Sarah Palin this morning posted a facebook note entitled, “Another ‘WTF’ Obama Foreign Policy Moment*” In it she talks about an op-ed by former CIA director James Woolsey in Foreign Policy Magazine that accuses the Obama Administration of freely giving away missile defense technology to the Russians.
“President Obama wants to give Russia our missile defense secrets because he believes that we can buy their friendship and cooperation with this taxpayer-funded gift,” Palin argues. “But giving military secrets and technologies to a rival or competitor like Russia is just plain dumb.”
There are many aspects of this post that are meant to draw the eye. First is the acronym, WTF. In popular culture, WTF alludes to “What the f—k?” The former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee is well aware of this. But in this case she’s using it as a play on Obama’s reelection slogan. The asterisk, added later, explains: *As many readers have pointed out “WTF” is for “Winning The Future,” President Obama’s re-election campaign slogan.
This isn’t the first time Palin has made this particular joke. The night of the State of the Union, she poked fun of the acronym to Greta Van Susteren on Fox News.
Speaking of poking fun, the topic is also an interesting one for Palin who made headlines when she was first picked as John McCain’s running mate for arguing that Alaska’s proximity to Russia gave her foreign policy experience. Here she is talking to ABC’s Charlie Gibson:
GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?
PALIN: They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.
It was an unfortunate line in that comedian Tina Fey would soon mock it in an impersonation of Palin. “I can see Alaska from my house,” Fey quipped on Saturday Night Live, in one of the most memorable parodies of the campaign.
Coming back at the issue now, Palin is trying to underscore her foreign policy chops as she weighs a run for the Republican nomination to challenge Obama. After all, when it comes to relations with Russia she’d much rather people remember WTF than SNL.