If the rule that knowledge of a place comes from proximity to that place is true (ie. Russia to Alaska), isn't the inverse rule true also? That being, that knowing about Afghanistan makes it closer?

Just askin'

neighbor = friend

In her mind, anyway.

All she has to do is say it's a global economy and we all share globally in the fight against terrorism. Brotherhood of man. I am my neighbor's keeper. Get all biblical about it. Hence we're all "neighbors" and elitists are merely parsing her words in a way to make her look dumb. Rove can parry this one with both hands tied behind his back.

I really do think Palin suffers from attention deficit disorder. Her brain and mouth are not attached.

Steve, I don't think you need to even mention a subject anymore.

She's in web parlance, a 404 error and leave it at that.

What she probably meant to say was that 'there is hope and opportunity in the neighboring country of Pakistan' only she didn't have the line memorized correctly. It's the only way it makes any sense at all.

As for Palin, my wife -- who had almost totally lost interest in politics after the defeat of Ferraro until the election, and now watches Keith and Rachel regularly -- had two apt zingers.
"She doesn't act like she's running for Vice President but for Class President."

and
"Republicans are pretty bad, but at least the men act like they've been potty-trained."

I think her problem is that she learns phrases but doesn't really know what they mean. In this case, she just liked the sound of the word "neighboring" as if it meant the same as "friendly". The problem isn't that she doesn't know geography, as I'm sure she's aware that Afghanistan isn't next to us. Her problem is that she doesn't really know the English language very well and is too dumb to realize this.

Three days after a mostly gaffe-free debate performance - reuters

Support of civil unions? McClellan? unique VP powers? Sudan divestment? NCLB doesn't work? doesn't matter if Climate Change is manmade? wink? I don't answer questions asked?

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but Reuters is being a bit overly generous.

I really do think Palin suffers from attention deficit disorder. Her brain and mouth are not attached.

Yep. 'Cept we are the ones suffering.

"Projection" is EXACTLY what the McCain campaign strategy is all about.

But Biden said FDR was president when the Depression started. When you're vice president, it's much more important to recite historical facts correctly than to know where the countries in which are currently fighting wars are located (or to know the views of the generals leading our forces there).

OT, but the Dow just went below 10,000 -- didn't see exactly when.

Hold on to your hats, investors are superstitious, and it's gonna be a really bumpy sled ride now.

I suspect Palin's gaffes come not only from being uninformed, but also from being overly scripted. Her constant reliance on talking points is obvious, but I don't believe for a moment that she's actually stupid. Vindictive and insular, with a tendency to abuse power and reward cronies at the expense of talent, but not stupid.

I'll bet that someday we'll learn that the McCain team overloaded her, not only with what she can say and what she can't, but also HOW she can say what she can. They're aware of her shortcomings as a national candidate, as they ought to be, and by requiring her to only give certain answers no matter what the question is, they make her look sillier than she actually is. I don't think they have an alternative, either, and it couldn't happen to a nicer campaign.

I think you should spread the news of these terrible gaffes to voters in all "57" states.

I realize now that John McCain's adviser was off by a decimal point when he wrote Dow 36,000. If we get McCain we will likely see Dow 3600.

Note to John and Sarah: Sarcasm only works with the base. The rest of us find it a turn-off.

This is really going to damage Palin-oh no wait it's not!

Look, it's quite simple. It's a well-established fact that you can see Russia from Alaska, after all, and since Afghanistan is a neighboring country to Russia it follows, ipso facto, that you can see Afghanistan from Alaska, which makes them neighboring countries.

Obviously, she was merely confusing Afghanistan with Russia, which she can clearly see from her office window, what with Alaska and Russia beiung such close neighbors, after all. Anybody could make the same mistake, really, what with Russia and Afghanistan being so similar and all.

I think it's pretty clear what she meant. Alphabetically, Afghanistan is pretty close to Alaska.

CarloP got it right. She was using "neighbor" to mean "friend." She doesn't think Afghanistan is a literal neighbor. She has no idea where it is located.

"...since Afghanistan is a neighboring country to Russia..."

Stefan, have you checked a map within the past couple decades? Or, like McCain, do you also still refer to the Czech Republic as Czechoslovakia?

Speaking of geography, Reuters has the location wrong. It was in Burlingame CA, not San Francisco.
Different county - you wouldn't substitute Orange County for Los Angles Country.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/05/MN8N13BSR2.DTL&tsp=1

(For you all not in the SF Bay Area, Burlingame is a wealthy suburb of the area, much more conservative than San Francisco. It's in the county just south of SF, San Mateo.)

Look, someone who lives two doors down from you is still your neighbor, right? Otherwise why would we differentiate next-door neighbors?

So, Russia is Alaska's next door neighbor and Afghanistan is just two doors down from Alaska. Afghanistan is probably the better neighnor, in fact, if it keeps its kids out of Alaska's yard, whereas Putin just keeps rearing his head on Sarah's lawn.

My guess is that she wanted to say "ally" and got mixed up.

She probably meant, neighboring to Iraq, but it's still a dumb statement - and she doesn't have old age as a semi-excuse.

Stefan, have you checked a map within the past couple decades? Or, like McCain, do you also still refer to the Czech Republic as Czechoslovakia?

I was using sarcasm.....unsuccessfully, I see....

Pretty sure even Palin knows that Afghanistan is no where near the United States. If there's any lesson to be learned from the gaffe (and there probably isn't, but I'm going to make one, anyway), it's that Palin relies too much on "filler" words to try to sound like she knows what she's talking about. Anyone who's ever written a paper about a book he or she never read knows that when you don't have anything to say, you use a lot of adjectives, which never say that much anyway (but add to the word count nonetheless).

Note to Palin:
Cut the fluff words, and your talking points get that much easier to memorize.

I think Carlo has it right; she must mean 'a neighbor in the world community' not as in, being adjacent.

Still, listening to her is like untying kite string.