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Many on the left have had fun sneering at Sarah Palin's listing of Commander in Chief of the Alaska National Guard and Alaska State Defense Force as a national security credential. Uncle Jimbo at BlackFive has some insight on that:
Commanding Alaska's Guard w/ 24/7 missile defense
One area of Sarah Palin's background that may help her is Alaska's unique role in our national security and homeland defense. Several folks have have mentioned this but Tom W. was specific and his info jibes with the record.
"Alaska is the first line of defense in our missile interceptor defense system. The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska National Guard is the unit that protects the entire nation from ballistic missile attacks. It’s on permanent active duty, unlike other Guard units.
As governor of Alaska, Palin is briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counterterrorism. Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's.
She's also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security's counterterrorism plans.
Palin is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital to the entire country's defense. Given Alaska's proximity to Russia, she may have security clearances we don't even know about."
I would add that the 49th MDB is not the only National Guard unit on permanent active duty, and that since 9/11 national security has reached much farther down the chain than it used to. Operational personnel in municipal/county governments are even in some of those loops. While it's true that being a governor is not the same as being a National Security Advisor, the idea that governors are clueless in national security matters is both naive and ingorant, especially when it comes to border states and most especially when it comes to Alaska, which is in fact far closer to mainland Russia in spots than it is to the lower 48 in any spot.
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Hey Tully--haven't been
Hey Tully--haven't been around here in a while.
Not to have my first post here in a bit be so negative, but this is just pure Republican spin. Palin may in fact have some foreign policy wherewithall (none of which has been demonstrated yet), but that fact that she is privy to secrets and may be briefed on stuff isn't really that relevant (this is the first I've heard about the governor of Alaska being a national security heavy post). It sounds like the resumes I read when interviewing for assistant positions here, with phrases like "participated in" or "coordinated", which means that the person was sort of near important stuff, but not enough to put anything substantial about it in writing. I think the phrase "Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's" pretty much shows where this quote is coming from, as does "Given Alaska's proximity to Russia, she may have security clearances we don't even know about". If she has substantially policy experience, that's fine, the campaign can just lay it out at some point, but to infer she does because here state borders Alaska is reaching a bit.
Palin may be a very good pick--she is charismatic, likeable, smart etc., but this strategy might backfire.
Justin, Palin is our nominee
Justin,
Palin is our nominee for veep. She may take over in a crisis. Obama is your party's nominee for President. He will take over on January 20th, if elected. Tell me, what is Barack Obama's foreign policy experience?
Spin? Spin?! you want to talk about spin after posting that comment, Justin?
"When someone says their heart needs lifting, don't ask how come, ask how high."
Justin, you've missed this entirely...
Do you have any idea how HARD it is for a party member to fight corruption within their own party? She didn't "assist" with any of that. She made HARD decisions, risked her own career in order to expose corruption... not corruption by Democrats, but corruption by people within her own party. That work alone, which is incredibly risky for somebody who is rising in the ranks of that same party, shows the fundamental requirement for a President, willingness to make tough decisions with great personal political risks, and stick to them.
But I'm glad to know that you won't be voting for Sen. Obama, since "experience" is so important to you.
An ability to absorb new
An ability to absorb new material quickly and make good decisions under serious adverse pressure is indeed a primary job requirement.
I'm only questioning the
I'm only questioning the "she has foreign policy experience" spin. She seems like an admirable person and politician from what little I know of her.
Yes, I'm voting for Obama, and yes, his FP experience is the biggest area of concern for me. I am comfortable that he has a fairly sophisticated understanding of foreign policy (ie, academic knowledge), but that is different that actual experience. Despite my view that Biden is a bit of a blowhard, the pick does give some comfort on the experience issue.
That's true enough...
The party folks are less than convincing arguing that she has significant foreign policy experience. The truth is that you pick a V-P candidate in part to BALANCE THE TICKET. McCain has foreign policy experience; he doesn't need the Veep to back him up on that. Obama absolutely lacks foreign policy experience, so he had little choice but to select someone like Biden. McCain is weak with the social and the fiscal conservatives, so he picked a candidate with expertise and support in those areas.
spin away, justin
If she has substantially policy experience, that's fine, the campaign can just lay it out at some point
BS. The nature of national security intel exposure is such that "laying it out" is normally not possible, especially "to put anything substantial about it in writing". And she has more policy experience from negotiating that natural gas pipeline with Canada than Obama has from doing anything, which mostly he hasn't. Puh-lease.
this is the first I've heard about the governor of Alaska being a national security heavy post
What, they forgot to brief YOU? :-) And "heavy" is a relative-value term, one not useful this context. Tsk tsk. I'm sure the HEW Committee Obama sits on is not "heavy" on national security either. In any case, I can personally assure you that many people at all levels of government are actively involved with restricted-disclosure national security issues and homeland security operations and can not talk about them just to please the casual interest of internet commenters.
but to infer she does because here state borders Alaska is reaching a bit
Not in the least--since 9/11 local/state "looping" into homeland security issues has escalated considerably. Nowadays the average police chief in any of the top 100 metro areas has more practical national/homeland security exposure than most Congresscritters (any not on the Intel or Armed Services committees) and certainly a lot more practical training. The Governor of our only Russian-border state certainly has more exposure to national security issues than most. And, er, she's not governor of Russia or Canada, which are what border Alaska. Nor is the ASDF, of which Palin is sole C-in-C, a marching-band state militia.
