Words from an ex-pat

All right. Here's what's happening. Over on Huffington Post they're discussing the Palin-Gibson interview and here's part of a comment I just found:

I am all the way in Australia (14hrs ahead of EST), have been out all day without access to radio or TV. I had to call out the vet this morning to tend to an injured horse. I had never met this woman before. The FIRST THING she said to me when she got out of the car and I said hello was :

"You're American, right? I have been listening to Sarah Palin on the radio. [insert my *here it comes* sigh here] She is talking about invading Russia and starting wars. Who is this woman? How can the presidential race be so close? Why did McCain choose her? Everyone loves Obama here in Australia and we don't understand what is happening. Can you explain what is going on? How can this woman be a presidential candidate?"

I didn't know what to say. Again, another expat embarrassed American who could only offer an incredulous head shake. Then I showed her my absentee ballot application which I had faxed to City Hall and said, "I'll do my part. All else I can do is hope."

Now look at what Ilan Goldenberg has to say:

No sane American or European leader would ever ever ever give an answer like that. You do not get into hypotheticals about nuclear war. You just don't. Palin references the Cold War. The only reason the Cold War stayed cold is because our leaders understood the stakes of getting things wrong and saying things that could lead to catastrophic nuclear war. During the Cuban Missile Crisis every word, every public statement, and any message that the Kennedy administration sent to the Soviets was checked, double checked, and triple checked to make sure it was sending precisely the right signal. This is what you are forced to do when you have thousands of nuclear weapons and so does your opponent. The stakes are simply too high. And yet there is a nominee for the vice presidency of the United States who may one day have her hand on the button and she is casually talking about potential catastrophic nuclear war.

This woman is too scary for words.