Sarah Palin’s Small World

In a recent CBS interview, Katie Couric asked Governor Sarah Palin why she’d never had a passport and hadn’t traveled outside of the USA until about a year ago. Palin answered, “I’m not one of those who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college, and their parents get them a passport and a backpack and say, ‘Go off and travel the world.’ No…. I was not part of, I guess, that culture.”

I understand that many people just can’t afford to travel. But anyone with the money to own a snowmobile and the time to hunt moose has the money to learn a bit about our world through international travel. What Palin lacks is not money, but curiosity.

The value of travel is nothing new. Nearly 1,500 years ago, Muhammad said, “Don’t tell me how educated you are. Tell me how much you’ve traveled.” Thomas Jefferson wrote: “Travel makes a person wiser, if less happy.” Mark Twain wrote: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” Today, Europe has a well-funded “Erasmus Program” that enables millions of students to study and professors to teach in foreign countries.

Many Americans will never bother to get a passport and travel. But, especially since 9/11, I believe that any politician asking for the trust to run our country should be interested enough in the other 96 percent of humanity to have figured out a way to get out there and actually see some of it in person.

These days, the brand of America is hurting overseas. Our ambassadors routinely don’t speak the language of the countries they are stationed in. Cities are shut down by security when our president passes through. We are routinely outvoted in the United Nations 140 to 5 on issues that matter to the developing world. Our country, with 4 percent of this world’s population, feels the need to spend as much as every country combined on its military to feel safe (and, it seems, you can’t get elected without promising more). And meanwhile, half of humanity is trying to live on $2 a day. There may be all sort of good excuses for these facts. But they are facts, nevertheless…and it’s not a pretty picture for our nation.

The stakes are high and the challenges confronting America are complex. We need to engage thoughtfully with the family of nations because the most serious problems confronting us right now cannot be solved without international collaboration. The “go it alone” approach of the last eight years has proven not only ineffective…we can’t afford it. Now, more than ever, we need smart leaders who, at a minimum, acknowledge the importance of travel and the urgent need for America to connect constructively with the world beyond our shores.

P.S. If a Democratic candidate for national office said what Palin said, I’d write the same editorial.

Comments

185 Replies to “Sarah Palin’s Small World”

  1. I was waiting for your “with 4 percent of this world’s population” line again. Fine. Maybe with 4% of the world’s population, then maybe we (the US) should doing roughly 4% of the world’s dirty work (read: global security). But of course you never mention that. Furthermore, yes, the US spends way, way too much on military. However, a large chunk of that goes to defending and subsidizing the European way of life that you are so fond of – all the while 2 billion people on earth live on less that $2 a day. But of course, you never mention that, either. How you can ignore these facts, and others such as the permanent basing of American troops in Germany for the past 65 years is beyond me.

  2. Sarah Palin “lacking curiosity and living(mentally) in a small world” simply doesn’t cut it when, if elected, she is one heart beat away from running a big world. The FACT is that it was very irresponsible of McCain to choose her and I agree with Rick that it is a genuine threat to national security. Pretty scary stuff.

  3. Rick I am unclear of what the purpose of running Sarah Palin down on a travel blog is…you won’t change the minds of the Republicans on here and the Democrats are set in their place as well. So, we know you don’t like her you made that clear three or four posts ago and what is the purpose of talking about it further surely there are other topics about travel that you could find to discuss. My parents never believed in travel overseas as many people of their generation, they thought it was for the rich and their money was spent on sending us to private school. When I started traveling they thought I was horrid for not keeping the money at home for our own economy. People in my area are well to do but don’t travel to Europe they take cruises, yet can argue with you about world affairs as well as the talking heads. Does it make them any less successful or open minded? No. I didn’t have the priviledge of traveling until I was 40 after paying off school loans, working more than 40 hours a week to pay my bills and save and raising my son as a single parent. There is more to the world than the UN there are hundreds of IGO’s and NGO’s that are just as important or maybe more for actually getting things done. Why not talk about how much money we pump into the World Bank and the International Money fund to help third world countries. Look I come to your board to get travel tips. I love your tours and think they are the best product out there and your book is a staple to me. If I want to hear Democratic political speak I can pop on CNN …right now you are not going to change anyones mind about who to vote for we are all intelligent people who can make our minds up based on the facts out there. Please can’t you go back to writing about travel and not make this yet another irrelevant political blog that just stirs people up

  4. Rick — Just curious: Have you ever been to Alaska? Because your statements about “recreational snow machines” and “shooting wolves from a helicopter” show a surprising lack of understanding about Alaska. Especially surprising, since you endlessly preach about “self-evident” and “God-given” premises being different in other cultures.

  5. As an American student living and studying abroad in Denmark for the past 2 years, it has been very interesting to view the events of our presidential election from the outside. Having had numerous conversations with Danes and many exchange students from all over Europe, it is obvious that European support is in favor of Obama. However this viewpoint is not naïve. The international community among university students is more homogeneous than ever, with extensive travel as a common thread. My perspective on my own country and the way it needs to act, has changed so much from 2 years ago, that I cannot imagine even the POSSIBILITY of it being led by someone who has never been enlightened by travel.

  6. Before his recent 2008 tour Mr.Obama had made only one brief official visit to London – and none elsewhere in Western Europe or Latin America. Additionally Mr Obama had failed to convene a single policy meeting of the Senate European subcommittee, of which he is chairman. There is also strikingly robust criticism from an independent Washington think-tank about a “disconcerting void” over transatlantic relations in Mr Obama’s foreign policy, as well as from a former British Minister for Europe. Mr Obama’s advisers say that he has an “intuitive grasp” of world affairs because he spent part of his childhood abroad. “The benefit of my life of having both lived overseas and travelled overseas is, I have a better sense of how they’re thinking and what their society is really like,” Mr Obama said in Nov 2007. Mr Obama’s visit to London in August 2005 was a one-day stopover when he returned from a trip to Russia with other senators on the Foreign Relations Committee and met Mr Blair in Downing Street.Mr Obama also met Mr Blair twice in Washington, and Nicolas Sarkozy, then the French Interior Minister. But anecdotes are circulating in Washington about how he has turned down requests from other visiting foreign dignitaries, such as an Italian opposition leader who was told that the senator was in “presidential mode” and only seeing leaders of countries.

  7. Rick, as always appreciate you and enjoy your opinions (sometimes wildly different than mine) Do echo Alan’s comment that in recent European travels, have been surprised at the lack of international travel among Europeans. Was in Austria recently, and after walking and delighfully talking with a couple of locals, i complimented them on their english and asked if they had been to America, they bristled and asked why would they need to go there all they need is right there in Austria-your comments are not just a U.S. problem, but a global one.. Travel On!

  8. I live in a place where when you tell some one your going to a town in a different county they look at you as if your head is on backwards.. Almost as if saying ” what for… we have a Wal-mart and a McDonalds right here.. why would ever need to go some place else.. !? These are the type of people she is pandering too.. And I for one, have had quite enough of ” respecting others opinions “.. all that gets you is coming in last.

  9. Hey Rick, As one of the folks lacking the funds for overseas travel, I want to thank you (again!) for making your programs. I frequently pop in one of your DVDs while working on some household chore. Invariably my kids come running. “Where are we going today?” They think they’re getting free extra TV time. I know they’re really getting exposed to world culture, geography, history, architecture and art history in ways they certainly don’t see in public school. And they’re absorbing the fact that “those people” are a lot like us. I hope you’ll have a chance to do a show about the Tatras region of southern Poland. I’ll bet Zakopane is beautiful in the summer. The old wooden church at Debno would be worth a look. As a venue for one of your programs this region would bring the added interest of the many Americans whose ancestors emigrated from the area. You could combine this area with a visit to Slovakia, which didn’t make the cut on your Eastern Europe DVD. At any rate, please know that your enriching lots of lives. Rock on!

  10. Rick isn’t slamming Palin for the sake of putting her down–he is pointing out that this is a person that could possibly be leading our country in the global community without the needed experience.

  11. Rick….. you say “I’m a travel writer”, yet you’ve become nothing but a left leaning political mouthpiece as of late. Perhaps you should put your travel writer hat back on… that’s what brought all of us to you! There was nothing in Palin’s comment that suggested that she thought travel was a “superflous exercise” as you choose to characterize it. She simply stated the fact that like MANY (me included), travel abroad was simply something not considered in the CULTURE she was raised in; and aren’t YOU the one who always suggests that we need to better understand the CULTURE of others? Has Obama taken vacations to Europe or the Middle East? Oh no, those were just photo op tours to look presidential! Granted, he did go to Kenya years ago on his own to visit his half relatives who live in mud huts on $20/ year, and has since ignored their plight. You’d think he could come up with a $20 to double their income! I agree with your suggestion that broad travel experiences provide value to someone serving high office, but you need to make a ‘fair’ assessment of what this really means. Politicians who go to countries, meet with leaders, take a few photos, and make speeches, in no way ‘connect’ with the culture. It’s through personal interaction with regular folks that brings the kind of experience you’re suggesting and have always advocated. Finally, (since I only have ONE POST left in my quiver) I hardly suspect you’d levy ANY criticism at a Democrat, ’cause they’re always right and it’s the Repub’s who are always wrong ;-) P.S. It’s pretty bold of you to ask your readers to spread this editorial to their local newspapers. Obvioulsy you’ve become part of the Democratic ‘smear machine’!

  12. Promoting travel by a travel writer is not a very new idea. Promoting your political ideas at a time of great financial uncertainty seems to be a bit desperate. Change is definitely coming, the increased taxes that you will pay under under a Democratic administration will put even more pressure on an already depressed business. Good luck, you just may get what you wish for. I hope it works out for you.

  13. I have discovered a wonderful website hosting “home exchanges.” What a unique way to REALLY enjoy a different culture. And that website did not even touch politics. HOW REFRESHING!

  14. Looking forward to the new travel shows you will be airing soon on PBS. ……………..When will they start? Istanbul should be fascinating. Thanks.

  15. Last time I checked, Rick Steves was more than just a travel guru and writer – he IS an American citizen. He is entitled to his opinions, thoughts, and words, and he is entitled to post whatever he wishes on his website. He is allowed to wear more than one hat, people. Sheesh! There’s no denying that travel abroad gives one a unique sense of America and its reputation around the world. Rick has done more traveling around this globe than most of us ever will do. So I think he comes in with an educated and credible perspective. You can choose to disagree with him, but that does not mean he should just stick to travel writing and keep his mouth shut about everything else. I applaud Rick for speaking up and using his position to bring focus to these issues. He does so at considerable risk to his business and livelihood, so I’m fairly certain this is something he does not take lightly. He is a concerned and thougtful American. This country could use a few more people like that.

  16. please submit this piece to the opinion editor of your local newspaper….hahahaha ,,,good one I needed a laugh today after the Pelosi fiasco yesterday

  17. Rick is simply commenting on the lack of curiosity that Sarah Palin appears to have and that she may end up being the Vice President of the US. This is not a job for someone who has a very limited world view -it requires a sophisticated understanding of foreign policy. Foreign travel helps to develop this. Frankly I was stunned to see someone of the experience of Senator McCann select as a running mate someone who has just about NO international experience. Being able to view Russia from an island off the coast of Alaska is hardly a substitute for foreign travel. Sarah Palin appears to have been chosen as VP candidate because she is female, good looking, and it would cause shock to the democrats. Perhaps the Senator feels that he will fulfill his term and the VP can be kept in the background – just as many VP have been kept in the past. Until recent times, being VP was a nothing job. However if the President has to assume the office of President – do you want someone leading the most powerful country in the world to be someone whose world view is so narrow? I don’t think being able to dress a moose will come in handy when dealing with North Korea, Iran, Russia, etc. If you do – well it must be lovely to be so naive.

  18. Believe me, we are truely middle class, I am a manicurist and my husband a retired peace officer. And we have gone to Europe six times. We started in 2002 by buying the Rick Steves book and have traveled everytime by this method. Two of the six trips have been on cashed in air miles. So if you are curious about the broader world you can do it! Oh and that is after putting two kids through college.

  19. Obama gaffed that we have 57 states and Biden forgetting there was no TV during the great depression nor that Hoover was president not Roosevelt. Before Obama went on his trip this year he had -by his own admission only been to Europe once before for a meeting in Russia. So let’s find something else to pick at her about. Nancy Pelosi is third in line for presidency do we know her travel record of course not. Please there are lots more important things out there then knowing how much someone has traveled. She speaks to America and women -I can relate to her. I’d rather have someone in office who understands and stands for womens issues than someone who has traveled 133 times like Clinton did while he was in office. He’s the one that sunk us into this hole maybe if he had stayed home more he would have felt the pain of the people here.