No, it's actually very easy
No, it's actually very easy to lay out someone's experience. Has she ever negotiated with Russia? What was her day-to-day FP briefing like? Can she at least talk substantively about any national security issue? Can she in general describe any difficult foreign policy experience? Until anything else comes out, the fact that she is governor of an a laregely unpopulated area that borders another largely unpopulated area of Russia isn't really convincing.
The same logic could be used for Obama--he was a United States Senator, the United States is very active in the world, and he is privy to some classified information, and may or may not have been briefed on stuff, and he may know stuff that we don't even know about, or can't talk about it for national security reasons, so Obama is supremely qualified on national securitiy issues (use sarcasm emoticon).
In any case, I can personally assure you that many people at all levels of government are actively involved with restricted-disclosure national security issues and homeland security operations and can not talk about them just to please the casual interest of internet commenters.
That proves a little too much, no? Then there are a whole bunch of local officials who are qualified on national securitiy grounds to be VP?
Palin seems like a good, smart politician, and a good short term pick, but unfortunately I think McCain neutered his strongest argument against Obama: that Obama lacks experience. To try to define experience as being just "involved" in national security as a local official, or a governor of a state that borders Russia, is to reduce experience to an almost meaningless term. McCain can be called experienced, so can Biden, Obama and Palin not so much, so I guess I'm trying to say that by trying to say Palin has foreign policy experience is to basically neuter the McCain experience argument.
More so than you.
Then there are a whole bunch of local officials who are qualified on national securitiy grounds to be VP?
Much more so than you, and with more relevant opinions than yours on such issues. :-) Yes, there are a whole lot of local/state officials with sufficient and satisfactory national security qualifications. Many or most of whom already hold most of the relevant and required clearances.
The same logic could be used for Obama--he was a United States Senator, the United States is very active in the world, and he is privy to some classified information, and may or may not have been briefed on stuff, and he may know stuff that we don't even know about, or can't talk about it for national security reasons, so Obama is supremely qualified on national securitiy issues (use sarcasm emoticon).
Bullsh*t. He has zero executive-level experience, so you don't reach Step One of the relevant logic chain. Policy is executive, not legislative. Zero divided by anything is still infinity. He could conceivably have some relevant knowledge--he has zero relevant experience.
Nor do Senators gain that much "foreign policy" experience save at second hand, as back-seat drivers. Foreign policy is reserved to the executive branch, normally exercised via the State Department. Senators are limited to the "advise and consent" role. (Don't blame me, I didn't write the Constitution.)
So you were worried about
So you were worried about McCain's executive experience (of which he has none) before the Palin pick?
Nice, Justin. Is that
Nice, Justin. Is that genuine ignorance or intentional prevarication?
Last I looked, commanding officer of the Replacement Air Group in Jacksonville, Fla. (while turning it around to the point of winning its first ever meritorious unit citation) counts as "executive experience." All command slots do.
Working as an activist in
Working as an activist in Chicago, and running a campaign that beat one of the best organized political dynasties should count as executive experience then too. Executive experience (as it pertains to a president) means running a large, bureaucratic organization with lots of conflicting interests, appointing people to key positions, delegating to agencies etc.; like being a CEO of a large company, or a governor or a large state. I'm not voting for John McCain, but I'm sure he is very qualified for the job; however, I don't think that McCain has executive experience as most people mean it when they talk about the presidency, even though being a commanding officer is an impressive qualification for the job.
I never really got why people think executive experience is that important to being the President, it seems that would be one to the easiest things about the job to pick up (not that it's easy, just that it's not really at the top of the list of critical items).
LMAO. Spin, baby, spin. No,
LMAO. Spin, baby, spin. No, campaigns don't count unless they run them personally (Obama hasn't--he's been baby-sat and coddled from Day One), and I know too many "community activists" to buy that line.
I never really got why people think executive experience is that important to being the President
I would go along with that somewhat--the best thing about prior executive experience is that it provides a way to assess prior executive performance. Past that I agree that it's over-rated.
Therefore the ticket should
Therefore the ticket should be reversed since Palin has more executive FP experience than McCain.
hmm...
According to a 12/10/06 article in the Herald Tribune:
"While the 49th is an Alaska National Guard unit, Hildreth reports to Colonel Michael Yowell, commander of the 100th Missile Defense Brigade, based in Colorado."
Apparently Palin is NOT Commander in Chief when it comes to this "special" unit. Funny how the author of the original blog post failed to mention that. Notice that he or she never explicitly stated that Palin was commander of the 49th. Rather, he or she only stated that the 49th was in Alaska. Hmmm...