I hate it when the back of my head explodes

It's so messy to clean up.

But this is the most cranium-combusting load of horsepuckey I've heard since Ron Suskind wrote about the Bush aide who said that when you're an empire, you create your own reality:

Aside from the ABC interview, Palin herself has not continued to tout Alaska's proximity to Russia as an example of her foreign policy knowledge. Instead, she often mentions on the campaign trail her work in striking a deal to construct a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline from Alaska, which would lead through Canada into the continental United States, as evidence that she has been at the forefront of making the U.S. energy independent.

“In general, the main way governors get involved in foreign countries is economic - they try to get countries to invest and go on trade missions, but very rarely do they get involved in issues of national security, in part because the Constitution prevents them from doing so,” Kupchan said.

“I think its fair to say [Palin's] exposure to most foreign policy issues is minimal. Had she been a governor for a long time and gotten involved in politics on the broader national stage, that would be different.”

Asked what foreign policy credentials Palin might bring with her to Washington, Dr. Gerald McBeath, the political science department chair at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks, pointed to Alaska's military bases and said that Palin would certainly be aware of security operations surrounding them.

“It used to be more critical in the Cold War than it is now,” McBeath added.

McBeath also noted that Alaska is within striking range of missiles that could be launched from North Korea.

A senior campaign aide who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity admitted that Palin's knowledge of Russia may be limited to the way someone from Miami might obtain a general feel for Latin America.

“It is very much being able to look off the tip of Alaska,” the aide said. “Metaphorically, I'm talking about.”

And I guess someone who goes to the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas gets a "general feel" for Egypt. And someone who has a burger at Margaritaville gets a "general feel" for Jamaica. And someone who spends a day at the Jersey Shore gets a "general feel" for oceanography.

I could go on all day, but you get the point.

It's a shandeh for this country that the McCain campaign can even think it could get away with this.

(h/t)