  20. I believe travel is good, I even was able to travel due to your publications in 1999. And I understand that the only travel you promote is European in nature. What about seeing more of your own country, I mean it’s the visiters to Alaska who do the Helicopter stuff, just like the wolf advocates are from outside Alaska. This place has as much to offer as Europe also, including history and culture, I mean it was only 50 years ago that we became a state, and we are celebrating that this year too. Did you know that the federal government owns and locks up over 50 percent of the state of Alaska, tell me what other state has that kind of restriction, they don’t even own that much of the contiginous United States. I guess most of the US believes that Alaska is a frozen waste land, well the Arctic is a desert after all, :) Yes, Palin will be an ambassador to the nations, that is what the VP does, and that is the job she is going for, Obama is going for the president’s slot, and McCain has traveled and fought for this country, he is the competition after all. It’s a tough race, but don’t forget who is running agains whom. After all this is a free country because of those soldiers who fight for us to speak our minds. Everyone is entiled to their enlightenment or ignorance, according to our constitutuion. After all no one can know everything, I’d like to see more people see the beauty around them, but some won’t even look beyond their front door, let alone their own backdoor.

  21. Rick, I don’t always agree with all of your opinions, and the great thing about you in general is that you don’t seem to care that I disagree. But you also have respected the fact that I don’t. So all of you who don’t like having Rick give you FACTS that seem to negate your own misinformed prejudices, I’m sure he really doesn’t care.

    The fact of the matter is that we have far too many politicians in high leadership who feel it is their purpose to dictate to the rest of the world what they ought to be doing rather than having open conversations about the best thing to do for humanity as a whole. Newsflash, a republic masking itself as a true democracy (today’s America) is not always the best way to run a country. People who have spent even a small amount of time outside of this country and truly immersing themselves in a foreign country understand this (and no, living on a military base in Germany doesn’t count!).

    Bottom line, folks, is that in the larger international community, American leadership can be classified as basically narrow-minded, ignorant bullies (and I’m not just talking about the White House).

  22. We have traveled with you extensively, even with Anne and your two kids. I for one think you are way off base getting your left wing politics involved with your travel agency. You have a right to your opinion but they need to be in a different forum. I love European vacations as much as the next person but I also love the good old USA. Maybe people who don’t like our system of government and prefer European ways should move toEurope. Richard

  23. Rick, I completely understand your perspective and where you are coming from as far as why travel should be an important part of being a leader. However, I would like to have you look at this in a different way without interjecting politics into this. You grew up with a family that loved to travel and took you to Europe many times. So of course, you have a hard time understanding how someone could live in the same place without ever being curious about travel. Your experiences have shaped your own tastes and perspective on things in which I completely understand where you are coming from. However, just as your experiences and sense of culture has shaped you, the same is true from someone from Alaska. You may not understand what it was like to grow up there or what the culture, attitude, families, circumstances, or experiences of people there are like so it may be hard for you to grasp how someone may not have been curious to travel. Especially for someone who grew up in a small town in Alaska with a completely different upbringing who happened to get into politics there in Alaska. On the flip side, you seem to admire people in Europe who come from small villages and towns and admire their culture and unique perspective even though they may have never left their town or country nor had any desire to. It is people like this in Gimmelwald or other small towns you have come across and admire for their different perspective yet you criticize a woman from Alaska who is no different. Keeping that person from Gimmelwald in mind, would you rip them if one of them decided to become a representative of the EU or run for political office in Switzerland? As someone who had the experiences you have had and as a travel writer, I understand and agree that a global perspective and understanding should be important for a leader. However, I would caution you in judging someone like Palin too harshly while you might admire someone w/ a similar background from Europe.

  24. Do you really think this blog makes a difference? Rick and his true believers give too much weight to his political aspirations. Say, there is 200 commenters here, 1/3 don’t agree with Rick, 1/3 would agree with Rick no matter what he said, and 1/3 don’t care what Rick says about politics. With this following, I don’t think Rick is going to change anything to do with politics but he may put two thirds of his customers at risk. Smart business…? Bailout of the travel business next?

  25. Rick, here is the problem. Do you want to be lead by a Obama who has little experience or have the POSSIBILITY to be led by Palin with little experience? Geez, this is such an unpleasant, spin filled type of conversation. I hate it. There is not exchange of ideas; just you constantly condemning one side without any mention of the glaring faults on the shiny, black speedster and his bumbling cohort. I am coming very close to removing this blog. I love what you say about travel, but I draw a line when you become another partisan talking head that has lost the ability to converse and condemn others for those things that are so obviously deficient in your own character.

  26. Let me assure you that if you are going to Europe to learn about the country, the people, their opinions, and how they live, do not ever go on a tour. At best you will meet people in the tourist industry, who have talked to people from other tours. They tell you what other people liked to hear, and they have no more idea of life in their own country, than Rick has about life in the United States. We spent nearly 1000 nights in 33 countries, in 25 years, 9 trips. We spent only 23 nights in hotels, and we spent 605 nights in 406 different campgrounds in 29 countries in our RV, and ate less than a dozen meals in what Rick would consider a restaurant. My Sweetie had dozens of German cousins, our son lived in Finland, and we became friends with, and spent time in the homes of people in several countries. Of course we saw many of the famous tourist sites (far more than any tour), and we saw towns and villages never visited by any tour group. In Stockholm we rode the subway to Stockholm University, wandered the campus talking to students about their country. In Dresden we talked to ladies who lived through the terrible bombing. I always had a “country” question, asked of people on the street. The 1991 German question was, “Is one Germany better than two Germanys?” The answers I received were not discovered by the news media for another ten years. We talked to a limousine driver who said many of his customers were writers, here to get the “real story.” He said the real story was not seen from a limo. Most people in Europe love Americans. I have hundreds of stories of how someone went out of their way to treat the Americans nicely. They were thrilled to meet Americans who were interested in meeting the real people, not just in bars and restaurants. The half dozen bad meetings, are remembered as humorous stories. Just remember, when you are in a bad mood, you meet people in a bad mood, when you are in a good mood, you meet people in a good mood.

  27. Rick, I think your comment here is a red herring. You want to not like Sarah Palin. She isn’t your party so you search really hard to rationalize your partisanship. McCain has spent much time overseas in official and non-official capacities, yet you choose to focus on Palin’s lack of overseas experience. Unlike some families, her son isn’t traveling the world footloose and fancy-free on a visa, he’s in uniform in Iraq. I think it’s legitimate to criticize her experience as a candidate for Vice President. Unfortunately, it is (or should be) a two-edge sword (unless you willingly adopt double standards) that forces you to face Obama’s lack of experience for THE top job. I can think of many times when McCain has lead on issues. I can also think of times when he has taken bipartisan positions and was vilified by the right. Can you name a single time when Obama has lead on an important issue? More importantly, can you name a single issue where Obama has demonstrated his ability to cross party lines and endure the wrath of his party to do what he thought was right?

  28. As an amused bystander it seems to me the democrats should be jumping for joy that Palin is running. If you can recognize a drunk staggering down the street, you can tell she is struggling in her own way, yet just as foolishly. But, people will always ignore inconvenient truths.

  29. I’ll leave those who feel defensive about Rick’s comments to feel defensive and confrontational on their own terms, thanks… Travelling to Europe in my mid-twenties, which was not that long ago, I think left a lasting impression on me. I got to learn (at least a bit) of different languages, foods, way of living, and heck, a different political culture! The French, for instance, are mainly conservative (at least politically), but their values are different, and frankly, refreshing (refreshing for me as a Canadian, anyway). I think Rick’s post is pretty much timely: his thoughts are travel, and the current issue in the U.S. (and let’s face it, the world) is the next president. This article covers both…whether you like it or not ! Shawn

  30. Speaking of travelling in dizzy circles: Sarah Palin: “But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the—oh, it’s got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So, healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we have—we’ve got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing, but one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today. We’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.” Speaking of travel again: This poor thing left the egg and the nest too early.

  31. At a time in our country when there’s so much at stake, it is our duty–no matter what our profession–that we speak up. It’s nothing new; tons of artists, writers, musicians have spoken up about politics in recent years. Why not travel writers too? I think it behooves us all to at least consider his point in stead of telling him to be quiet.

  32. The warning signs of a faltering economy have been there for sometime. Banks and others needing to pay attention they’re running in the red then suddenly the light blub comes on they’re to the point of needing to liquidate assets…DUH!!!

  33. I think Rick nailed something important here. Everyone is ignorant about something and there should be no shame about that. But it’s wrong to tout that ignorance as a virtue, more wrong to do so as a leader for a calculated political effect. It would be most wrong of all to bring that attitude to U.S. foreign and military policy.

  34. This raises an interesting comparison. How many times did the Governor of Alaska visit the Persian Gulf compared to the junior Senator of Illinois? Who went there to visit the troops under their command and who went there for a photo-op? The Govenor of Alaska went to Kuwait to visit her troops. The infant Senator from Illinois did not think it was appropriate to visit troops on his photo op tour. Her view of the world is much better than the infant Senator.

  35. Rick, Where do you get off telling people how they should spend their limited resources — money or time? When you go to Europe do you tell Europeans what leisure activities they should participate in and how they should spend their spare money, or do you save that for us Ugly Americans? As far as relevant travel is concerned, she is the only one of the four to have traveled to ANWR. Or do you not consider that important?

  36. I have always believed travel is one of the best educational tools one can have. Every country, province or state I’ve been to has greatly expanded my world view, and even while travelling I have thought “I wish more Americans would be doing this.” Right now my youngest daughter is in Tanzania for three wks visiting a good friend of hers. She has sent home two long emails so far, and this AM I wrote to her saying “I wonder what visual and tactile images you are storing up in your mind.” I see the changes in her each time she comes home from some foreign country. She goes on the cheap–youth hostels, staying with friends she has met over the years, and when they come to the US they have stayed with her. I agree about the “no curiosity”. I have a close friend who isn’t curious like that, and it deeply troubles me to hear his isolationist views. I mostly ignore them, but feel a great loss for him on his behalf. And yes, I do know that many, many people in other countries don’t come to visit the US. That’s a great loss for them, too.

  37. I find it off the charts ironic that Rick Steves, a man who grew up in the very shadow of Mt Ranier, will comment on what he perceives as a fatal lack of curiosity on the part of Governor Palin while admitting that he recently visited Mt. Ranier for the very first time. Talk about lack of curiosity. Mt. Ranier is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I cannot imagine growing up in its sight and not being drawn to it. Rick seems to be more curious about other countries and their citizens than he is about his own. I’m curious (there’s that word again). Has Rick ever been to Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Mount Rushmore, or any of our national wonders? Has he visited the rain forests of the Olympic peninsula in his own backyard? Where’s the curiosity there? I’m seeing a frightenning amount of people judging others here, especially in the last couple of blog posts. The language being used to describe those with differing views is getting more coarse and crude. The use of derogatory terms and nicknames when addressing the “opposition” is totally unnecessary, and just serves to lower the level of discourse. Of course Rick has the right to post whatever he wishes, and his readers also have the right to respond in a respectful fashion. I wish Rick and his readers would throttle back on the level of vitriol directed at those of opposing viewpoints, both liberal and conservative. Its interesting that Rick comes across as a humble, friendly guy on TV, but as a cranky, preachy grouch on his blog. Why is that? Posted by: Joe – Sep 30, 2008 2:34 PM

  38. Joe….. Its interesting that Rick comes across as a humble, friendly guy on TV, but as a cranky, preachy grouch on his blog. Why is that? Well said! Perhaps Rick is ‘happier’ in socialist Europe than here in the U.S.

  39. Rick, keep it up. You have a winning formula that is good for those who wish to evolve. I love all the quotes you cited about the mind expanding value of travel. When someone wants to shove an ignorant person down my throat as qualified for any job, I am going to resist. I don’t care what country they are from or what gender. It doesn’t mean I’m anti-woman, anti-American. When someone tries to shut me up for my opinion, I will resist. For those people do not value freedom because they don’t understand it or the founding principles of our country. If someone wants to disagree with me and debate with me, I welcome them…and I like a little bit of frank language if it is felt necessary to get a point across. Unfortunately, there are too many on this post who have the debating skills of Mrs. Palin.

  40. Rick – What good is traveling overseas if you don’t visit the right people? Case in point, Obama traveled to Germany where he gave a speech in front of thousands of Germans slamming the United States. BUT HE COULDN’T EVEN VISIT THE LOCAL MILITARY BASE TO SHAKE THE HANDS OF OUR TROOPS??? Absolutley DISGUSTING. You know, I always wondered how Hitler was able to convince the German people (and many others) that he wasn’t a threat to the world. Now, I look at Obama on TV, and listen to the left-wing media, and realize, “Oh…THAT’S how he did it.”

  41. Rick, thank you for saying what needs to be said, despite the risk to your business. Adam, you make an excellent point.

  42. When it comes to travel, Rick is the best but he should leave politics out of the equation. There are already enought movie stars and musicians telling us how we should vote and spend our money.

