Not Just the Bush Doctrine

I can not believe that anyone can argue about whether or not Sarah Palin should know what the Bush doctrine is. Not only should she know the Bush Doctrine, she should also know the the Clinton Doctrine (used in support of our intervening in Bosnia), the Kirkpatrick Doctrine (the doctrine of the U.S. ambassador, Jeane Kirkpatrick --in the 1980s --which justified the support of creepy anti-communist dictatorships during the Cold War), the Reagan Doctrine (which justified support of the mujaheddin in Afghanistan, the Contras in Nicaragua), the Carter Doctrine (aimed at keeping the Soviets out of the Persian Gulf, at justifying our presence in the Persian Gulf ) . . . all the way back to the Monroe Doctrine. It is, after all, relevant to the job. We need a candidate who understands what we are doing, what we have done in the past, why and when and how, not one who believes we are in Iraq because God put us there. (That's not a God I'd want to believe in.)

And besides, it's fascinating stuff to read about. I get all of my facts mixed up, all my dates and deals. My black Mondays and Tuesdays and Fridays. But then, I'm not running for office. (Why is it that so many people want a candidate who is as uninformed and uneducated as we are? Why are we afraid of those who actually have some expertise? ) The one candidate who knows all his facts I am sure, though, is the one who is a professor of constitutional law. No doubt about that.