Thursday, September 4, 2008

Commander in Chief Palin?

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's defenders are hailing her experience as commander in chief of the Alaska National guard, members of which are serving in Iraq. Trouble is: while in Iraq, the Alaska National guard is under the command of the President, not the governor of Alaska. So what shorts of things has the Alaska National Guard done under Palin? Major General Craig Campbell, service commander for the Alaska National Guard, provides some examples:

"We've deployed individuals in state service all over the state under Sarah Palin," he said. "We had defense men down in Seward for the (Mount) Marathon run doing security.
So basically, Palin's got about as much experience as commander in chief as the manager of your local Safeway who hires an off-duty cop to provide security for the store. That's reassuring. Except that:

Did Palin directly approve each of those activities?

No, Campbell said. The governor has granted him authority to act on his own in most cases, including life-or-death emergencies when a quick response is required, or minor day-to-day operations.

Ooops. Oh well, just cross your fingers that John McCain's melanomas don't come back if he's elected president.

(hat tip: Wonkette)

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