  43. Bravo to Rick for his blog and comments. Bravo to you all for the lively discussion that causes us all to look at all points of view and grow.We need to stop being offended and nasty if we disagree. I highly recommed studying the congressional record which gives us the real facts as to who said and did what.We avoid the spin that CNN,Fox News and newpapers give us. They are a business and stopped being objective years ago. The facts are that both parties voted to extend high risk loans and to give incentives to financial institutions that did so. The greed then set in for thoses institutions that lied and covered up the true situation. One poor little smart regulator printed and article in 2004, was called to congress and almost crucified by the comittee hearing the testimony for telling the truth. Republicans were stupid for not seeing it and the Democrats for protecting the system when they found out it was flawed…The good news is after alot of pain we will work it out and our economy will recover…I am a foreign currency trader by trade. The european economy is in worse shape than ours due to lack of high tech industry, weakening exports, liquidating hedge funds, a higher combined debt than the US, the rich nations tired of punping money into the poor ones and the huge bureaurocracy in decision making. Long term forecast…embattled dollar will strengthen against the euro and we will all be able to travel to Europe cheaper and learn more about the fantastic people and culture that resides there. I am still grateful every day that I live in the USA despite our problems. We are arguing between two political parties to solve our problems not several and still growing number of nations. After we are done arguing lets travel together and enjoy the fantastic things that Rick has spent his life showing us. When we become locals with the Europeans we can show them that our beliefs and traditions are just as valuable as theirs

  44. Rick Some people are simply not as interested in travel as you are. That does not make them unintelligent or incapable of making intelligent decisions. I love to travel and spend every cent I can scrape together on it. My folks love their home and property. That is where they conservatively spend their money. These days, they have a great bank account and property should they need to sell it to live. I, on the other hand, have great memories and scrapbooked photos but no money to fall back on in hard times.

  45. Terry D what a great great blog comment… I was getting stressed out reading everyones responses trying to wade through all the high emotions and when I got to yours it was like,,,, phew OK this is good,,,,it’s calm and unemotional and so good so well thought out… thanks for taking the time to articulate so well what most of are thinking and also add your expertise to the mix. I would love to see your respose on an op ed piece…

  46. Terry D……. maybe everyone who agrees with YOUR post should forward it to their local newspaper; as opposed to Rick’s highly partisan point of view!

  47. Rick, I think you should stick be writing travel books and leave politics alone. What country does the world come to when things go sour? The United States and only the United States! I do not think the lack of international travel makes a candidate qualified un-qualified for public office. P.S. If Clinton would have taken care of terrorist organizations who attacked the U.S. during his administration we would not be dealing with half the mess we are now.

  48. Palin went to Kuwait to visit troops under her command? Were you serious Georgia Guy? Everything I have ever read or heard about National Guard troops is that once they are activated they are under the command of the regular military. Governors only exercise command of National Guard troops in their state when they are mobilized to assist in cases of natural disasters, etc. And, then the command is usually limited as the Adjutant General and others have direct command. Where do you get the information Obama did not visit troops when on his trip to the Mid-East? He was invited to play basketball by the troops, and he did play BB with them. Did you not see the photos? Maybe you could try sticking to the facts, if it is not too much of a strech. My experience is one can learn more about what other people think, and what their concerns are, in an informal setting like a basketball court than one ever could in a formal setting. Reference Jim Humberd’s informal talks with people in Stockholm and Dresden. Do you think he would get the same real sense of what people thought and cared about in a structured formal meeting attended by city fathers?

  49. Rick I appreciate the way you micromanage your travel writing – being a control freak over the details that help me travel better makes me a better traveler. But trying to micromanage how I perceive information about candidates and being a control freak over us in the blog just insults me. I have traveled on your tours and most of my tour mates were teachers with masters degrees and beyond, highly intelligent people. Most of the bloggers here probably are at the least college educated and probably post graduate degrees, so talking down to us only alienates and polarizes us from your point of view. I don’t care if Sarah Palin has traveled she has time to grow into that if she gets in with McCain. What I do care about is Obamas link with Fannie Mae and ACORN and whose wife they have to shut away to keep from blowing the election for him. I love Sarah Palins fresh love of her country and don’t like Michelle Obama who let’s face it will have alot of power in our world. So give us a break and give us credit we come here for light hearted chatter and like you said upbeat amusement. Since 85-90 percent or more are going against you in this blog have WE changed YOUR mind?

  50. And I believe I read somwhere that Obama was denied permission to visit military hospitals in Germany…….either by the Department of Defense or the Secret Service.

  51. I’m thinking Rick’s political posts (however loosely related to travel) stir up a whole lot more activity than those on travel. I’d rather the bandwidth be spent on travel as I find that much more useful, so hope he only indulges in those occasional forays into politics as are necessary for him to vent.

  52. Lil….Jim Geraghty over at The Campaign Spot has this to say about why Obama canceled his visit with the Troops. “UPDATE: A very interesting email from a source I must protect suggests that Obama’s visit to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center had the green light until a campaign staffer raised a stink about going with Obama. (There are rules meant to ensure candidates do not use soldiers or military bases for campaign purposes, and they state that personal and committee staff may accompany a sitting senator on a visit but campaign staff may not.) I am told that when one of Obama’s campaign staff was told he or she would be denied access, the visit was canceled. The last-minute cancellation speaks more poorly of this unidentified staffer than of Obama himself. But in the end, shouldn’t Obama have been able to say, “fine, the staffer stays in Berlin (or where-ever) and I’m going to Landstuhl? Can he still say so?” Pretty much this was well covered and reported,,a gaf on his part

  53. Ok maybe I’m naive to the whole blog thing. But where are Rick’s comments in response to opposing posts? Does he just post some random thoughts then run back to the shadows. I’d have far more respect for his beliefs if he actually took the time to respond. This seems to be a one sided discussion.

  54. You go Rick! This is your blog and you can write what ever you feel like. I happen to totally agree with you but then I am European and my perspective is different from most of the other writers here. US does not need an other ignorant President like W. Right now this country is in big trouble and it is not because of Clinton that was a great President and highly intelligent but because of the last eight years of the bumbling idiot in the office. He has almost ruined this great country. It is time for change. Great blog Rick!

  55. If you listen to the Katie Couric interview: Palin’s answers to foreign policy were plain funny; her answers to the economy question were plain “disconcerting” (she couldn’t bloody understand any of the issues – don’t believe me? listen to the interview yourself). At the end of the day, honestly, here in Canada, Palin would be dismissed as pure fluff, a side-show act, and poltically, I don’t think we’d stand for anything so corny and media-grabbing…it’s just not the way we do things. We need people who understand the issues involved. Of course, your Bush got elected not once, but twice, so who knows, I guess anything can happen….

  56. Kaarina..It doesnt matter where you are from or the perspective, comments are always important to express in a free society. However lets dicuss greatness. I am not a great supporter of W. He has made many mistakes with the help of all of our Congress. He has however taken on the terrorists in their home instead of ours and yours in Europe. Despite the mistakes he had the courage to do that which no other leader anywhere had the courage to do. Tony Blair jumped on board and a few others but only after the fire was lit. The “bumbling idiot” somehow bumbled through life to be elected to the most powerful office in the world so he has done more than you or me. Now lets discuss greatness. FDR and Churchill saved the Europe,USSR and China from speaking German and Japanese today. With the help of Truman they rebuilt Europe including the enemy countries of that war. That shows compassion which is always greatness. Kennedy and Reagan took on Communism and hundreds of millions are now free to choose their destiny. That is also greatness. Clinton betrayed our trust with despicable Oval office behavior and then lied under oath to our nation. All politicians stretch the truth and we forgive them. The great ones dont lie under oath. The facts indicate that Clinton was dragged kicking and screaming by the American people and a bipartisan 1994 Congress into economic prosperity. He threatened to veto balancing the budget and welfare reform but we made him sign it and now he takes credit. Both were wildly successful. Not greatness on his part. He ruined the intelligence network of the USA, had Bin Laden in his sights 3 times and let him go and did nothing on the terrorist front. He didnt have time to do the right thing he was busy being impeached. There was not one thing that he did that was successfull during his years that was his idea. Many American leaders both Republicans and Democrats will go down in history as being great but not him. Both Mccain and Obama could be.We’ll see

  57. Terry, if Clinton ruined the intelligence network of the USA, did GWB finish the job of destroying it? Who would want to help us if we can not even protect the ID of our own CIA employees? See what happened to Valerie Plame, a NOC, because people in the Bush admin did not like what her husband wrote regarding Bush admin lies re: Niger yellow cake uranium. I infer from your comments the ones you view as great lie, but not under oath; as when they lie about why the USA is going to war. Of course, Clinton could have done what Bush, Cheney, etc. are doing and refused to answer any questions, and start a campaign to label anyone who dares to disagree with, or even question, them, as Un-American. I surmise from the Bush-Cheney led misadventures in Iraq that WMD now means weapons of mass disappearance. I would have trust in Bush, etc. if they were honest with us, and if they had not been in such a hurry to go to war. Why not let the weapons inspectors do their job? Why dismiss out of hand any information that may not agree with one’s preconceived notions? And,give extraordinary weight to information that agrees with one’s preconceived notions? Why gut the protections we are supposed to have under our Constitution? Habeas corpus for example. I was taught the USA is a nation of laws and nobody is above the law, but sadly the last eight years have proven me wrong on this. I hope we can once again be a beacon of hope in the world and be respected in the international community.

  58. Nels thanks for your comments. I think you misunderstood the spirit of my comments. I didnt call GWB great. I pointed out the one thing he got right that nobody else had the courage to do. If you read carefully both of my above blogs you will understand I am not partisan. Most here are. That is the danger. As you adeptly pointed out preconceived notions cause the problems. That goes for both sides of the aisle. Every liberal and conservative on the national scene at the time agreed with GWB about what was in Iraq. Why? As I said before…..bad intelligence. They didnt all lie to us at the same time. I dont defend the war in Iraq. We should have taken more time to confirm what everyone said was true. The one that needed and still needs fighting and winning is in Afganistan and on the border with Pakistan. Its obvious that GWB made lots of mistakes along with a willing congress. You and I have both told lies as have every politician. I have not lied under oath and I dont believe you have either. The great ones have lied but not under oath to the American people. They got past it and performed much more good than bad. That makes them great. My point….GWB will never go down as one of the great ones but he has courage along with making mistakes. Clinton will also not go down as one of the greats for the afore mentioned reasons and he has no courage. I took off my partisan glasses a long time ago and tried to learn facts and tried to leave preconceived notions behind. However I also am not perfect so I appreciate your comments that cause me to think. I also hope we can be that beacon of hope we once were but the only way it will happen is to work together and compromise as hopefully congress is doing tonight with our financial future. I feel that both Obama and Mccain have the possibility of taking us there as they dont have the baggage of some of our current leaders. I also hope to do a Rick tour (3rd visit) and other visits to Europe. It would be fun to see you there.

  59. My experience playing basketball for many years did not include any meaningful discussions. Most of the comments I remember involved breeding habits and preferred partners.

  60. Rick, I really think you stepped over the line this time. Have you ever traveled to Alaska in the winter? It’s not a “travel” vs. “snowmobile” issue- travel is a luxury, means of transportation through 5 feet of fresh snow is sometimes a necessity. Yes, many Alaskans ride snowmobiles for recreation. But many also own them because they need a back-up form of transport when the roads become impassible. Its a part of Alaskan culture.

  61. Since were talking about Palin’s views of foreign affairs, we should also talk about Obama’s.How many watched Obama’s speech in Berlin? I did. I found he showed incredible ignorance of European issues in his speech. Despite the big crowd, he garnered only a smattering of polite applause.The only time the crowd seemed pleased with his comments is when he threw in some stock comments about the environment and hoping for good international relations.

  62. Another hot topic served up with bountiful amounts of hot sauce. As a 68 year old voter I have never been so depressed at our selection of candidates. The process seems broken. The dolts that make up our congress seem no better. Throw the bums out and lets start over again.

  63. My mom is German; my dad was a military pilot who retired to work as an instructor for a big international company, and he has been around most of the world, many times for long periods of time in one place. I moved to Europe the first time as a toddler. When we moved back, I didn’t know how to open American door knobs. We moved back there again when I was older. I still have a grandfather and other relatives there. I had a French roommate in college and hung out with the international students. Half of my friends (and some relatives, too) have parents from other countries and have been to those parts of the world. I had a relative and a family friend who were POWs in the US during WWII. They absolutely loved America..one ended up working for Americans the rest of his life and the other sent his kids to America to visit as young adults. I consider myself very aware of other cultures. I ask questions and open my ears. My husband grew up in the NW. His family has been here since they came from Norway. His grandmother lived in Europe for awhile, and his mom lived in Paris, taking care of a dying aunt. However, they barely ever took my husband out of this state (went to Canada ONCE as a small child). He just got his first passport, and is going to Europe for the first time with me. However, he had some cool experiences as a child, too. He spent summers at the family cabin on the Puget Sound and hiking in the mountains. He understands tides and snow and wildlife and nature. He took me to a place on the beach one night to show me how phosporous glowed in the water. He swims with jelly fish and sharks, and I won’t more than put my toes in the water, because it’s cold and a bit creepy! He is a tactile person and loves to really understand what he sees. I soak up the atmosphere and love to capture things in pictures. I don’t think he is less curious than I am. He just has a different way of experiencing things than I do and was brought up differently. (Cont…)

  64. (…cont) I am raising my children to have experiences, whether that is going to the same family beach cabin (cooking S’Mores at night with cousins- pure magic), seeing our National Parks or going to Europe to visit their relatives and see more of the world. My father who has been all over the world, and my mother, who didn’t set foot in the US until she was 20 (and then left again for years), are working on traveling all over our beautiful country, by car and by train. My dad has finally met his personal challenge of seeing all 50 states. They don’t really care to go overseas anymore. Rick, the viewpoints you share are nasty, judgmental, and narrow-minded. I walked out on your talk at the Sea-Tac travel expo when you started to get political. I don’t judge my husband for his lack of global travel, because I appreciate that he has had different life experiences than I did (isn’t that what diversity is really about?) By the way, his family that never took him anywhere vote Democrat. My parents that have taken us many places vote Republican. I get that you don’t agree with Gov. Palin, but judging her because she had a different life than you is bigoted. PS- Try spending a winter in Alaska. That might change your mind on a few things.

