not surprised at the first tentative sip you took. But as someone who seems to follow the news (wouldn’t be much of a blogger otherwise), I think you must know Palin a lot better now and I hope you have set aside your tentative support for her. She was a terrible, terrible pick, and McCain is suffering for it…and rightly so, since it reflects very poorly on his judgement.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Palin should have used the Korea-Alaska Friendship Day as “specific” examples to her list of foriegn policy accolades when requested by Katie Couric & Charlie Gibson. I think that would have been better than the “they are our next door neighbor” response.
Having said that, I don’t think we can make a fair assessment on her experiences through the interviews. However, we can argue that her intelligence and knowledge is not up to par with Obama.
This is a great forum for NK discussions. Thank You Richardson and James.
October 4th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Ivan;
I’m generally conservative – very fiscally and somewhat socially. Not a Neo-con (though I’m sometimes labeled that by people who’ve never read anything by Irving Kristol and probably don’t know who he is), although I did (and do) support both OEF and OIF (to the point I put my time where my mouth was and took a commission in the reserve).
Republican? Not particularly. I’ll vote for whoever reflects my ideals and values, Republican, Democrat, whatever. As a second choice, I’ll support whoever I think is the best of two bad options, which is where we’re at this time, again.
As it turns out, I think that at best Obama would be another Jimmy Carter, at worst he’d be America’s Roh Moo-hyun. He’s a smooth-talking empty suit who votes “present” on too many tough votes rather that letting people know where he stands. When he does vote it’s about 95 percent with the Dems (vs. McCain’s about 70-75 percent with Republicans, over time), so his claims to being the agent of change are bogus as well.
But he has voted enough for me to know that a) he’s far, far left wing, which is b) generally against what I believe. End of story.
So who do I favor? The Dem nominee with less experience than the Rep VP nom, who talks big but has no substance, and who chose an arrogant bastard as his VP (and who by the way was honest about Obama’s not being ready before)?
Not hardly.
McCain and Palin are far from perfect, but they’re also a lot closer to acceptable than either Obama or Biden.
At any rate, at this point it looks like Obama will win. Could change, but that’s the current appearance. I only hope he turns out only to be another Carter; we couldn’t bear a Roh.
– I’ll add; for anyone who apparently supports Obama, not sure how you can go into Palin Kool-Aid rhetoric w/o a terminal case of cognitive dissonance.
October 8th, 2008 at 10:38 am
“– I’ll add; for anyone who apparently supports Obama, not sure how you can go into Palin Kool-Aid rhetoric w/o a terminal case of cognitive dissonance.”
That was my line directed at Palin supporters, apparently still including you. After the Couric interview, after the inability to even name a magazine or newspaper she reads, after the inability to describe what exactly the Bush doctrine is, the flagrant hiding her from the press, the refusal to answer questions in a debate in favor of stump speeches, the frequent dissent into almost non-sensical gibberish littered with seemingly random talking points when outside the confines of a teleprompter, the claim the Alaska being next to Russia is foreign policy experience, the repulsive winks and played-up ‘homey’ accent during the debate….after all of this, if you still feel that Palin is actually MORE qualified than a self-made Harvard graduate who has run a an highly organized, highly effective national political campaign drawing in record donations and presently threatening to turn the U.S. presidential election into a Democratic landslide in states which have been solidly Republican for years, I’m honestly not sure what to say to convince you. It’s like the devout Christian who laughs at Muslims and their dozens of virgins in Heaven but is incapable of grasping why other people laugh at his belief in talking snakes. Politics has a nasty tendency to make perfectly sensible people incapable of seeing things that are right in front of their noses.
Ah well. As you say, looks like Obama is going to win, so I’m less worried now and more simply contemptuous of McCain-Palin. That we came that close to bringing a completely clueless hockey mom from Alaska to the Presidency of the United States, however…and that there are still people not only willing but eager to vote for the ticket she’s on…is a truly sobering thought on how far politics has fallen in this country. We would have justifiably been the laughing stock of the world, especially if something happened to McCain.
Hopefully the defeat that seems to be looming on the horizon for them will drag the Republicans away from the Neocons and the Religious Right and give it back to the fiscal Conservatives.
October 11th, 2008 at 4:34 am
That you still don’t quite grasp the cognitive dissonance comment is sad, yet unsurprising, not unlike your admittedly contemptuous and apparently elitist views. A soccer mom, sure; one who is also a (should I also say, “self-made” here?) governor with solid and undeniable reformer credentials; vs. Obama’s ~4 years as a senator with a record of speaking well (gaffes excused) and little else.
It also seems you have a double-standard when it comes to gaffes (ah, but so does the MSM). Your hypocrisy is also sad but not unexpected.
It is also bizarre and amazing how the entire Reverend Wright issue has been collectively forgotten or dismissed by Obama supporters.
I’m against ~90 percent of Obama’s core, leftist political beliefs (the “uniter” claim is a complete fallacy), and you outright stat that running a campaign is somehow a qualification for the presidency? Ridiculous. Pathetic. Disconnected from reality.
Again, that is mind-boggling coming from an apparent Obama supporter.