Another slam-dunk for American politics was offered up courtesy of master diplomat Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor praised opponent Jeb Bush for his Spanish skills, but confessed she’d rather the general population “speak American.”
One could be forgiving for wondering if such things are actually a PR move, as there’s no shortage of wacky comments coming from the Republican side, with presidential candidates all seemingly vying for the spot of top doofus.
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"It's a benefit of [former Florida governor] Bush to be able to be so fluent, because we have a large and wonderful Hispanic population building America, and that's a great connection he has with them," she told CNN in an interview that aired Sunday on ‘State of the Union.’
“On the other hand, I think we can send a message and say, ‘You want to be in America, A, you’d better be here legally or you’re out of here, [and] B, when you’re here, let’s speak American… Let’s speak English, and that’s a kind of a unifying aspect of the nation is the language that is understood by all.”
Trump himself castigated Bush recently for using Spanish when asked a question in the language.
Palin is, of course, no stranger to linguistic mishaps or intriguing claims on a variety of subjects. Knowledge of geography, the location of Alaska vis-à-vis Russia, and Africa (the country) are among some of the people’s favorites.
But the political arena is where Governor Palin’s passions really lie. She can be credited with teaching us that North Korea is a US ally. Or the time she declared: “If I were in charge… they would know that waterboarding is how we baptise terrorists!” She has, on several occasions, demonstrated her knowledge of the Syrian war and “all these Islamic countries.”
One can only hope that the nitty-gritty of politics will continue to be enlivened by Miss Palin’s presence.