  65. Catherine what a great thoughtful post…it gave me pause to think why I spend so much time in Europe when there is so much here that I have not seen or experience. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

  66. Wow, that was an OUTSTANDING post by Catherine and she made the same points I did but in a much more detailed way. I stated above that what Rick criticizes Palin for, he admires in a a small town European who may have never left his village. Those people have experiences and insights that none of us have. And I don’t think they can be dismissed for that (being from the South orignially, I understand those from small towns with a unique culture all their own). I am with Terry D as I try and look at both sides and don’t just pick a party to side with. I appreciate Rick’s perspective from his experiences and travels in Europe. However, as noted above, his opinion here seems very judgmental and hypocritical given his admiration of small town European locals who probably have experiences similar to Palin. I even understand his perspective on why travel should be important for a national leader. However, his criticism of Palin is harsh (regardless of the political party she belongs to) and it saddens me to read Rick’s harsh and judgmental attitude as this is not the Rick I see and read about when it comes to his books and TV shows about Europe. I have loved Rick for his open-mindedness and his willingness to embrace and learn about cultures and people different than him in Europe. It’s amazing how closed and judgmental he becomes when back in his own country.

  67. When you talk of things that happen during this President or that, just remember that he doesn’t actually “do” that act, some group of government Employees does the task. And have you ever been in a government office? You will see Gray hair all over the place. The president is there 4 or 8 years, they rest of them have been there 20 or 30 years, and have more memories of what happened three Presidents ago, then what happened yesterday. I worked with Govt. employee for 30 years myself. Would you rather have Govt employees experience, or the Alaskan Sweeties brains? ==== When you want to think of the lies and almost criminal actions of a political party, think of this. If the Demo members of Barney Franks committee who voted against the bill the other day, had voted for, it would have passed. Do you think that was their idea? No! If the bill had passed with most all Demos voting YES, and it it would have worked as planned, the Demos would be thrilled to get all the credit. However, if the Bill would not work as hoped for, they wanted enough Repub. YES votes so that the Demos could then blame the Repub. for passing the bill. ==== And another thing, why did Puglousy call for the vote before the Markets closed for the day? Anyone familiar with how the Govt. works and how the media works and how the Market works, could have said that after the market closed, the huge money lost would not have happened, but Puglousy wanted a market crash. That stupid act on her watch, cost investors hundreds of billion of dollars, but it served the desires of the Demos.

  68. Jim Humberd good point I had noth thought about the timing….that speach was unreal and I felt at the time she was poisoning the well and you may be right it may have been timed to explode to do the most damage. good observation…

  69. Those small town Europeans that have never left their town are not trying to be the president (or heart beat away from it)of the most powerful nation of the earth. She might have good qualities but does she have the right stuff for this job? She doesn’t know the issues that she is supposed to be dealing with, so in my mind, she is not qualified to do the job.

  70. I’m afraid I’m with Rick on this one. I wouldn’t let Palin babysit my kids. It isn’t that she has a small town/world view, it’s that she doesn’t have any view. Just listen to the dazzeling BS that she spouts. It is the most random mishmash of nonsense I have ever heard from a public official. It literally makes no sense. I’m wondering if it is a disorder of some kind. I’m an Independant and she scares me. Because McCain picked her and stands by her, he also scares me.

  71. Jeff…… even as a Conservative, I have to agree that her responses have been simply awful! It’s as though she try’s to insert McCain ‘talking points’ in every answer she gives, which results in these completely disconnected answers. Who knows what kind of direction she’s been given from the McCain campaign, but she’s obviously not calling her own shots as she was in her campaign for Governor. Believe me, she isn’t a blithering idiot, otherwise she wouldn’t have won! It would just be refreshing if she would be herself for a change, so America could see the real Palin.

  72. I have been reading this blog and following the “read this” web trails posted by others. I also read the reader comments associated with each “read this”. I have washed my eyes out to remove the foul film that has invaded my vision and am very sad I can not wash my brain. The arguments against Palin are the same arguments against Obama. But Obama gets a free pass – Why? If travel is a criteria for Vice President, then Jim Humbert should be President and I could at least be Vice President. I have been to Europe 9 times (all after the age of 43) and Mexico twice. I have visited 44 of the 50 states (before I was 43) . 25 countries by car (no tours). I’ve been to Albania (had to put the car on a boat) and Cyprus. My family has international members. My daughter in law is Persian and a sister in law is Russian and still lives there. With all that said. I find Obama to be extremely frightening. His travel is a junket to Afganistan and a photo op trip to attempt to look “presidential” (I did not capitalize on purpose). His work with Acorn helped bring on the financial crisis. He is one of the largest recipients of Freddie and Fannie lobby money. After that he has done NOTHING except show up to do his job in the Senate half the time. He scares me to death. Just for the record, I am not a right wing religous zealot (truth is 180 degrees the other way but not athiest). I am for certain a scared to death American, if, Obama becomes president(again on purpose).

  73. . “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson… “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang…“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley…. “A wise traveler never despises his own country.” – Carlo Goldoni,,,,,

  74. So here is a question I asked earlier based on a comment above – would Rick be just as critical of a small town European who chose to run for national or EU office? Maybe he praises them and admires their perspective on life but would dismiss them, as he does Palin, if they ever tried to run for office. Again, this is not a political stand I am trying to make because I am neither Repub or Dem. However, the tone of the post seems rather hypocritical in light of Rick’s attitude towards Europeans with similar backgrounds and experiences. And just to put a bring a different perspective to this. We condemn our political system and career politicians for the messes they make because they get wrapped up too much in politics or power rather than making a change. So can’t someone who lacks the experience but is willing to learn be refreshing? Like many of the small town Europeans, there are views, perspectives, and experiences that Palin can bring that might actually be refreshing in light of the same career politican with money in his pocket and a silver spoon in his mouth. I am not advocating Palin by any means but it does seem rather shallow and judgmental (and hypocritical in Rick’s case) to think she doesn’t have something to offer. As Rick has pointed out, small town people offer unique perspectives and experiences that others don’t have.

  75. So can’t someone who lacks the experience but is willing to learn be refreshing? Sure, but I don’t want her co-piloting my plane before she is qualified, no matter how pretty, personable, refreshing and eager she might be. Certainly the President’s job for which she would be “in training” is far more responsible and complicated than a Pilot’s. A pilot only has about 100 – 300 people who are dependant on his/her actions. Rick: Perhaps a lesson is “perspective” might be in order for this blog?

  76. Wow! Shocked by all the hate on here. If y’all hate Rick’s politcal views, then why are you reading HIS blog and chewing him out for expressing his opinions? Is it because they don’t agree with YOUR opinions? That’s America, baby… Oh, and for the foolish people that claim that Senator Obama’s travel experience isn’t that much greater than Governor Palin’s, I would suggest you do a little research before you make inaccurate claims. Mr Obama LIVED in Indonesia for 4 years with his anthropoligist mother and stepfather. I think that gives him a sufficient amount of travel and cultural experience…I know it’s not the same as being able to “see” Russia from your house, but still…

  77. Why do you want a person, whom, has written 2 books ( one of them based on the rantings of a bigoted racist minister) and made one convention speech and NOT another single thing at all to be president. (intentional again) Palin has been a MAYOR, GOVENOR, BUSINESS OWNER, while being a multiple child Mother (a huge job by itself). She wants to be Vice President. Obama can not carry her shoes. Obama is not trying to be a heartbeat from the presidency. He is running for president. Years ago there was a (I thought) BRILLIANT young Democrat named Julian Bond. He made an INSPIRING Democratic convention speech. Many loved his speech. I was one of the many, gladly, one of the many. Had he become President (like I hoped he would), we all would have crashed and burned like he did. He has climbed back and is making a contribution. Unfortunately, not the contribution I had hoped for him. I really thought Julian Bond would become President, I wanted him to be President. Obama can not carry Bond’s shoes, either. I don’t want Obama to even visit the oval office.

  78. I’ve often suspected that the republican party pays people to troll the internet in search of opportunities to clutter the air with republican talking points. Once again, many of the responses here seem to support my theory. It’s incredibly sad that we as a people don’t expect more from our leaders and from those who aspire to be our leaders. As the past eight years prove, it’s very unwise to elect leaders based on wanting someone you can “relate to” regardless of his or her educational background and life experiences. Wouldn’t it be much wiser to elect intelligent, well-educated leaders who possess genuine empathy and compassion for those they are leading? We desperately need leaders who are smarter than “most” people (i.e. leaders who are intellectually ELITE).

  79. I can’t help it, if you want to throw this off, do it. ==== We must fight the idea that the Alaskan Sweetie does not have enough experience to do her job. Yes experience is important, but brains are more important. Think of the 10’s of thousands of bankers, brokers, lawyers, economists each with 6 or 8 years of education in their profession, and 10 to 20 and even more, years of experience and daily work in their specially. Now who can and will do the best job, the Lipsticked Sweetie, or the members of the financial services? Whoops, there must be some word to use rather than “services.” Just remember that the only thing worse than a government regulation, is the stupidity and criminal activity of members of whatever industry has been regulated. I don’t remember any regulation that was enacted before some greedy, criminally oriented group of individuals made it necessary.

  80. If this is an important factor for Rick, then I take it he’ll be voting for McCain, who is widely traveled. In fact, McCain spent several years living abroad, getting to know the fine culture of an Eastern country in great depth. Let’s be honest…Rick wouldn’t vote for a Republican if he or she had explored every square inch of the planet.

  81. Travel is indeed educational, but it doesn’t qualify someone for high office, nor is the lack of it disqualifying. Palin would make a fine vice president, and I don’t think she’d be any more excellent if she had spent many pleasant days, as I have, exploring the streets and museums of Lisbon, Madrid, Prague, Vienna, and other foreign cities. I’m more concerned with her executive experience as a governor and mayor (which Obama and Biden both lack), and her pro-family, pro-life value system. I have to conclude that Rick really opposes her because of her conservative philosophy, and the travel issue is just another phony angle from which to attack her.

  82. ** Palin is the ultra-right tomboy ** Talking with Couric, Palin has backpedaled on all of her ultra-right beliefs. Millions of fundies who want a theocratic America — an Ameristan, complete with puritanism and fanaticism — will forgive her lies. After all, she’s lying in a holy cause. The cause of dominionism. ** Now, you know exactly what Sarah Palin reads — it’s the Bible. That’s the only source for law and morals, domestic and foreign policy, strategy and tactics. ** Palin has neither integrity nor a spark of intellect. Anyone who opines that human beings and dinosaurs walked together in a world at most 6,000 years old has abandoned both rationality and honesty. ** Christian fideism, just like Islamic fideism, cannot tolerate an open society, a pluralist culture, or a secular state. Fundies hate exactly what the US has become. Nostalgia for racism, for male dominated social control, for misogyny, for unequal rights, not by those labels of course, rules the minds of millions.

  83. Rick you were very lucky that Ann did not mind being a single parent while you were trapsing around Europe foot lose and fancy free. But for most America it takes two parents to raise a family or at least the every other weekend dad so most people do not have the luxury you had to travel and now condemm those that do or did not. I’d rather have someone who put her family ahead of her personal interests representiny my country. how many nights did you do homework with your kids as compared to Palin and who’s got the better family values which is something her platfrom is built upon yours or hers–I would say hers.

  84. Terry D thank you for correcting me on my mistaken inference. I did indeed misunderstand your point concerning greatness. From my observations and reading of history, I would have to say the last great President we had was Eisenhower, and I am sure he was not perfect. I would rate him as great based only on his speech concerning the military-industrial complex, but one can not disregard his other acomplishments. Re:Lying by politcians I would prefer to have our leaders trust us enough to be honest with us. While Clinton lied under oath and that will tarnish him forever, I have to wonder what is worst his lie (bad as it was and under oath [What lies did he tell not under oath?]), or Bush’s that led us into Iraq and cost thousands of brave men and women in our military their lives, and I don’t know how many others injuries they will never recover from. If we had just stayed in Afganistan and gotten Bin Laden, I think we all would be much better off. Georgia Guy: You misunderstood my point. I was writing that one gets a real feel for what the average person thinks and how (s)he feels by doing what Mr. Humberd did; talk to the local people away from formal places and away from the so called city fathers. Get the real info away from the spin masters and their filters. Sorry to hear your BB experiences are mostly trash talking, but I still think you learned about the players by their behavior. One can find out who plays hard but clean, who is a cheap shot artist out to hurt others, who pouts when things go bad, etc. This was my point about Obama playing BB with troops. They got to know something about him, and he got to know something about them like their cares, concerns, worries, etc. along with a better understanding of thei duties. Want to continue dialog Terry D and Georgia Guy? Use e-mail address I set up for this purpose: nelsofmoorheadmn@yahoo.com

  85. Rick, Frankly I am disappointed. I have enjoyed your shows on Idaho PBS but will not be watching in the future. Yes, you have a right to your opinion, I also have a right to mine and a right to decide where to spend my money. While not as well traveled as you I have gotten around a little (Europe, Asia etc). I currently working in Iraq as an engineer where I am surrounded by folks from literally all over the world. I have regular discussions with them. You know what I have found out? Europeans and other nationalities have their own narrow self interests; when they criticize America they do so because we are not helping ‘them’ enough. If I suggest that maybe America has a right to it’s own self interests they tend to get a little huffy. While many of these people are busy expressing how America should ‘change’ to help them out they are offended when I suggest they can also modify their approach in an effort to reduce friction. Many, very many of those I meet that reside in foreign countries are much less global thinking than Americans are. America helps the world community more than any other in the world. That is a result of our home grown values. I for one applaud those values and take my hat off to those steeped in them. Your criticism of Sarah Palin for lacking ‘travel experience’ is off base. Perhaps it is another example of man’s tendency to think their ‘experience’ makes them smarter than the rest of us.

  86. So can’t someone who lacks the experience but is willing to learn be refreshing? So Sarah Palin isn’t qualified because of her lack of experience but Obama is? Again, this is not a political discussion I am making here but a factual one. She does have executive experience which would make her far more prepared than Obama. Now, this isn’t to say that Obama wouldn’t make a good President. We will have to wait and see what happens. But from a factual and logical point of view, it doesn’t make sense to attack Palin for lack of experience without condemning Obama for the same thing. Obama seems to have a passion and an excitement to learn but lacks experience just as Palin does. So yes, maybe a little perspective here would be good. Again, I am not promoting or condemning either candidate but like Rick’s condemnation of Palin’s experiences while praising those of small town Europeans as having something to offer is hypocritical so is criticizing Palin’s lack of experience in light of Obama’s.

  87. I used to enjoy your program but I have watched it for the last time (too bad because I am a member of a ratings group!). Stick to travel, Steve! That SEEMS to be something you actually KNOW something about.

  88. Rather than talk about Sarahs lack of Europe experience how about talking about how Obama helped sink the country by being so closely aligned and a part of ACORN..an organization that has been held accountable now for voter fraud and demanding undcredit worthy people be given loans through the Community Reinvestment Act. What is more important the economic meltdown which Obama had a personal hand in or the fact Sarah has not visited London and Paris.

  89. I’d like to pick up on a couple of things I’ve read. One writer questioned whether many Europeans ventured outside Europe. Europe is a continent not a country: plenty of people venture outwith their own country (and culture) but remain within Europe. Having said that, Florida is a very popular destination for Brits and many Europeans travel to Australia. As for Austria, well I haven’t been there myself but Bill Bryson seems to think they’re mostly right of Ghengis Khan. The other point open to question is that foreign travel gives you a better understanding of foreign policy. Possibly travel in the sense of living in another country for a period of months might help in understanding that particular country but two weeks vacation will teach you next to nothing. If you want to get a grasp of foreign policy read books and newspapers and study history. I’m new to Rick’s blog and have to say that I don’t particularly enjoy reading about politics on a travel site although I understand the need for columnists – which is effectively what Rick is – to be controversial from time to time.

  90. Hi from Canada, I read Rick’s comments and felt I had to add my two cents worth. I totally agree with Rick that Sarah Palin’s lack of curiosity does not make her a suitable candidate for either Vice-President or (gasp!) President. We have seen what 8 years of rule by a man who appears to have very little sense of curiosity about the world around him has achieved for America and the world. From an outsiders viewpoint I find it hard to understand how the Republican party has any support whatsoever.

  91. I have always been surprised by the lack of consistency when evaluating public figures, usually resulting from one’s own political bias. Double standards abound as in Mr. Steve’s post. Criticizing Gov. Palin on the basis of lack of travel experience and remaining silent about Mr. Obama’s similar problem tends to move the observation from thoughtful commentary into the realm of political hackery. Since political discussion has degenerated into a “gotcha” mentality it serves to inhibit the advancement and understanding, and especially reaching a consensus on policy. Sadly Mr. Steves is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

  92. Bruce I loved your post- question or maybe a comment-people on the blog here might be talking about Europeans as those countries belonging to the EU and lumping everyone together. And I totally agree with you that a two week vacation does not give you any better insight into foreign policy than not visiting at all. I had an epiphany to start visiting Europe, the UK, Russia and Scandinavia 12 years ago and make it over there about 3 times a year. And in that time I have come to learn what to go home and read about to understand the culture and politics more. Blogers have read before that I am taking a European Union Studies certificate course and my God what I have learned from books and student discussion could never ever have been found just by visiting a country. The complexity of the EU alone is astounding and it took a two semester course to give us an introduction to that much less go onto International Laws and Government as well as politics. You point is very well taken book knowledge as a base is very important; from the book you can then draw you own conclusions when you visit.

  93. Check out the cover of this week’s issue of The New Yorker for a depiction of Sarah Palin’s view of the world. Rick isn’t the only one who is uneasy with her lack of international experience and understanding. Palin’s recent U.N. visit was described as a “take your daughter to work” exercise. If he gets elected, let’s all pray for John McCain’s good health! While I expect that all of the ‘Guns and Ammo’ readers will slam The New Yorker as a liberal rag, the recent reports by Seymour Hersh and others on the Iraq war, covert killing operations, (U.S.) government torture of prisoners, the Valerie Plame case, etc. were both outstanding and disconcerting. My last comment is that travel, culture, and politics are inextricably linked. I realize that there are some who open the guidebook when the plane lands, but for the educated traveler who has researched their destination beforehand — like many of the readers of Rick’s blog to be sure — some understanding of a country’s culture and politics is unavoidable. One simply can’t travel in a vacuum. By the way, my verification word for this post was “honesties”. How appropriate.

  94. Georgia Guy wrote: “…I am overstocked with fantasyland candied apples.” I read this as too much Billo, Lou, Glen, Sean, Neal, and Rush. I must admit though they are good for laughs.

  95. Here’s a couple more examples of conversations with real people. === An English-speaking gentleman at the campsite mentioned that he was gaining weight while on his vacation. I said getting fat was better than not having anything to eat. The man laughed and said that when he surrendered to the American Army near the end of WW II he sure did not have enough to eat. ===== He explained that many tens of thousands of German soldiers surrendered at one time and place, and the Americans just weren’t prepared for the crowd. Although for a few weeks there just wasn’t enough food for all the US soldiers plus the German prisoners, he had been very happy that the war was nearly over and he was still alive. ===== We have asked many Germans if they felt they would be living better today, if Germany had won WW II. Their response, each and every time was something like, “How could it be better than this? Even at the best, no one promised or imagined our lives would be this good.” One man said that early in the war when Germany was “winning” and the propagandists were proclaiming how great and wonderful Germany was, it dawned on him he wasn’t at home enjoying the “victory,” he was in Greece, with the German Army, making sure they didn’t have the way of life they preferred. ===== Did you read anything like that in the Numb Jerk Slimes?

  96. Thank you Rick for pointing out the obvious short comings of Sarah Palin. Rick introduced us to European travel though a number of his tours and now we just returned from 3 weeks in Eastern Europe and London on our own with this aid of Rick’s great books. The European people are most anxious about our election and are very nervous that McCain may get elected adding more disregard for our European country partners with his Bush Doctrine approach to governing. We spoke to several people who really wonder about his judgment in selecting Palin as a running mate and fear her eventual presidential role. Sarah travels the world through books and movies. Not the same thing dear Sarah.

  97. Oh God get over it why should we care what anyone in Europe thinks of who we chose as president did they ask our opinion and more importantly did we interject ourselves and tell them who we think should be their chancelor, prime minister or president. really I am more than sick of hearing about what the Europeans want, why don’t they worry about what their own leaders are doing as most are running their countries into the ground and into financial distress. I love visiting Europe but I would never presume to tell them who should run their country why should they tell me who should run mine when these experts have never even visited America, they just want to run their mouths about it.

  98. In fairness, Barack Obama isn’t exacytly well-traveled either. However, he seems to have a wider world view and–let’s face it–more intelligence. While travel would no doubt make a fine mind even greater, it’s obvious Obama isn’t nearly as provincial as Gov. P.

  99. Patrice, et. al., what the United States does reverberates around the world–military action, economic stumbles, the whole 9 yards. Support for our policies in Iraq lead to terrorist attacks against Britain and Spain. So yes, I think they are entitled to be concerned about our elections.

  100. Interesting Mr. Humberd. I don’t read the LA Times or the Washington Times. So, the answer to your question is no, I did not read anything like that.

  101. Hey Rick, Could you give me and all the other dithering idiots on this thread a private little trip to the land that created the Father of Logic? We really need it. I also really appreciate the people here who constantly threaten to starve Rick to death by refusing to buy his products or view his programs. Must be some new form of love or logic. I like their crazy talk.

  102. As stated in above blogs..I am a currency trader. I dont know extensive European history but some. I do know their monetary system very well or I would be broke. Believe it or not for reasons stated in a blog I did 2 days ago they are worse off than we are.It took from July of 07 until 1 month ago for the euro to go from 1.35 to 1.60 against the dollar. It has taken one month to crash to 1.38 where it is as I speak.With the mess we are in that should tell you all something.I also do not vote party but am an idealist and vote for courage intelligence and character. History shows us that liberals in office move center and conservatives do to. So the person is more important than the dogma. I didnt make the mistake of voting for Clinton or GWB twice. Obama is not running against Palin. McCains mom is 92 or even older. He will survive 4 yrs nicely and Palin like the republican who couldnt spell potato will never be President. Obama is a very intelligent guy no doubt but has never accomplished anything in any position of note. His views on terrorism and other aggressive nations is lacking courage. He may change and rise to the occasion many in the past have. McCain even if you dont agree with his views is a great man. I doubt any of us here would have the courage to be beat,tortured and almost killed for several years and not leave when we could because of our love for country and our fellow prisoners who he felt should leave first. He walks today like he does with no movement in his shoulders fingers or arms because of broken bones. When that 3AM call comes that they talk about a man like that weather dem or repub will make the right decision. Europeans should pray for a president with courage cuz they will need one after Russia finishes taking the last oil pipeline(Georgia) going into western Europe that Russia doesnt control and begins to hold the EU financially hostage. This time Im voting for the proven guy. If Obama wins hopefully intelligence becomes courage too.

  103. Nels good to see u again. I dont mix my business email address with other stuff so let me get a new one and then we can chat via email. Sounds like fun. Ive been to France Germany Switzerland Austria England and Czech Republic but never on a Rick tour. Am hoping to go do that in 09 or 10. My wife and daughters are Europed out so I might be looking for an interesting travel partner. Look forward to reading more of your thoughts

  104. Terry D once again so well done… so well articulated and it reflects exactly what I feel yet probably could never put into such succinct and clear language.

  105. Terry D: Both JMac’s father and Grandfather died 10 years younger than he is now, so that kind of cancels out your Mother point. You also conveniently forget to point out the cancer that has ravaged his body, the very little we know about the details of his health and that some medical professionals fear his cancer may have moved to stge three. Finally, since McCain graduated at the bottom of his class, crashed jets repeatedly, is abusive to his wife, colleagues, press, and the public (does he have PTSD?), I feel a great many soldiers would have done exactly what he did in Vietnam…maybe minus cooperating with the enemy. Being a vet myself, I know something of the military mindset.

  106. I think that you are actually very unfair to Americans. How so? Because you always talk about the ugly American. Yet, how about the Ugly European…the one who comes over here that thinks its okay to smoke wherever they please, the ones who cannot control their children, the ones who think their culture is superior to everyone, the one who makes racist comments under their breath, and the ones who think its perfectly allright to blow their nose into the street, along with the ones who have no problems running out in the middle of the street regardless of traffic. (I am still grossed out seeing a man from Spain just blow his snot right in the middle of Columbus Street in SF).

  107. Jeff – I have yet to see a post filled with such vitriol and hate mongering on Rick’s site. The things you say are horrid and unsubstantiated. If you want to talk about school you have to wonder why none of the schools Obama attended comes forward to claim their hero…because he got in there probably on affirmative action and passed through because of it. I think your post is libelous by insinuating he cooperated with the enemy. What is so wrong in your life that you have to say such horrid things about a person who has done you no personal harm? Cancer has not ravaged his body he had a melenoma in situ that was removed. You know it has been said that stress and hatred can kill a person so you maybe want to take heed on that and stop being so hateful. Passion is one thing in politics vile hurtful statements just make it a personal form of communication.

