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.