Palin unaware of Russian energy meeting in Alaska

[kpete]

Source: CNN

October 15, 2008
Palin unaware of Russian energy meeting in Alaska
Posted: 12:45 PM ET

From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby
Palin did not know that Russian oil officials would be visiting her home state this week.

DOVER, New Hampshire (CNN) – The campaign of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said the Alaska governor was unaware of a visit by Russian energy officials to Anchorage on Monday.

Eight high-level officials from Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy conglomerate, traveled to Anchorage earlier this week to meet with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the chief executive of ConocoPhillips to discuss energy projects and the possibility of expanding into new markets.

The meeting on Alaskan soil comes at a time of chilly relations between Russia and the United States following Russia’s invasion of Georgia in August. Both Palin and John McCain have been critical of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the campaign trail, and Palin raised eyebrows last month in an interview by saying that Putin “rears his head” by dispatching Russian jets into Alaska’s airspace.

Palin has argued that her state’s proximity to Russia, as well as trade missions between Alaska and Russia, have helped give her the foreign policy experience necessary to be Vice President. But the campaign said the governor did not know that the Gazprom delegation was meeting with the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, who is a Palin appointee.

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/15/palin-u... /

[maddezmom]

1. dear lord

I'm not sure I should be laughing at her or crying at this point.

[LynnTheDem]

2. well DAMN that gotcha media!!!

Poor palin', dumber than George W. bUsh.

[sohndrsmith]

3. Wow. It's too bad she has to be "absent" a whole 6 months

before they consider her out of office... I guess she's let everything to the Lieutenant Governor? Interesting that no one thought it was a reasonable thing to give her a heads up, much less ask her for some pro forma statement over the phone so she can at least appear like she's actually aware of her surroundings... yikes.

[Xipe Totec]

4. She's aware now, and she's coming to the rescue

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

12. Is she gonna suspend her campaign?

[Dukkha]

5. Must have occured where her house has no windows

[Twinguard]

6. Bad, Sarah, bad!

No mooseburger for you tonight!

You were supposed to be watching Russia!

[Thor_MN]

7. Oooh Nooo, thooose russians are rearin' their heads!!!

And where did they gooo? AhLAAAska.

[sniffa]

8. Give her a break

Since she's on the trail in the lower 48 she hasn't been able to keep her eyes on Russia. If she were home (collecting per diem in her tanning booth) she would have seen them cross over into Alaskan air space.

[4lbs]

9. Maybe if she had picked up and read the Anchorage Daily News she would have known about the meeting.

n/t

[YDogg]

10. You had me at "Palin unaware."

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. "Despite Palin's absence from the state, Irwin said “it remains business as normal...

and the governor has stayed very involved in state activities and is still leading state government."

So, it's normal business for Palin not to even know if Russian energy officials are meeting with the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources?

[Indenturedebtor]

13. Oh Noes It's Teh Pootin Heed!

[Kalifornia.Kid]

14. She didn't have time for a Starbucks run ...

It's about all she reads.

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

15. Funny. Nothing more, just funny :) n/t

[emald]

16. the stupid is stunning

I'm an alaskan, in fact I live in Wasilla. I knew she was not suited to running a diner much less a state but this stunt should be a warning to all. She has no idea what happens in her own government. Wow. Stupid is as stupid does.

[harmonicon]

17. sweet lord

A pathological liar not even smart enough to lie about the right things at the right times.

[jaybeat]

18. It wasn't Putin's head.

Just his Gazprom buddies. No of course she didn't know.

Besides, when she was Mayor she hired a city administrator to take care of all that stuff, so I'm sure as Governor she hardly has to know what day it is.

But if it HAD been the EvilPutinHead, she'd a been all over it.

Yup. Take 'em out with her moosegun, she woulda.

[redqueen]

19. ...

[JNelson6563]

20. Clueless.

Remarkable.

[hootinholler]

21. Well, ya never know when Putin's gonna stick his head in yer airspace there.

What a vapid woman.

-Hoot

[HopeHoops]

22. To Palin, the word "EXPERT" means you changed shampoo when the dandruf cleared up

[MadinMo]

23. So has she quit her job as Governor?

There is no excuse for letting her job as Governor slip.

[Froward69]

24. better get Todd right on that

[Magleetis]

25. What?

She couldn't see them coming? Maybe she wasn't watching.

[sakabatou]

26. D'oh

[Myrina]

27. ... and she's the McCain camp "Energy Expert"

bwaa hahahahaa

[Solly Mack]

28. But she knows everything about energy and Putin's rearing head!

How is this possible?

[bamacrat]

29. Shouldnt an "executive" know something like that?