Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Uncategorized
Palin:  "We must support our North Korean Allies"

Palin: “We must support our North Korean Allies”

Juan Cole 11/25/2010

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

Sarah Palin discussing foreign affairs with Glenn Beck is sort of like Lindsay Lohan discussing sobriety with Paris Hilton. Unsurprisingly, when asked about the Korean crisis, Palin opined that “We must stand by our North Korean ally.” Even Beck intervened to correct her, and she seemed to barely register that she had misspoken.

Everyone misspeaks occasionally in public. But Mediaite points out that:
John Heilemann and Mark Halperin in their book Game Change said that 2008 McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt was appalled at her ignorance, saying:

‘She knew nothing. She had to be taken through World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and Palin was not aware there was a difference between North and South Korea. She continued to insist that Iraq was behind 9/11; and when her son was being sent off to Iraq, she couldn’t describe who we were fighting.’

So there is evidence that the confusion is long term and more than a slip of the tongue.

In fact, I wonder whether Sarah Palin is dyslexic. If she were, it would explain her obvious aversion to reading and her difficulty remembering what she has read.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • In New Low, Israel's Netanyahu has Recklessly allied with ISIS in Gaza
  • The Madeleine ship: A Message of Solidarity with Gaza and resolve to break the Blockade
  • Illegal and Immoral: Israel's Kidnapping of Greta Thunberg and the Madleen Aid Ship on the High Seas
  • A World of Enemies: America's Wars at Home and Abroad
  • Gov. Newsom asks Trump to Withdraw Troops from Los Angeles and Protests Intensify

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved