GOP foreign policy experts cool on Palin - David Paul Kuhn - Politico.com

GOP foreign policy experts cool on Palin - David Paul Kuhn - Politico.com: "By DAVID PAUL KUHN | 9/11/08 4:50 AM EST
Text Size:
Condoleezza Rice, Aug. 26, 2008
In a CNN interview over the weekend, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declined to defend Palin’s foreign policy credentials when asked whether Palin has 'enough experience to handle the kinds of things that you need to handle?'
...........


The acclaim for the vice presidential nominee is all but deafening within the GOP, except in one small but influential corner: the party’s foreign policy establishment. Among that mandarin class, the response to Palin’s nomination has been underwhelming, marked by distinctly faint praise or flat-out silence.

Consider Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who currently serves as the committee’s top-ranking Republican.

The day Sen. Joe Biden was announced as Barack Obama’s running mate, Lugar, while en route to Tbilisi, Georgia, quickly issued a statement praising the choice.

'I congratulate Sen. Barack Obama on his selection of my friend, Sen. Joe Biden, to be his vice presidential running mate,” he said. “I have enjoyed for many years the opportunity to work with Joe Biden to bring strong bipartisan support to United States foreign policy.” Lugar has made no comment on Palin. "