Wall Street Journal admits that they are paying attention to "left leaning bloggers"

[grantcart]

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/03/sarah-palins-refueling-stop-in-ireland-was-it-a-visit/

Sarah Palin’s Refueling Stop in Ireland: Was It a Visit?
Matt Phillips reports on the presidential race.




Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (AP)
Does a refueling stop count as a visit?

Okay, this is less of a hot-button issue than her daughter’s pregnancy. But presumed vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s refueling stopover in Ireland has become another one of the questions bouncing around the blogosphere about Sen. John McCain’s running mate.

The issue stems from the response a Palin spokeswoman gave to Politico blogger Ben Smith, who last week asked whether Palin had ever traveled abroad. The spokeswoman told Smith about Palin’s 2007 trip to Germany and Kuwait as part of a visit to Alaska National Guard troops. The spokeswoman also said Palin visited Ireland.

In a subsequent post, Smith clarified that Palin’s trip to Ireland “was a refueling stop on her trip to military installations in Germany and Kuwait, spokeswoman Maria Comella said.”

Unfairly or not, left-leaning bloggers have been quick to assail the Palin camp over the Ireland trip, seeing its mention as an attempt to puff up her foreign policy experience. Foreign affairs experience is considered a strength for Palin’s opponent, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden. He chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has traveled widely during his career, including eight trips to Iraq, according to his Web site.

This flap brings up an interesting question for globe-trotting Washington Wire readers: What’s your criteria for calling a trip a “visit?” Do you only give yourself the all-clear to tick a city or country off your travel checklist if you leave the airport or spend the night? And more broadly, how much travel experience do you think a candidate should have before they are ready to run, or help run, the executive branch?

[tekisui]

1. It's good they are paying attention.

And, do the goppers think that they can jsut spout bullshit and no one is going to check it? They are naive or have way to much hubris.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

2. Hope it's not a Rovian trick in the vein of "Rathergate"

[kestrel91316]

3. WE, that's right, LITTLE OL' WE are the true investigative journalists

in America today. The big boys just steal out work. But hey, if that's what it takes for the truth to get out there, I'm all for it.