WSJ Political Diary: Sarah Stateswoman

"India offers a lesson here."
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Abheek Bhattacharya, Asia-based editorial page writer for The Wall Street Journal, opines in WSJ's Political Diary that Gov. Palin hit the right notes in her recent speech in New Delhi by discussing the values that U.S. and India hold in common:

Sarah Palin did a fine job bolstering her foreign-policy credentials in a speech in New Delhi this month. She hit the right notes discussing the common democratic values and the similar geopolitical outlook that tie the U.S. with India. And she hailed New Delhi economic reforms that were launched 20 years ago and have deepened the bond.

"The relationship between our countries could shape the course of the next century, tilting it in the direction of free people and free markets," she said.

The former Alaska governor also addressed how free-market reforms could inform energy policy.

[...]

The other side of her vision involves developing the natural resources in America that regulations, like bans on offshore drilling, have "stymied." In a time of high unemployment and high inflation, unlocking the country's mineral wealth can both create jobs and provide larger supplies of oil and gas to ease high energy prices.

[More]

h/t: Benyamin Korn

- JP

Video: Sarah Palin interviewed in India by Koel Purie Rinchet

From Headlines Today
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Part 1:

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Part 2:


h/t: Ian and Ron

- JP

MSNBC/Politico Tag Team Criticizes Palin for Overseas Trip

Mitchell misrepresents Sarah Palin's travel record
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MSNBC and Politico, two of the most virulent anti-Palin outlets in the Democrat/Media complex, teamed up to blast Gov. Palin for her overseas visit to two countries which are among America's strongest allies. Obama PR operative Andrea Mitchell, who plays a journalist on TV, and Jeanne Cummings, a managing editor at leftsite Politico, are seen ganging up on the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate in this clip from Eyeblast TV:


Mitchell lied through her teeth, a common practice for the leftist talking head, by mumbling that Gov. Palin's recent trip was "one of her first ventures overseas." Actually, it was her fourth excusion overseas and seventh visit of significance to take place on foreign soil.

As governor of Alaska, she made a surprise sojourn to Kuwait to spend some time with the Alaska Army National Guard's 3rd Battalion 297th Infantry, which was deployed there at the time. She then flew to Germany to visit wounded soldiers in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center there before returning to the U.S. Two years later, Gov. Palin again visited troops from Alaska deployed overseas, members of 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, form the bulk of Task Force Arctic Eagle at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo.

In September, 2009, Sarah Palin flew to Hong Kong, where she had been invited to deliver a major address which was well received. In March of 2010, she spoke to a crowd of over 1,000 in Cagary, Canada - not an overseas journey but a visit to our northern neighbor and another country which is a key U.S. ally. And her recent trip to the nations of India and Israel included a brief stop in Taiwan. Were Andrea Mitchell not so intellectually incurious and left-biased, she would know these facts and report truthfully.

h/t: Breitbart TV and NewsBusters

- JP

Gov. Palin's India Today Address

Live stream from New Delhi
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Watch it here.

Gov. Palin will visit Israel after she speaks in India

Both countries key U.S. allies
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Following her Saturday speech in India, Gov. Palin will stop in Israel for a two-day visit before she returns to the U.S., CNN reports:

“I'm thankful to be able to travel to Israel on my way back to the U.S.,” Palin said in a statement obtained by CNN. “As the world confronts sweeping changes and new realities, I look forward to meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the key issues facing his country, our ally Israel.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate will also meet with other members of Israel's Likud Party, including MK Danny Danon:

She was also expected to visit the Western Wall and Nazareth during her short stay, according to Army Radio.

Palin, an outspoken supporter of Israel, has often criticized the Obama administration for what she believes to be its unfair treatment of the Jewish State.

Related: Shalom Sarah Palin, welcome to Israel

h/t: JewsForSarah.com

- JP

Quote of the Day (March 7, 2011)

India Looks Forward to Sarah Palin's New Delhi Visit
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Mark Whittington at Associated Content:

"Indians, it seems, do not take their direction from what Sarah Palin herself calls the 'lamestream media' and would prefer to see for themselves what kind of person Palin is and what sort of American president she might become. Considering the cogency and sophisticated insight of her previous statements on various policy issues, they are likely to like what they see."

- JP

India visit offers Gov. Palin opportunity to draw contrast with Obama

"In India... Mrs. Palin is certain to be well received."
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New York Sun contributing editor Pranay Gupte weighs in on Gov. Palin's keynote address scheduled for March 19 in India, saying her decision to accept the invitation to speak in New Delhi was a canny one, giving that the India Today conclave "arguably possesses the biggest private-sector megaphone in the world’s largest democracy":

Mrs. Palin’s choice is also shrewd because her visit to India will come barely three months after a celebrated one by President Obama. Her appearance is certain to elicit comparisons, however superficial. A presidential visit, replete with pomp and pageantry, is far more of a visual and verbal feast than that of a private citizen, even if she happens to have been an erstwhile governor of Alaska and a former running mate in an American presidential election.

Nevertheless, Mrs. Palin’s India journey is an important one. For one, Indians would like to hear a clearly defined sense of America’s political and economic trajectory. Mr. Obama’s message during his trip last November was replete with predictable bromides and the usual rhetoric of bilateral friendship.

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But it is in India that Mrs. Palin is certain to be well received; there will be quite of bit of curiosity, too, since she will be a newcomer — although not a new face media-wise — for Indians. That has little to do with her controversial public persona. Rather, Indians have traditionally looked favorably at Republicans, with the possible exception of Richard Nixon, during whose presidency Washington openly sided with Pakistan as India assisted the former territory of East Pakistan to gain independence from Islamabad and establish itself as Bangladesh. Two years after George W. Bush retired from the White House, he’s still held in high regard in New Delhi on account of his unflinching support for the deal under which India has been allowed to buy equipment for its civilian nuclear program.

The other reason that Mrs. Palin will be warmly received is that Indians like women leaders. After all, the country’s most powerful politician is Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress; the INC is the lead party in the coalition that rules India. It has often been said that Mrs. Gandhi, daughter-in-law of the assassinated prime inister, Indira Gandhi, is the person that the current prime minister, Manmohan Singh, consults on every major decision. Mrs. Palin is bound to be impressed by how many women legislators there are in India’s national parliament, and in the assemblies of the countries 28 states and seven federal territories.

[...]

And given her personality, Mrs. Palin most definitely will make friends in India, which has already begun souring on President Obama for his perceived failure to follow through on promises made on his state visit. Happily, Mrs. Palin will be a political tourist; she will have no obligation to make any pledges, other than of accelerating her personal friendships in a land known for its warmth and hospitality.

[More]

- JP

Gov. Palin to speak in India next month

March 19 in New Delhi
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Chris Cillizza reports and SarahPAC's Rebecca Mansour confirms:

Sarah Palin is going to India next month, where she will speak at the annual "India Today Conclave." Other speakers include India's prime minister and Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei

Gov. Palin will deliver the keynote address at the final major event of the conclave in New Delhi, a dinner gala Saturday night, March 19. The topic of her speech is "My Vision of America."

- JP