Palin Gets Positive Review on Hong Kong Speech

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Cameron Sinclair,  Co-founder of Architecture for Humanity and the Open Architecture Network, gave a surprisingly positive review of Sarah Palin's Hong Kong speech at The Huffington Post. Yes you read that right, The Huffington Post. Sinclair, comments that the speech was "crafted" but contained some surprising criticism of the GOP. Sinclair twittered Palin's speech and joked that perhaps she might do the same for him. These are the excerpts from Twitter:  

• Stimulus failed will keep unemployment high - Palin.

• Fed is immoral - Palin

• Palin calls self common sence consertative - quotes Reagan and Thatcher as 'getting it right'.

• Palin suggests her cost cutting in the Governors house shows her fiscal conservative.

• Palin suggests GOP has sold out since Reagan and are as bad as the liberals. They lost principles.

• Cap and tax (trade) will cause unemployment. Say it will cost $1800 per Americans and cause no change.

• Palin pro Nuclear and energy independance advocate. Tap the god given resources of America and not foreign entities.

• Natural gas IS the future - Palin

• Palin wants 'all of the above' energy policy to ween ourselves off natural resouces. Says we need to 'drill'

• Death panels - governments not being honest. Can't increase healthcare and cut costs - Palin

• Palin says drill. Say death panels were a way to show mainstreet what is wrong w gov plans

• Palin listing all deaths caused by twisted vision of terrorists. 'this is a war' - Palin suggesting the surge pushed the war out of Iraq

• Palin says Pelosi and liberals stopping Obama from making right decision to increase troops in afghanistan

• American defence of Asia has allowed it to prosper - Palin

• American military precense in Asia has allowed it to prosper - palin

• Folks walking out on palin as she's running over Q&A time

• We can help intergrate Asia and India -Palin.

• Palin says China key to global push out of recession. China needs to be responsible stakeholder. (and free)

• China needs to ease off Taiwan and to back off supporting Sudan and Zimbabwe. Notes Tibet issue - Palin (on a tear)

• Palin wrapping up saying local Chinese wanting more freedom in China. 'No one worrys about India and it's growth'

• Last 20 min of Palins talk on china us relationships and free trade. Current US gov are anti-open and anti-growth

• Palin says us must recognize we must lead by example not words. Americans are suffering and frustrated dems exempt themselves from hlthcare

• Palin says tea party movement are democrats and republicans and fighting the good fight.

• Palin notes bush changed view on china - notes we are interconnected and need to put diplomatic pressure on china. Says taxing tires was bad

• Local elected officials need to be heard. GOP will be re borne through locals - palin

• Government need to stay the heck out of salary decisions - palin

• Palin - Chavez is Castro lite. We need to play hardball with Cuba

• Palin on Todd and schedule - 'i needed to have a wife' (ouch)

• Palin on Twitter - I love it!

• Palin - facebook is a success story of US ingenuity. Shows 'we still got it'.

• Palin shows picture of son on stage. Then exits.

• Nothing like being attacked by press leaving 'it was awful and right wing, wasn't it' - ask to comment, I said go on Twitter....
  

What a surprise the press asked slanted questions of those exiting the speech.  Sinclair notes in his article at HuffPo the strongest parts of Palin's speech were those involving domestic issues, those involving Main Street, though he didn't suggest he agreed with her points.   Palin urged Obama to increase troop deployment in Afghanistan then moving on to what Sinclair described as a risky move criticizing China, Taiwan and Tibet: 

Then she took the risky move of criticizing China on Taiwan and Tibet. Noting it need to be a more responsible global citizen and allow greater freedom for its' people.

Please read the entire account at Huffington Post, which was fair for someone who didn't seem to agree with her politics.  Sinclair includes some mention of her jokes and some comments that made an impression on him.  I would still love to read the actual text of the speech to discern any potential differences in Sinclair's interpretation of what was actually said.  Overall, it seems safe to say Palin did well for herself though we aren't likely to hear much of this in the MSM or the comments on Sinclair's piece at Huffington Post.  Thankfully I saw it moments after it was published and avoided the sniper fire from those who frequent the site.

NB:  Sinclair is British and the twitter comments reflect variations in spelling.
From the  NY Times:

“The speech was wide-ranging, very balanced, and she beat all expectations,” said Doug A. Coulter, head of private equity in the Asia-Pacific region for LGT Capital Partners.
“She didn’t sound at all like a far-right-wing conservative. She seemed to be positioning herself as a libertarian or a small-c conservative,” he said, adding that she mentioned both Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. “She brought up both those names.”

Text of a portion of the speech via The Wall Street Journal:

“We’re both young and transient, independent and libertarian,” she said. Here’s more in her own words:“We have a special place in our hearts in Alaska for the Pacific Rim. You are Alaska’s neighbors and partners. Alaska is one of America’s most trade-oriented states and by providing more than 60% of Alaska’s top ten export markets, Asia plays a key role in sustaining Alaska’s economy.

“Personally, I’ve always been really interested in the ideas too about the land bridge. Ideas that maybe so long ago, had allowed Alaska to be physically connected to this part of our world so many years ago. My husband and my children, they’re part [unintelligible] Eskimo, Alaskan natives. They’re our first people, and the connection that may have brought ancestors from here to there is fascinating to me. Making our world seem a little bit smaller, more united, to consider that connection that allowed sharing of peoples and bloodlines and wildlife and flora and fauna, that connection to me is quite fascinating.

“Alaska exported more than $700 million of goods, $700 million in goods to china during my first year in office, and that increased again in 2008. Minerals and seafood, and second only to Japan. No doubt some of the fruits of our labor, even mine and Todd’s, ended up here on dinner tables because we commercial fish in Bristol Bay. And either as whole Salmon or caviar, commercial fishing is really tough business. And in tough conditions, we even used to laugh about this, thinking that we’re putting together such delicacies for the other side of the world, is how we referred to it. Over 70% of our exports came from wild organic fresh Alaska seafood, and our potential for more is massive because Alaska has the world’s richest seafood industry. We have the world’s most abundant salmon spawning grounds right there in Bristol Bay.

“We have much in common with Hong Kong. We’re both young and transient, independent and libertarian. Places that continue to show the world, the power and the resilience of the free market system at a time when too many are questioning it. So for Alaska, which is the air crossroads of the world, to this prosperous dynamic force in the world, Hong Kong, I bring good tidings, wishes for more blessing and vibrant life and even more freedom.”

Also nice write up of the content after reviewing a taped recording of the speech by The Wall Street Journal

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cameron-sinclair/following-palin_b_295686.html