  108. And Jeff it was his FATHER John McCain Jr who entered Annapolis at 16 in 1927 and graduated at the bottom of his class but went on to become a 4 star admiral decorated with a silver and bronze star- his son the Senator-the aviator who was a vaval aviator captain is John McCain III

  109. Well, Sarah Palin proved herself more intelligent, articulate and knowledgeable than the political veteran she debated last night. And she did it without having visited Paris or Brussels to sample European public opinion. Wow, how’d that happen?

  110. The information in my response is easy to google. McCain admits he was broken by the enemy and cooperated. He did crash multiple jets. He did graduate at the bottom of his class. He has had several operations, not one. A handful of press got only 3 hours to view 1000 plus pages of medical records in a closed room…no photo copies or pictures allowed. Serious medical professionals are concerned about a worsening of his condition. Both his Dad and Grandad did die 10 years younger than McCain is now. These are just facts anyone can look up. The only one in question is, has the cancer gone from stage two to stage three. This was not a hateful post. Any serious citizen should be concerned about the qualifications and fitness of the man who wants to lead out nation. I’m sorry you took it that way. Once you read my post again and become fully informed, I’m sure you will moderate your critique.

  111. As an ex petroleum geologist I was quite surprised that in the debate Palin seemed to think/infer that the US can become energy independent by just allowing more drilling. Most of the big oil fields left to discover are just not on US soil (basically what Biden said afterwards). I once had a geologist friend (strong Republican too) who had seen some of the geological data on ANWR and he said that the possibility of most of that area producing oil is just not like Prudhoe Bay (had to do with the geochemistry).

  112. Sarah Palin knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America. A direct quote from John McCain. I’m sure John and his shrinking little ragtag army of true believers think she won the debate as well. Sure sounds like it if you listen to redneck media. It is wise to be careful who you listen to.

  113. McCain did lose two Navy aircraft while piloting them, both due to engine failure. A third was destroyed on the deck of the carrier USS Forrestal when hit by a missile fired accidentally from another plane, triggering a disastrous fire that killed 134 sailors and nearly killed McCain. A fourth plane was lost when he was shot down over North Vietnam on a bombing mission over Hanoi. There’s no evidence that any of the four destroyed planes were lost to pilot error. Considering how tough the Naval Academy is, the fact he finished is still impressive. Its like the old joke — “what do you call the guy who graduated at the bottom of his medical school class?” “Doctor.” His grandfather sr. died on sept. 6, 1945 of a heart attach in coronado, cali. hid father jr. died on march 22, 1981 on a military aircraft enroute to europe. So what is your point. People have changed their health practices over the years and live longer.

  114. And if you want to talk about health waht about Obamas long standing smoking history and just quitting a year ago. How long and how much one smokes makes a difference. A 1998 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the amount of fatty deposits in the carotid artery depended on total pack-years of tobacco exposure, not whether the patient currently smokes. And a smoker’s excess risk of a stroke doesn’t return to that of nonsmokers until at least five, or as long as twenty years after quitting. Sen. Obama would have to serve a hypothetical four smoke-free terms before his stroke risk returned to normal. So how long and how much did Sen. Obama smoke? The information has not been officially released, and the campaign has not returned calls or emails posing this question. But he smoked a lot over his life. Just because he’s young, looks great, and exercises doesn’t mean he’s healthy. Recall Jim Fixx. An overweight smoker when he turned his life around at thirty-five, Fixx became the icon of fitness. He quit smoking and started running. Then he died in 1984 at age fifty-three — while running. Sen. Obama, while not overweight, smoked a lot longer than Jim Fixx did. And while the stresses of running may have contributed to Fixx’s death, it was his years of smoking, not his running, that caused the plaque to build up in his arteries. Doctors say the stress of being president may in fact exceed the stress of running. And it’s an unhealthier kind of stress. The public deserves to know how long and how much Sen. Obama really smoked. Does he have other risk factors for heart disease? Compared to whites, for instance, African-Americans are more likely to die of a stroke, according to the American Heart Association.

  115. Jeff thanks for your comments.As I stated before I am not a partisan like 99 percent of people involved in politics.I dont listen to talking points I actually research before forming an opinion and I read and listen to all sides. Some of your points are well taken and it is obvious that you also do research…bravo…but this is where I know Im right. Im a currency trader now and spend all day at my computer…after awhile looking at monetary currency charts gets tiring so I research many hours a day on subjects that are interesting to me politics being one of those.Every person has flaws. Life is about overcoming those and achieving greatness in our own little sphere. Im sure you are a better man now than you were 15 yrs ago. Afford others the same opportunity. I notice besides the cancer part all the negative things you have to say about McCain happened a long time ago. The good part is that he is the one who told us about all of it. If Biden were the dem nominee it would be a tough decision. He is also a man of high character and experience. Obama is not. If you are going to research one do em all and be intellectually honest. Obama is not honest in even telling us what he believes much less his record and unlike McCain has never admitted any faults or flaws.I was impressed with both VP nominees last night because they were honest about their beliefs and who they really are. Hopefully if Obama gets elected he will learn from the other 3 and can achieve greatness but at this point he is not even close. I wish the dems had been smart enough to nominate Biden. Last point…in my former years I also was a vet and continued my career in the area of interrogation.There is almost nobody living including me or you that could totally not cooperate under like conditions that McCain faced. He fed them much more disinformation than he did useful information. That is a fact and not a talking point. Despite his flaws he is a great very uncommon man and much better than Obama.

  116. Hello to Meg! Obama probably got in on affirmative action and passed through because of it, you write. Do you know where Obama graduated in his class at Harvard law School. Every report I have read has him in the top 5 students. Also, he was Law Review editor, and that is not a job one gets through affirmative action. Contrast his admission to universities with our current President (or president as georgia guy writes). Bush in via heritage admissions and family name from all evidence I have seen.

  117. Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988 and at the end of his first year was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review based on his grades and a writing competition. In his second year he was elected president of the Law Review, Obama’s election in February 1990 as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles. He graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991….Magna is much less than summa so if he graduated Magna he probably was in the lower 1/3 to maybe middle half of his class…as most everyone at Harvard would be graduating at least magna. Don’t forget Hillary also graduated from Yale in the top ten percent of her class as summa so what is your point

  118. Agree FULLY!! It is remarkable to see the comments on here. It is important to talk about these issues and Rick you have nailed it. What this country lacks is CONNECTION we are so disconnected from the rest of the world. My husband and I recently traveled to Nepal..and upon our return to the US when we talked about where we were most people had NO idea where Nepal was or if what even a country! In regards to Palin..this is also true…I am sure she is a fine person but not for running this country or VP for that matter. It is important that we start to explore and get reconnected to all of this..and through travel is on of the best means to gather and learn. We shelter ourselves in this country and it is something to be talked about and get other people to open up their minds. It is important what other countries think of us..we can not isolate ourselves from the world. It is amazing the negative responses on here. Just an example of the amount of Americans out of touch. *forgive me of my errors in grammer and spelling I can hardly see..I can’t find my glasses! Peace Rick.

  119. Why are Americans so wrapped up in choosing their favorite candidate “character” instead of evaluating the policies and ideas associated with each candidate and his or her political party? The level of discourse often seems akin to a discussion about which reality t.v. personality is your favorite (i.e. it’s borderline nonsensical). What a candidate will do (or not do) when they take office is the only factor that matters in an election because it’s the only factor that will tangibly impact the lives of most citizens. Look at the past 8 years if you need evidence to support that statement. The impact of those 8 years is something we’re all going to be suffering through for many, many years to come.

  120. Nels- I did a bit more OCD research on the ranking of Obama in school- although truly an irrelevant point in picking a president. Anyway if you go to this article from 1990 in the NY times it says that Harvard does not rank students and that the year he entered when he was 28 years old was the highest year for black students entering the law school. So I don’t know where anyone is coming up with the top 5 percent or 10 percent. I give the man big kudod for going to Harvard and achieving what he did don’t get me wrong on that. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260

  121. I made comments about McCain’s medical and emotional fitness to serve. Unfortunately, some posting here and elsewhere think it is logical to counter points about McCain’s health with points about Obama’s health. Rather than just staying on and exploring the point. Sorry, productive debate doesn’t work that way except on Hannity and O’Reilly. I have voted for three (or more)parties in my lifetime and always make a living list of pros can cons of each. I don’t pick my horse and then stick to him come thick or thin. I am all about performance. After all, this is like a job interview. Who doesn’t want the most qualified…based on tangibles?Unfortunately, some also seem to feel they have clairvoyant ability when assessing motivations of candidates or other posters…which makes their opinions suspect. If a doctor only looked at one symptom before diagnosing an illness, I’d change doctors.

  122. Jeff no one is flawless in their health ; McClain might have melenoma that erupted and is in remission or cured but Obama might be a ticking time bomb due to his smoking history. I had a friend who was in the pink of health but a heavy smoker for years. She gave it up almost one year to the day she went to work and blam died at work at her desk of a brain aneursym from the smoking that weakened her circulatory system at 52 years old. What I am trying to say to you is that all the information you are bringing forth is brough forth with your bias. I have an economics undergraduate degree and an MBA. I know what to look for and the population of the US is made up of lots and lots of post graduate people and professionals with MBA’s, PHD,s EDD’s, JD’s, MD’s, DDS’s, DO’s and DC’s. We don’t need to debate points we research, explore and finalize our opinions and nothing anyone here said will change anyones mind. For every general point or reference you need to dig down and find the true specific point and extrapolate from that.

  123. And let us not forget Kennedy who had Addisons disease for which he was treated with large doses of steroids. But at one of his first press conferences after his election, Kennedy made an extraordinarily rare reference to the rumors of his ill health: he insisted to reporters, “I have never had Addison’s disease. I have been through a long campaign and my health is very good today.” We know now that Kennedy’s Addison’s disclaimer was untrue, even though he may not have fully realized it at the time.As early as 1953, however, a physician associated with the Lahey Clinic had indicated that Kennedy had been suffering from and treated for Addison’s disease since the late 1940s. While that physician pointed out that Kennedy had been a patient of the Lahey Clinic since 1936 and had had “quite a variety of conditions,” he described his Addison’s disease as the most serious of Kennedy’s many ailments. But Kennedy died of assasination and not Addisons and adrenal gland atrophy while in office so my point is move on from health and where someone rated in class to what the present issues are, economy, war and foreign issues

  124. birthSarah Palin wants to convince us that ignorance is an American “virtue”;if you can afford to travel you are an elitist, and not a “regular Joe Six-Pack”, as she seems to like to call herself lately. But there is nothing at all virtuous about such stubborn ignorance, not in todays world, where modern technology brings the world ever closer and we speak of a global economy that is perilously close to a melt-down, not only in our own country but all across the world. Her smug indifference to this is rediculous. Maybe “Joe Six-Pack” should spend less time befouling the environment with fossil-fuel burning sports vehicles and more time studying the very real problems of this modern age, which she would realize if she ever left Alaska.

  125. As a recovered European and a proud American, I would like to remind you that your jealously of the US has been there a long time before 8 years ago. How easily you forgot how you mocked Bill Clinton in the beginning until he was caught fooling around and then he became your hero. Europe cannot get over the fact that you are no longer a world power and actually insignificant in the world because you no longer have the “cajones” to stand up for yourselves. I do agree however that travel is very educational and a wonderful thing to be able to do, but when you are raising five children and between you and your husband only making $160,000 per year, it tends to be put on the back burner. Europe is a socialistic group, America is a capitalist state, please stop trying to make us like you. This is the basic difference between us. Go Sarah.

  126. Joe….. Rick is an idealogue. He has no interest in an objective assessment. The more it’s like Europe (i.e. to the left), the more he likes it!

  127. I think Rick, as a liberal idealist, has problems dealing with the fact that he is a highly successful capitalist. As a result, he leans further and further left, and comes up with the dubious concept of “travel as a political act” to salve his guilty conscience. Sorry Rick, travel is not a political act just because you have a few conversations with some of your lefty Euro fellow travelers. Why don’t you do some “travel as a political act” in the USA and learn something about your own country, you know, the one that keeps your highly lucrative business prospering.

