Fact Check: Palin Wrong on Former VP Credentials (ABC)

[Waiting For Everyman]

ABC News Blog, Political Radar
September 11, 2008

ABC News' Lisa Chinn reports: During her interview with ABC News' Charlie Gibson Thursday Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin attempted to deflect a question about the fact she has never met a foreign head of state by saying that "many" other vice presidential nominees in history hadn't met a head of state either.

However Palin was mistaken, at least where recent history is concerned.

Every vice president over the last 30 years had met a foreign head of state before being elected.

"Have you ever met a foreign head of state?" Gibson asked Palin Thursday.

"I have not," Palin said, "and I think if you go back in history and if you ask that question of many vice presidents, they may have the same answer that I just gave you."

However Palin, who obtained her first passport two years ago, would in fact be the first vice president in 32 years who hadn't met a foreign head of state, if she were elected.

The current Vice President Dick Cheney is a former Secretary of Defense and met foreign leaders in that capacity.

Former Vice President Al Gore was a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee and went on many congressional trips abroad, known as CODELS, where he met foreign leaders.

Former Vice President Dan Quayle was also a member the Senate Armed Committee and went on many CODELS.

Former President George H.W. Bush was the Ambassador to China before he became a vice president and eventually president.

Walter Mondale, who became vice president in 1977 under President Jimmy Carter, was a senator for 16 years before becoming VP and met foreign leaders.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/fact-check-pali.html

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Well now, that was a remarkably intelligent answer, wasn't it? It seems there's a wide gap between what's true, and what Palin thinks is true. Facts aren't her forte, are they?

Actually, I think we might have to go back to Spiro Agnew on her assertion above - b/c if I'm not mistaken, I think Ford also had met foreign leaders prior to becoming VP. So Palin, of the VPs going 60 years back, there was one as poorly-equipped as you... Agnew. And what a great VP he made, didn't he? And he was governor of a state for only half of a term too. How'd that work out?

"Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the thirty-ninth Vice President of the United States (and the first Greek American to serve in that capacity) serving under President Richard M. Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland. He is noted for his quick rise in politics - going in six years from County Executive to Vice President of the United States."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiro_Agnew

Oh, and he was only County Executive for one term too, prior to that he was head of the PTA at my school... kinda like Palin's credentials, huh? He was a "reformer" too, also noted for being bi-partisan. He was a veteran, and popular with blue collar voters as the son of an immigrant.

He didn't like highly educated people either. He was famous for his witty, folksy put-downs of journalists and intellectuals, which Pat Buchanan helped write. The under-educated loved it of course. He was all for dumbing-down America. In fact, dumbing-down our schools is what he developed the master program for as County Executive, and he ran the pilot program for it at my school in the mid-1960s, so I know. Everyone involved, teachers and students and principal, thought it was the dumbest program ever (how appropriate!), and it was forgotten... until a few years later it started sweeping the country in "education reforms" in the early 1970s. Wonder why he was offered the VP-spot with Nixon then? Hmm... That dumbing-down of our schools sure did make it easier for Japan and Germany to compete with us later on, paving the way for global trade.

And in the same way now, maybe Halliburton getting such big privatized government Iraq contracts via Alaskan Native corporations could have something to do with Palin's swift rise too? What's going on in Alaska is the exact same scam Abramoff and Reed have been pulling with American Indian tribes. (For more on that, see Bill Moyers on PBS.)

You know of course... every time a Repub says "smaller government" that's code for privatized government and selling off government assets. Palin said she's all for it. Believe her. Privatizing, deregulating, selling assets... Gramm economics AGAIN!

As Deep Throat said... "follow the money". He also said we didn't get anywhere near the whole scandal. Nope, we only get it long after-the-fact and only partly then. Way too late to do anything about it.

edit - Oh, and I forgot to mention for "younger than boomer" readers, Agnew came within a hairs-breadth of becoming President. If it weren't for his indictment in Maryland just in time, he would've taken over from Nixon after Watergate. (One catastrophe that was spared us.)

[dccrossman]

1. Nice tying to Agnew,

although it may lose most of the electorate, given that our collective political memory is about 10 years, at best.

I hope that Obama can stay focused on McCain and that maybe information like this can get out via a 527. Palin really just repeats whatever she's told. She doesn't have the knowledge or time, to check the facts that are being fed to her by her handlers. McCain, at least when he's cognizant, actually has some knowledge about what's happened over the last 100 years, Palin seems completely oblivious. It's as though she never studied American history. Don't you need that? Even for a Journalism degree?

[Rhiannon12866]

4. I agree with you. And people aren't going to remember if they weren't paying attention

in the first place. I recently heard some commentary that said "for those who remember the 2004 election." Huh?! Which voters are way too young to remember back that far?! :crazy:

Palin really frightens me. It's obvious to the rest of us, after listening to her canned words for a week, that she has no idea what she's talking about. The dangerous part is that she doesn't realize it, is prepared to just go full steam ahead, no matter what... :scared:

It would depend on the college (and she had several, didn't she?) what courses are required for a degree. But didn't she even study American History in high school? Or pick up a newspaper? Wait, she was only concerned with Alaska... :eyes:

BTW, welcome to DU! It's great to have you with us!:hi:

[cascadiance]

6. In this other thread, the ACTUAL last VP not meeting foreign leaders was COOLIDGE!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3981022

references:

http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=3866676

which has:

bubbaprog 2008-09-12 01:50:13 AM

GIBSON: I'm talking about somebody who's a head of state, who can negotiate for that country. Ever met one?

