In a preview clip from the second half of Sarah Palin’s interview with Katie Couric, airing tonight, the CBS anchor asks the Alaska governor about her foreign-policy experience and her boasts that her state shares a maritime border with Russia. Palin’s response is a collection of hems and haws that are extremely uncomfortable to watch. As she stumbles over word choice, Couric patiently encourages her. “Our next-door neighbors are foreign countries,” Palin manages. “They’re in the state that I’m executive of.” The thing is, she does have a point to make — Alaska has to be vigilant about Russian incursions into American airspace, and it exchanges trade missions with the country. But she can’t effectively get the point across, and the result is a little bit like watching someone with stage fright in the early episodes of American Idol. Some Obama supporters will likely regard this tape with glee, as Couric is so polite and sweet that McCain’s camp won’t be able to blame Palin’s inarticulateness on press bullying. It made us just feel queasy and kind of sorry for her. Video (plus the other thing it reminded us of) after the jump.
Oh, and did all this flustration remind anybody else of political comedian Nicholas Fehn?
Palin and her Foreign Policy Credentials [TNR]
Palin: Stop Making Fun of Me [Gawker]
