Holy crap! McCain and Palin lie about Alaska Coast Guard cred with foreign policy experience

[zulchzulu]

It is an absolute joke. Palin was asked about her foreign policy experience and she answered like a waitress at a diner. "I will be ready!", she said without ANYTHING to prove it.

McClueless tried to tag team and mentioned that she was commander-in-chief of the Coast Guard (to rousing cheers)... which is bullshit:

In an effort to claim that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has adequate foreign policy experience, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) presidential campaign has repeatedly referred to her as “the commander of the National Guard, of Alaska’s National Guard.” On Fox News Sunday last week, McCain himself invoked that experience, saying, “She has been with her troops, the National Guard that she commands.”

But in several interviews last week, the relevance of Palin’s role with the National Guard was severely undercut by the actual commander of the Alaska National Guard — its Adjutant General, Major General Craig Campbell:

– “But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.”

– “And while the Alaska National Guard operates a launch site for a US anti-missile system at Fort Greely, about 100 miles south of Fairbanks, the Alaskan governor is not in the site’s chain of command and has no authority over its operations, according to Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell.”

– “Campbell also said that Palin has authority over the National Guard’s domestic missions — such as fighting wildfires and rescuing stranded residents, but that she has a limited role in determining how the forces are trained or equipped.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/09/palin-national-guard-promotion/

Nice try, Johnny. Sarah... give it a rest.

(On edit: I made the text a little larger for the critical talking points.)