PALIN: I have not and I think if you go back in history and if you ask that question of many vice presidents, they may have the same answer that I just gave you.

Fortunately, I have a copy of the Encyclopedia of American Vice Presidents. (I am a nerd.) Let's see if she's right.

Cheney - met with dozens of world leaders as Secretary of Defense including Saudi leaders before Desert Storm
Gore - met with numerous world leaders while chair of the Governmental Affairs Senate committee and other congressional delegation trips
Quayle - member of Senate Armed Services committee, on several congressional delegations abroad
George Bush - Ambassador to China
Walter Mondale - spent much of his time in the Senate traveling abroad as chair of Intelligence Committee, met with NATO leaders on a regular basis
Nelson Rockefeller - Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs
Gerald Ford - traveled abroad numerous times while serving as House Minority Leader, met with leaders in Europe, Africa, and southeast Asia
Spiro Agnew - met with Western European leaders on trade negotiation trip while governor of Maryland
H.H. Humphrey - several trips to Western Europe on behalf of his chairmanship of the Select Committee on Disarmament
LBJ - long history of meeting with foreign leaders, most notably while Senate minority leader
Nixon - met with West German chancellor while art of Herter Committee on the Marshall Plan
Alben Barkley - met with Churchill to secure the details of the Lend-Lease Act
Truman - met with Churchill and other Allied leaders while part of the Senate Truman War Committee
Henry Wallace - met with south central Asian and Russian leaders as Secretary of Agriculture
Jack Garner - met with Mexican federal officials during World War I
Chuck Curtis - Met with French, Dutch, and British leaders in regards to defense in the Caribbean as Chairman of the Committee on Coastal Defense
Charles C. Dawes - Met the King of Sweden when awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (among many, many other instances)
Calvin Coolidge - cannot find any evidence he met with any foreign leaders prior to the Vice Presidency

So you have to go back to 1920 to find the last Vice President who had not met with foreign leaders prior to his/her nomination/selection. That's 17 straight Vice Presidents.

So Rethugs are REALLY trying to rewrite history so that the depression era gets recreated again!

[groovedaddy]

2. Tying her to Agnew won't get us very far. Tying her to Bush & Co. will. n.t

[tanyev]

3. Facts are just so inconvenient.

Especially when they disagree with what you believe or what you want to be true.

[YankeyMCC]

5. Somehow I dought little things like "facts"

will deter most of the people who have decided to support the McSame ticket because he choose her as his VP running mate.

[UK populist]

7. What about not second guessing Israel ?????????????

The most disturbing part of the interview for me was Palin insisting we shouldn't second guess Israel on attacking Iran ? Screeeeeeeeech WAIT A MINUTE. So she is saying the fact that US has up to or more than 200,000 military personnel within range of every type of ballistic missile Iran has does not give the US gov't or the British gov't (20,000-40,000) the right tell Israel not to put our people in the middle of what would likely escalate in to WW-III given the way Russia and China are changing the way they see the so called threat from Iran.

Please somebody please tell me that this is not going to get overlooked. This has to be the most damaging possible indictment there can be to any so called foreign policy experience argument John Mccain can even try to put across to the US public.

I read lots of US political blogs because even over here in Britain it is easy to see how incapable your MSM is but this is the first time that I have been so dumbfounded by the topics being discussed to do with her speech even on here that I had to participate. I would hope it was a simple oversight of people given too much fodder to chew on to notice something as important and dangerous as this subject is and not a similar pattern to what has happened in your national media.

[trthnd4jstc]

8. Not Second Guessing Israel, because we must support Israel, my Pastor tells me so.

I have been in churches, many dominionist churches, which say that Israel is essential to G-d's plans for the end times. Also, with this same reasoning, we need to have the RFID chip installed into people, Big Brother looking into all of our lives, A war in the plains of Megiddo-Armegeddon, and then G-d's chosen few will be lifted up into the Rapture. Now about the RFID chip (the mark of the beast on the hands or foreheads of the Anti-christ's followers), these Christians do not think that it is their Republican administration that is Big Brother-or serving the Anti-Christ. If the Anti-Christ is the one who says that Christ is not Christ, and he is the one leading the world. Who the F is ruling the world right now. Liberals? Think again. It is the Fascist, Republicans. They are the ones here are behaving like the Anti-Christ.

Every event is following G-d's Plan. It is Easy as pie. Obey your church. Obey what they teach. Do not question what you are being told. This is all G-d's Will. We cannot question it. See it has been all explained in the Bible, which had its contents certified and decided upon by a group of people at the Council of Nicea. Bull$hit! Human Made Religion. Human Determined Destiny. I believe in G-d, but I believe that the spirit of life, though flowing through our veins, and flaming our spirits, does not prevent, Hitler, Stalin, Bush, Palin, nor myself, from doing, saying, acting, destroying, lying, stealing, cheating, or any other ruinous behaviour. I sometimes wish G-d would prevent the evils of the world. It won't happen though.

It is not G-d's will to have Israel bombing Iran. From what little I understand about the Spirit of Life, G-d is about love and life. G-d is not about death and destruction. Republicans are though, and they use this war-like religious talk to get there way.