CBS’s Chen Declares Palin’s Foreign Policy ‘Education’; Not Sure Where Hawaii Was

September 23rd, 2008 12:03 PM

Julie Chen, CBS At the top of Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Julie Chen teased an upcoming segment on Sarah Palin meeting with world leaders at the United Nations by declaring: "The education of Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor has her first meetings with world leaders as they gather at the U.N. How will she do?" While Chen wondered about Palin’s understanding of foreign policy, on May 22, she thought Hawaii was located in the Atlantic Ocean. [see embedded video of that after the page break]

In a later report correspondent Bill Plante proclaimed: "Palin, who got her first passport just last year, is here and will get a crash course in international affairs. The Alaska governor will be meeting with the leaders of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Georgia and Ukraine, as well as with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and U2's Bono."

Here is the full transcript of the segment:

7:00AM TEASER:

JULIE CHEN: The education of Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor has her first meetings with world leaders as they gather at the U.N. How will she do?

7:01AM SEGMENT:

JULIE CHEN: But First, a big day for both President Bush and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. They'll both face world leaders today. CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante is at the U.N. Good morning, Bill.

BILL PLANTE: Morning, Julie. This is Mr. Bush's last time to address the United Nations as president and a lot of what he'll have to say today will be an attempt to convince the rest of the world that the U.S. does intend to take action to rescue its economy. But at this gathering, the economy is hardly the president's only problem. Iran's leader, Ahmadinejad, speaks this afternoon on the heels of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency that it hasn't been able to tell if Iran is hiding a nuclear weapons program. In New York, thousands protested Ahmadinejad's pro-nuclear, anti-Israel stance. A rally at which John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin had been scheduled to speak before her invitation was withdrawn, but Palin, who got her first passport just last year, is here and will get a crash course in international affairs. The Alaska governor will be meeting with the leaders of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Georgia and Ukraine, as well as with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and U2's Bono. The White House says that President Bush, who came to office unconvinced of the need for international cooperation, will stress the need for multinational diplomacy as he leaves office. The president will also tell the world leaders that intervening in the economic crisis was not his first instinct, no surprise there, but that he was convinced to do it by his economic team. Harry.

SMITH: Alright, thanks very much, Bill Plante.