Uhh….what does that have to do with anything??? Palin has been asked a series of straightforward questions about pressing national policy questions and general questions about how she thinks and processes information. No one gives a damn that she’s from Alaska. McCain is from Panama, for crissakes.

The only reason Alaska comes up in these interviews is because Palin talks about it as a way to hide the fact she doesn’t know anything about the question that is being asked.

The problem isn’t that Palin is from Alaska–it’s that she’s a moronic lightweight.

BTW: the weirdness factor about the interviews would have been mitigated if Palin had simply done the normal gamut of media availabilities.

I have little doubt that folks in the lower 48 are not that well versed about Alaska. On the other hand, I am not sure that it is an Alaska-specific phenomenon. When I moved from Texas to California I was treated as it I was from some odd, exotic place.

I could, however, tell folks from whence I received my news

I think it was a stupid question to ask. Ask a stupid question, get a vague answer.

Sorry, the devil made me say it…

Quite correct. For some reason I keep wanting to jump ahead in time.

I can understand getting nervous when being interviewed for a national tv program, but as I said before anyone who spends 1/2 hour each morning skimming a serious national newspaper (Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, Christian Science Monitor) could answer ANY of the questions she faced over the last couple of week.

Keeping up with these “serious” news sources is the mark of an engaged citizen and an educated person. That is not to say that any of these sources are not without faults. But they form the context of national political and policy conversations.

This woman clearly–and self-admittedly–is disengaged with the “national conversation” and, as such, is an irresponsible citizen (let alone public servant). To aspire to national office without EVEN FOLLOWING national conversations is extremely reckless.

The fact that McCain would choose someone so disengaged as a running mate is disturbing and shows his own disregard for the country.