  128. I save all my extra OT money working for Macvs in the 1970’s, while going full time to grad school. My husband and I went to Europe for 4 months after I graduated. When we had childen we saved,always had a travel fund from exctra obey such as garage sales, taking on extra teaching jobs, etc. Our children traveled with us to Europe ( one of them went to Cuba with me and we lived with the locals on valid US- Treas Dept Visas). My children are adults now and they are so aware, tolerant, and mature. Once we did a ‘where is the world is’ email to the school with photos in coordination with the teacher’s curriculum. My daughter learned so many coping skills by visiting and learning how to navigate her day in other cultures. There is nothing else like walking though Pompei with your son, as he tells you about a school report he did on it, as he feels the history under his feet. I recall a discussion we had on racism and theri awareness of it when living anong people who dark skin who are Italians and speake 4 language. I choose public school for them over provate school and travel over media technolocy. I wasn’t always a popular Mom by not buying them the latest Nintendo like the other parents did for their kids. We make choices and some epoepl just aren’t curious emough or willing to take the risk to experinece a little initial newness or discomfort to try out something different. Even the Pres. Bush never visted Eorope until 2001 when he went on his first official dilpomacy trip to Spain. I was in Europe when that happened and I read the papers so it was great to see their perspective of our leaders. I just can’t imagine talking to the world about democracy and not even being curious to visit it’s country of origin.

  129. Ughh.. People you are missing the point..(joe) It’s not about being “left” or “right” …Really people..dense.. Joe are you thinking about this???? Look at the bigger picture..what are you talking about “learning something about the USA…that is retarded~ Disconnected just like I mentioned before. By traveling you expose yourself to different ideas and see the connection between all things. It is something THAT WE NEED TO SEE as Americans that we are not separate from the world. I am sick of this liberal this and that..what a typical answer for being disconnected from the world. After our trip from Nepal..I realized a lot about our country and how we have lost our ability to discover and to inspire. AND YES JOE traveling is a political act..it is also a learning act..and living act..it is all of the above! And for all the other comments left on here get in touch with your world..that is what he is saying..If your going to potentially lead our country then you need to have a WIDER view of the world.. geeez unreal..

  130. The thought of Sarah Palin as vice president of the United States is downright scary. Forget “right” or “left” politics or any other partisan label. She belongs back in Alaska, where she can complete her term as Governor and, doggone it, take care of those local issues that she may be somewhat competent to address. We need national leaders who have a world view supported by tangible experiences outside our geographic borders. Our credibility in the world is already in the tank. What can she possibly bring to the table to mitigate that sorry situation??

  131. Travel is not a political act unless you want it to be. Andrea, just travel and enjoy yourself. Then when you get back home, thank God you live where you live. If you are not happy then move somewhere else in the US or even another country. Be happy.

  132. I disagree with the implication that travel and interaction with different cultures will necessarily change a person’s political views. People can see what they want to see to support their views. A liberal can point to the high taxes and liberal social policies of Scandinavia while a conservative can point to the low corporate taxes and restrictive abortion laws in Ireland. Many foreign countries are more politically diverse than the United States, and even the countries of Europe have their own versions of the “red state/blue state” divide. Travel can broaden your perspective if you let it regardless of your political views.

  133. My wife pointed me to Rick’s blog this evening; she was amazed at the number of vitriolic responses to a blogged issue that is obviously in Rick’s area of expertise. By visiting this blog you implicitly acknowledge that expertise. Not many of you would bother with a Palin blog on energy (nor should you). As I scan the comments It became obvious to me that a number of the posters actually turn to Fox for “news” and thus are easily riled. For these people, I suggest a month at a Buddhist or Trappist monastery. You need to let the venom clear. On the other hand, for the McCain bashers, read this month’s Rolling Stone cover story for affirmation.

  134. By visiting this blog you implicitly acknowledge that expertise…Big Ed…He may have an expertise in how to get the most out of travel on a budget but he is no expert in politics or political science. What we object to is a cram down of politcal rhetoric on a travel blog as if he was the sultan of politis. The term travel guru does not extend to politics, financial advise, legal advice or medical advice that might be espoused by Rick Steves.

  135. Big Ed- yes there are some passionate comments and what I have learned is that it is true that familiarity breeds contempt. I use to be a Ricknic having been only been exposed to him on his videos and through the humor in his books.I thought is was a generous, easy going, humerous, well informed dedicated geek that the every man could relate to. But through his blog I have come to an opinion that he resents paying his staff a decent wage and giving them benefits, is cranky and opinionated, is a micromanaging control freak. He purchased land with a building on it and turned it over to the domestic violence people so they can fix it up, improve it and as it appreicates in value when it is returned to him in 14 years from now he can make a fortune on it as improved property and in the meantime get a tax write off. He labels himself the kings jester because that is the person who had the most influence on the king and probably the most important person in court. I feel disappointed and cheated in what was packaged as Rick Steves and what he really is. Some of us feel betrayed and angry and come back here hopeing to find the Rick we once admired.

  136. Wow! This Rick Steves’ blog has become a political round table between two sides in this historical election! Pretty exciting! Well, after all this is Rick Steves’ blog he can voice his OPINIONS however/whatever he wants. If you don’t like his view, like he said, don’t even spend your precious time reading it.

  137. Big Ed…… so what about those who watch Fox News? The same argument can be made about liberals/progressives/democrats/socialists/call them what you may who watch MSNBC or CNN. Your point in this context is bogus.

  138. Big Ed. You complain about vitriolic responses to a blogged issue that is obviously in Rick’s area of expertise and then you proceed to slam conservatives and those who watch FOX News. Nice move Ed.

  139. I am wealthy and can certainly afford to travel abroad but refuse to give one dollar of my hard earned money to tourisim in Europe where America is riduculed and disliked because of Europe’s uncontrolled envy of Americans. I can see their countries through your videos and that’s fine with me.

  140. I had been thinking the same things about Palin’s lack of travel, but in a much more scattered way. You summed it up here perfectly. Thanks for this wonderful post.

  141. Someone said, “McCain admits he was broken by the enemy and cooperated.” == Well, Aubrey, Big Ed, Dee Dee, karen, Jeff, Bart, andrea Thein, Joy, and many, many more, what is your excuse to join and praise the proposed enemy of this country? Did you hope that to elect a man who said, “They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?” ==== I sure wish that Rick and all Bloggers here, would stick to interesting points about their travel, or questions about someplace they would like to travel. I can’t believe it, but I have posted over 50,000 words on Rick’s Blog, both political and travel, (They are on my internet site), but believe me, the ones I liked the best were the ones giving hints, experience, help, and love for our travel. If you haven’t seen the one about Venice yet, go to Rick’s next Entry about Italy. Of course it is my idea that hotels and restaurants are tools of travel, not destinations. When I read about a hotel, restaurant, or bar, it seem the next entry will say, about other tools of travel, “the suitcase was pretty,” “the tires on the Rome taxi were round.” We eat to travel, we never traveled to eat or drink. And remember for both business and private travel, I have spent 2500 nights away from home, so I saw a lot of the world traveling with my Beautiful Sweetie.

  142. proposed enemy of this country? Not sure what your point is, Jim. You are saying Obama is an enemy? Yeah, if you read McCain’s book, he talks about being broken. Other stories and books by others who were captive with him also tell more details of his cooperating. I’m not repeating this to be unkind. I have great compassion for anyone in his situation. It is just information. Someone else mentioned PTSD as a possibility for his erratic behavior and temper over the years. I think that is a valid concern as well. You don’t have to be of a particular party to talk about unpleasant facts. I think all of us should know the difference between active participation in something and just showing up at a party someone threw.

  143. Jim I agree…He had his fingers in the economic demise through Fannie Mae and has these tenuous ties to people of questiontionable ties. We are heading into some dark dark economic days with the world economy collapsing. At least we have Paulson who has a plan but the EU is struggling to first of all figure out who they can trust to be the Paulson which will allow their country economies to continue to fail. There is not the same trust amongst the countries of Europe to appoint someone to try to fix this….the Germans think they are the best prepared yet their housing market just collapsed and the French were looking good but they are not as well respected as say England whose banks are failing and house market slumped. Bad Bad time scarey scarey times. I can’twait for his this election to be over so we have one less thing as a distraction to fixing this country

  144. I cant believe this. One more time for Joy and friends. None of you people here could withstand one tenth of what John McCain withstood. Most of you have never been punched once in your life in the face much less beat and tortured for years with several major bones broken time and time again without being reset,having fevers constantly over 100 degress, being starved and living in a hole without human contact except to be beat again. It is a fact that he fed the vietnamese interrogators much more disinformation than useful information and did it knowing that if they found out he was a dead man. You have the right to debate politics and issues but none of us have the right to judge John McCain on what he did while in captivity. By the way when given the opportunity to leave he turned it down even knowing that they would torture him some more amd even worse than they had up to that point. The reasons…he loved his country and his fellow prisoners even more. He thought the ones that were captured before him should go home first…a kind of heroism and compassion that none of us here have probably ever shown. If you really have ever shown enough intellectual honesty to find out who he is instead of listening to talking points you will see that he limps,cant type with his fingers or raise his arms up past his shoulders..all from unset broken bones done to him while he served our country…yes , our country. After all that he came home with a winners attitude and even though he made some mistakes overcame them. Oh and I really consider The Rolling Stone a factual unbiased source. Try the Congressional record that has all the facts,totally unbiased as to who Obama is and what he said and voted for vs McCain and who he is ,what he said and for what he voted. Oh and by the way McCain has actually written and sponsored many many bills and legislation unlike Obama. Coming from a person who has voted for democrats this one is not even close. I had hopes for Obama but not now.

  145. One more quick comment on temper for those of you who keep bringing that up. It is a well known fact by those in the know and has been written about my ex members of the Presidential detail(Secret Service). Hillary has the worse temper of anyone in recent history. She broke more vases and screamed at more people than anyone they know. She also told Chelsea not to talk to her detail as they were not of her class or worthy for personal conversation. Despite this,Hillary is very intelligent, experienced and I am still astounded to this day that the Dems turned to Obama instead of her. Many moderates would vote for her and the election would not be close. Temper is just another talking point. Oh and by the way even with our stock market taking a dive the dollar strengthened against the euro today by almost 400 pips (price interest points). It got as low as 1.3442 which is a 14 month low. So lets all smile and plan our next trip to Europe with Rick.

  146. Open questions to Jim Humberd and anyone else who cares to respond. Mr. Humberd,Question 1: Would you agree or disagree that Gov. Palin has associated with terrorists, specifically the Alaska Independence Party (AIP). As you are no doubt aware, the AIP ia a secessionist group whose founder Joe Vogler said, “The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government. I won’t be buried under their damned flag. I’m an Alaskan, not an American. I’ve got no use for America or her damned institutions.” Sarah Palin attended the AIP convention in 2000, and Gov. Palin taped a message to the AIP in 2006 in which she said. “Your party plays an important role in our state’s politics. I’ve always said that competition is so good, and that applies to political parties as well. I share your party’s vision of upholding the constitution of our great state.. So I say good luck on a successful and inspiring conventition. Keep up the good work, and God bless you.” Sir, it has been reported that Todd Palin was a member of the AIP for a number of years, and there is no question that that Gov. Palin has an intimate relationship with him. So, Question 2: Is Gov. Palin also to be criticized for associating with a member of a terrorist group? Question 3: Sir, what active terrorists (your words) has Mr. Obama associated with? Please note William Ayers was active with the Weather Underground when Mr. Obama was 8 years old. The FBI labeled the Weather Underground a “domestic terrorist group,” but does a statement from the FBI, a government agency, make it so. As an aside, were the MinuteMen of colonial America labeled a “domestic terrorist group” by the British? Is it not a fact that federal charges against Ayers were dropped due to FBI misconduct?

  147. Open questions to Meg and anyone else who cares to respond. Meg, you wrote in Oct 4 post, “I give the man big kudod for going to Harvard and achieving what he did…” But, on Oct 3 post you wrote, “…he got in there probably on affirmative action and passed through because of it.” Do you agree or disagree that there seems to be a conflict with your two statements? In one you seem to disparage Mr. Obama’s achievements, and in the other give him big kudod (did you mean kudos) for his achievements. On Oct 4 post you wrote, regarding Mr. Obama’s class ranking, “…truly an irrelevant point in picking a president.” Do you agree or disagree that a person’s class rank can give us some insight into a candidate’s intellectural ability? And, how seriously they will apply himself? Are you not aware that by writing Mr. Obama got into and through Harvard because of affirmative action you are engaging, in some people’s eyes, in pandering to voters’ most base instincts? If someone claimed Mr. McCain got into and through the USNA because of his father and grandfather being admirals, would you not think they were appealing and pandering to the voters’ most base instincts?

  148. Well Nels, you say, Gov. Palin has associated with terrorists, specifically the Alaska Independence Party (AIP). —- That’s funny, I have heard of no buildings that they have bombed, or citizens they have killed, like the Weather Underground and their associates did. === “AIP is a secessionist group” —- not much different from the BamBam political party. === I won’t be buried under their damned flag. — So what, I don’t want you buried under our flag either. === “a member of the AIP for a number of years,” —- Who cares, BamBam is a member of a place, and has a friend of 20 years who preached “God Damn America.” === is a member of a terrorist group,— Who but you and yours would call it a terrorist group. What did the FBI say? ==== Sir, what active terrorists — Well, in the New York Times on September 11, 2001, his terrorist friend said: “I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough.” — that sounds active to me. === “domestic terrorist group,” but does a statement from the FBI, a government agency, make it so. —- Not if a statement in Rick Steves blog contradicts the FBI, wouldn’t you agree with me? ==== As an aside, were the Minute Men of colonial America labeled a “domestic terrorist group” by the British? —- Just as I am sure that you and yours would state that Hitler and Stalin were not leading a terrorist Group, they were what you want the future to be. ==== Give your Email address, if you want to waste more of your time. ===== Oh my Rick knew I was responding to you, the verify “word” is “onerous,” describes you exactly.

