Maureen Dowd’s column today calls her a “Trophy Vice.” If anyone harbors the fantasy that Sarah Palin is a self-made political success, they need to read a piece in the NYT titled “Palin’s Start in Alaska: Not Politics as Usual.” Perhaps I’m guilty of seeing a Rovian/Gingrichian conspiracy behind every rising Republican star, but it sure looks to me like someone’s been grooming her for this kind of a job for a long, long time. Here’s some questions I hope an intrepid reporter (or debate moderator) asks:
What books did you want banned from the public library when you were the mayor? Why those particular books?
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While you were mayor, who did you fire, or try to fire, and why? While you were governor, same question…
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Why is there a flag of Israel on the wall of your office?
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It has been suggested that you view the war in Iraq as a messianic affair in which the United States should act out the will of the Lord. What exactly did you mean when you spoke of the war as a “task that is from God?”
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Your pastor at Wasilla Assembly of God has suggested that critics of George Bush will go to hell, that supporters of John Kerry cannot come into heaven, that Sept. 11 and Iraq are part of a war contending for the Christian faith, and that Jesus is now in a “war mode.” Do you agree or disagree with the comments of your pastor?
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You moved your family to a nondenominational church in 2002 but continue to worship at an Assembly of God. Why?
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Your old pastor claims to have “words of knowledge” from God that, among other things, reveal the marital infidelities of his golf partners. Has he had any “words of knowledge” about John McCain’s adultery? Have you ever had “words of knowledge” yourself or spoken in tongues?
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Mike Rose, one of your pastors, said this during a sermon about a year ago: “Do you believe we’re in the last days? After listening to Newt Gingrich and the prime minister of Israel and a number of others at our gathering, I became convinced, and I have been convinced for some time. We are living in the last days.” Is that what you believe, and how do your religious beliefs impact foreign policy?
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Just two weeks ago, you attended a service at which David Brickner, founder of Jews for Jesus, said that terrorist attacks against Israel were God’s “judgment of unbelief” on Jews who had not converted to Christianity. Is that what you believe, and how do your religious beliefs impact foreign policy?
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Is America a Christian nation? What does that mean to you and the role of a Vice President?
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What foreign policy experience have you had with Russia? With Canada?