The Truth About Palin, Africa and NAFTA

This in no way diminishes the many valid criticisms made of Sarah Palin's preparedness for the Vice Presidency, nor of her authenticity as a voice for the average American, but The National Review's Rich Lowry has the scoop on some unfair piling-on that has occurred recently.

Lowry, you may remember, is the guy who surmised that Palin's wink during the VP debate caused many an American male to sit more erect on their couches. Lowry's apparent, um, admiration for Palin aside, his source's explanation of the recent leak about Palin's knowledge of Africa and NAFTA jibe with what I thought all along:

(Steve Biegun, the former Bush NSC aid who briefed Sarah Palin on foreign policy)says there's no way she didn't know Africa was a continent, and whoever is saying she didn't must be distorting "a fumble of words."

(On NAFTA) He was briefing Palin before a Univision interview, and talking to her about trade issues. He rolled through NAFTA, CAFTA, and the Colombia FTA. As he talked, people were coming in and out of the room, handing Palin things, etc. She was distracted from what Biegun was saying, and said, roughly, "Ok, who's in NAFTA, what's the deal with CAFTA, what's up the FTA?"-her way, Biegun says, of saying "rack them and stack them," begin again from the start. "Somebody is taking a conversation and twisting it maliciously," he says.

I've written a lot about Palin, as there are a lot of legitimate criticisms to be made, but I've found myself defending her a lot recently (Unlike, as the LA Times notes, McCain, or any other GOP leader save one). That's because legitimate criticism is weakened by dishonest or unfair attacks, and because it just isn't right. Doing it to save your own skin, while proving only your own dishonesty, is the height of stupidity and cowardice.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal",on BlogTalkRadio, Tues through Thurs at 10pm, and Fri, and Sat at 11pm. (Eastern) Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.