Oops! Palin Didn't Visit Iraq After All

12 hours during 19 months as Alaska gov.

(NEWSER) - Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin might be able to see Russia from her home state, but her actual foreign policy experience boils down to about 20 meetings and just 12 hours, according to the governor’s official calendar obtained by Mother Jones. Most of the Alaska governor’s interactions with foreign officials came during talks about a Canadian company involved in building a natural-gas pipeline. More»

Poll finds Obama leading McCain by 9%; Palin approval ratings falling

(NEWSER) - Wall Street's worries are working in Barack Obama's favor, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll. The candidate has opened up his first clear lead of the race against John McCain, 52% to 43%, with much of the boost coming from voters who see him as more capable of dealing with the economic woes facing the nation. More»

Mulling Alaska Gov. Palin, ex-HP exec FIorina, Texas Sen. Hutchison

(NEWSER) - In a post-Hillary age, a female candidate comes as less of a surprise on the national stage. Here are three women who could stand for John McCain’s vice-presidential slot, per Politico:

• Carly Fiorina: The former Hewlett-Packard exec is already a trusted adviser and constant McCain surrogate, but she’s no social conservative and has no foreign-policy expertise. CEOs aren’t too popular during recessions, either.

New administration will need to fix problems Bush has not addressed

(NEWSER) - Taking the attitude that "since we were now all-powerful, allies were no longer necessary," President Bush damaged the US' image and diminished its power, Fred Kaplan writes in Slate. How can the next president heal our diplomatic woes?

1. Visit all Middle East countries; leave a full-time envoy: "It is appalling that President Bush made his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories in his final year."

He notes McCain's gaffe confusing Sunni and Shiite groups

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama laid into both presidential rivals on the Iraq war today, chiding John McCain for misspeaking about terror groups there and criticizing Hillary Clinton for voting to authorize the conflict. "We heard Sen. McCain confuse Sunni and Shi'ite, Iran and al-Qaeda," Obama said, pouncing on McCain for errantly accusing Iran of training Sunni Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Iran is known to train Shi'ite extremists. More»