Demanding a coherent response is SO sexist

Words fail (starting with her, apparently):

 

COURIC: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land-- boundary that we have with-- Canada. It-- it's funny that a comment like that was-- kind of made to-- cari-- I don't know, you know? Reporters--

COURIC: Mock?

PALIN: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

COURIC: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

PALIN: Well, it certainly does because our-- our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia--

COURIC: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth. We-- we do-- it's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where-- where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is-- from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to-- to our state.

This is just getting scary. Nowhere does she come anywhere near an intelligible answer to the question that Couric posed to her.

"Our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of?"

Sweet, merciful crap.

Now, I don't believe Palin to be unintelligent, but she is so clearly out of her depth when called upon to reposnd with anything other than a stock campaign talking point, that's precisely the image that she projects.  An appearance like this would be an utter embarassment for any public official, to say nothing of a candidate for the vice presidency.  It's made all the worse by the unheard of media blackout the McCain camp is trying to enforce through Palin's almost non-existant press availability.  These aren't off-the-cuff responses to questions shouted from across a lobby; this is a carefully established, pre-arranged encounter.  In a setting such as that, every rambling non-answer further cements the notion that the already eyebrow-raising (and now borderline patronizing) efforts to shield her from the press, are not due to any inappropriate media scrutiny, but because any scrutiny, whatsoever, reveals her to be shockingly unprepared, if not downright incompetant. 

For the McPalin campaign, "Not ready to lead" is looking less like an attack and more like an admission, every day.