Sarah Palin's photo album: 'And then I got hit on by the Pakistani president'

[Bluebear]

Other than photo ops the meetings haven’t yielded much in the way of news. Palin hasn’t been taking questions, and her handlers sparked a near revolt when they tried to ban reporters from one of her sessions. The Times has seized on the effort to shield her, recording the inane comments offered up by various leaders as they for the cameras. Some examples:

Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan

Palin: “I am honored to meet you.”
Zardari: “You are even more gorgeous than you are on the (inaudible).
Palin: “You are so nice. Thank you.”
Zardari: “Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you.”
Palin: “I’m supposed to pose again.”
Zardari: “If he’s insisting. I might hug.”

Earlier, when she met Afghani President Hamid Karzai, the Times noted the press was only allowed about 40 seconds to listen, during which Karzai mentioned the birth of his first child.

Palin: “What is his name?”
Karzai: “Mirwais. Mirwais, which means, ‘The Light of the House.’”
Palin: “Oh nice.”
Karzai: “He is the only one we have.”

All in all the sessions don’t seem to be helping a lot, if the plan was to add a sense of weightiness to Palin’s CV. Most pundits have treated them as a crash course intended to help the Alaska governor bone up for her debate with Joe Biden next week. The Voice of America noted Palin got her first passport last year, and has only been out of the country once.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/09/25/sarah-palin-s-photo-album-and-then-i-got-hit-on-by-the-pakistani-president.aspx