  149. I feel as if I’m listening in on 6th graders arguing about why their favorite basketball team is awesomer. This election is about deadly serious issues that will quite possibly determine the fate of humanity. I suppose we as a society will get what we deserve in the end, whatever that may be. Hasn’t anyone else seen the Mike Judge move “Idiocracy”???

  150. Hello Barney! And welcome! Good to see a new person posting. Please realize as you read these posts some of us are trying to inject some satire into the discusion, and maybe point out the absurdity of some comments by making ridiculous comments of our own. I agree this election is about, or should be about, deadly serious issues. But, please remember a top campaign aide of one of the candidates is quoted as saying their campaign is toast if this election turns on the economy. Take care and hope to read more from you. My verifying word is evolves, and I hope it applies to my views.

  151. I agree with this passage, but I think the comparison of our military spending is misleading. Most developed nations spend an equal percentage of their GDP on military expenses, and many developing nations spend much more. We have a bigger economy, so we spend more in raw numbers.

  152. Such vitriol as I have never seen before. Why do people resort to name calling? Name calling is the refuge of people who can not argue on facts, no? Or, the evidence of the sophist, no? I see people have compared others to some of the most vile people in history, but no proof is presented as to why the comparsion is being made. Can someone help me understand?

  153. Socrates, Why do people resort to name calling? — Well, if you have a candidate you know little about, and what you hear includes his association with terrorists who hate this country. If others have honest “names” to call, it is important to get it right, if the person involved won’t tell the truth, others must. ==== Since Travel is not a favorite story on this Blog, let me tell about Democrats and their ability to vote their way. Sixty-five years ago I wandered into a meeting near Chicago where they were discussing which cog wheel they were going to install in the manual voting machines, so that enough, but not too many votes, were transferred from “the other” candidate, to theirs. Were they Democrats? Just like Chicago BamBam. ==== Whenever I read an article that says we must have more and more people register to vote, I’m reminded of the 1956 “Man on The Street” program, shown on national TV. The lady being interviewed didn’t know there was an election underway, she didn’t know the name Eisenhower, or Stevenson, and didn’t care to know. As could have been predicted, the very next day the same news program carried pictures of the Democrats registering that lady to vote. ===== Remember guns don’t kill people, people using guns kill people. Computers don’t count votes, people using computers count votes, and it takes a few minutes to break into the voting machine. === Oh my, the input word is “BamBam.” Woops I looked again, and it really is a synonym, “inept.”

  154. For “developed” countries, Rick is right on. The US spends way, way more than any other country as a percentage of GDP. Most “developed” countries do not spend equal amounts of GDP on defense spending.

  155. Gee, what an intelligent article! Let me think, how old are Palin’s kids? When did she get married? What did she run – oh yeah, the state of ALASKA! Maybe, just maybe she was busy doing other things, like reducing Alaska’s deficit or negotiating oil deals. But, damn, she should have gone to Dubai for the experience. McCain, the Presidential candidate has traveled extensively. Obama? Yeah, but because his Dad was from Kenya! He hasn’t traveled extensively for political salvation reasons! Other than his own! Is this all you got? Pathetic! This is just whining because your travel business is down. Boo hoo, suck it up, all business is down.

  156. Mr. Humberd, I will defer to your judgment as you would know best if trying to have a constructive dialog with you is a fruitless exercise. I will note though your onmisciency seems to be waning. You write, “I don’t want you buried under our flag either.” Since I was quoting Joe Vogler, and you wrote “our flag,” I surmise you are a member of the AIP. Sir, I do not want to be buried under the flag of the AIP; the only flag I want to be buried under is the flag of the USA. Sir, you quote the NY Times(surprising since I have observed a consistent hatred for the NYT by conservatives)interview with William Ayers. Ayers has said he was taken out of context; he was not referring to bombings, but not doing more to end the Vietnam War earlier and bring our troops safely home. Obama has been condemned as a terrorist and Anti-American because he knows Ayers, and because of Rev Wright’s sermons. Yet, Mr. McCain consorts with, and gives cover to, the likes of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and James Inhofe who have made statements blaming the USA for the 9/11 attacks and saying God is damning America. Mr. McCain also consorts with the known criminal G. Gordon Liddy. Why is Mr. McCain not condemned like Mr. Obama? It seems to me the conservatives are engaging in the most odorous type of rank hypocrisy. As to you comment re:Hitller and Stalin impugn my character and patriotism. It appears you may be engaging in what psychologists call projecting. I have not, and do not, congratulate Bush and Cheney for ignoring international treaties to which the USA is a signatory, and for dismantling our protections under th US Constitution (for example habeas corpus and the 5th Amendment). Their reactions to anyone who dares to disagree with them are in line with the actions of Hitler and Stalin.I condemn them for their actions usurping power as anyone who loves the USA and what it stands for should. Sir, thank you for your time.

  157. Yes, Sarah Palin clearly had a different upbringing than Rick Steves. However, she is no longer a child and is responsible for her own experiences, including travel. I do not feel comfortable with a Vice-President with such a limited perspective on other countries, especially at a time when foreign relations plays such a large role for our country. Regardless, I hope Palin discovers a passion for international travel that many of us on this blog have. I think most of us would agree she would enjoy it!

  158. Rick, A wise person once said, “When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself”. Think about it…..

  159. Mr. Jim Humberd, Thank you very much sir for you response to my plea. May be you will please help me some more? I understand labels can help people sometimes learn about another person. Like Republican, Democrat, Senator, Governor, fisherman, mechanic, plumber and so forth. I still do not understand why what I call name calling is needed. I have seen the Republicans called “Rethugs” and the Democrats called “Commies.” Also, Senator McCain called “McShame,” “liar” and other names, and Senator Obama called “terrorist,” “friend of terrorists” and other names. Do these names help people learn about Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama? Do people decide who to vote for based on these names? Is this tactic counter-productive? Do voters punish a candidate because his supporters use this tactic? Thank you sir for your help.

  160. Well Sock-it-to-me, to ask questions that need an answer so people can learn about the candidate, is very important. If McCain would not provide information about his Naval Service, would it be OK for someone to ask him? Don’t you think that his life as a Naval Officer is important as a description of who he was, as important as knowing about his years in jail, and his years in the Senate? I also believe that people have the right to know who OBamBam associated with, and what he did before he selected the full time profession of running for office. If all you know about him is that he at one time was a Muslim, got into the best schools, then was a lawyer (a criminal class of the worst kind), then ran for State Office, is that all you need to know? It seems to me that who ever helped him get the chance to run for office, and who he associated with, is also important. I don’t buy the idea that he didn’t know who this man Ayers was, I moved from Chicago in about 1952, but I knew him and what he had done to this country, ever since he did it. I agree completely that calling people names, like OBamBam, is useless for purposes of getting someone elected, or stopping him from being elected. Labels like Republican, Democrat, Senator, Governor, fisherman, mechanic, plumber and so forth are very important to help describe the person being described. Name calling like the Republicans being called “Rethugs” and the Democrats called “Commies,” Senator McCain called “McShame,” “liar” and other names, and Senator Obama called “terrorist,” “friend of terrorists” and other names, describes the person talking or writing, and reduces the need to spend long paragraphs, to give your opinion of the person being described. They are short and to the point, they may tell more about the writer than the reader, but that is what a language is all about.

  161. I agree with Rick Steves. Palin lived in a tiny little world, but now she’s just been introduced to the big time and her lack of travel/world experience is concerning.

  162. Well it just amazes me that with the global economy crashing all around us and no one being able to buoy it up that at this point any would give a flip if Palin took a trip to Europe. I have friends in the private sector that have been working for Sun, IBM, and Health Care that are being dumped along with many many others. Think things out there might be more important than if Palin junketed it to Europe. If this keeps up there will be no more European Union, priorities Eric

  163. I am going to post your comments on my MySpace page. I completely agree. Travel broadens one’s perspective about life in general. It’s really scary that Palin hasn’t experienced the world. I think everyone needs to travel, especially Americans who take our standard of living for granted, in order to be truly educated. Anyone who hasn’t traveled is too sheltered.

  164. Question for RS: I’m wondering how much of the USA Andy & Jackie have seen? Have they been to Yellowstone? The Grand Canyon? Washington DC? NYC? I curious to know how much of their own country they have been exposed to. I know they’ve seen Europe, but have they seen the US? BTW – great post, Catherine!!

  165. Rick also can’t wait to pay those higher taxes that BHO will be forcing businesses to pay. RS won’t pay those taxes out of his pocket, so he’ll be raising the price of his tours and other goodies to cover the cost. Since the price will go up, fewer people will be signing up for tours. So Rick will cut back on staff… as will thousands of other businesses, large & small across the country. BHO will be another Jimmy Carter – oh, those fabulous 70’s. I can’t wait for their return!!!

  166. This is tragic and very telling, all at once. It’s frustrating that most of us have no choice but to live in the country in which we were randomly born and to put up with the nutters who were also randomly born within the same borders.

  167. Susan B I agree with you I lived through those times and they were not easy times. Rick will take care of rick and he has some hefty college loans for Andy and Jackie so he has to. I think the travel industry is going to be one of the hardest hit. I don’t see Rick going out of business but I see him going back to where he was in the mid 1990’s , skeleton staff and maybe the tours will disappear or be a handful but he will still continue to write the books.

  168. Sooner or later people are going to figure out that if all you run is negative ads you don’t have much of a vision for the future, or you are not ready to articulate it. John Sidney McCain III, 2000

  169. Cyndi, LOL not related to rick or his business in any manner just read the information he puts on his blogs. Andy is attending Notre Dame and right now is over in Rome for the semester abroad and Jackie attends Georgetown. If you check out the tuitions on the universities just for tuition room and food he pays about 55,000 for Andy and 50,000 for Jackie so that for both kids per year he is shelling out $100,000.00 per year. I am sure he has some money put aside for their tuition however with the stock market tanking there goes a chunk of the savings. And Mark I am a 48 year old married woman living in the North east with my husband and 3 children who also attend college but state universities as we are not fortunate enough to be able to send them to private colleges as my husband and I both attended when tuition was within reach. And I am not a republician I am a libertarian and my husband is a registered democrat. As to my post,it was not until the last 8 years or so that Rick had built up his staff and if you read his post from last year he does not like to pay for time off but will share a bonus in really good times with staff. Rick is a business man not a non profit organization and when the money stops the staff goes. When people can’t afford tours the tours stop and the guides in Europe he uses are not used it is economics 101,

  170. Well, Mr. Humberd, if using insulting words to describe someone fully is okay with you, and just some sort of shorthand to save you fully explaining each time, then I suppose you are okay with me dismissing you in a similar manner? I thought not. I’m sure you are more than you appear to be.

  171. I spent a huge portion of my life overseas. I’ve lived in (not just visited)somewhere between 20-30 countries, I lost count. And I learned the local languages and culture while there – Arabic, French, Spanish (well, I grew up speaking Spanish). Rick is wrong in this respect: Saying something like “we lose votes in the UN by 140-5” fails to note that almost every other country on earth is a sewer dictatorship. Ideas matter. If your country is based on rotten ideas, it will be a rotten country. Ideas like individuals are only parts of collectives, without individual worth or rights; that only by joining a gang (“tribe”) can you matter; that no one has a right to property, just the right to produce it then pay bribes to keep it. People are much the same everywhere – human nature is a constant – but political ideas and culture are not. And 90% of the rest of the world lives in a sewer of its own making. If a culture hates women, it knocks out 50% of its brainpower. If a culture tolerates no other religion (Read: Islam, where really practicing other religions is illegal in theory and fact) it will scare away good ideas. I’m sorry, Rick. I’ve been there. The rest of the world has little or nothing to offer America. Europe? Nice place to visit. Did you know that arguing Holocaust nonexistence, a stupid proposition that needs no legal penalties, can get you three years in jail there? Not the land of the free. Freedom of thought and action exists here, in Australia and one or two other places. Be frightened, folks. A dark age still exists for most of humanity.

  172. Like Govenor Pahlin, at one time of my life I never considered travel as an option. Since then I have had the pleasure of hosting foreign students, They opened my eyes. I think this country would benefit if all our leaders would have to travel to other countries as a prerequisit before taking leadership positions. Living in another culture would help make decision based on wisdom not fear. Thank-you for your work of education through travel.

  173. I’ve visited Alaska 10 times spending about 70 days there. It was Ms. Palan that personally made the comment about hunting wolves from a helicopter, etc. Not Rick generalizing. It is shocking to me after visiting what a beautiful pristine land Alaska is, her position on land use. My real point of this post is after traveling throughout the world I’ve learned about history, cultures, and how we are different and similiar. Each politician of the world should spend as much time as I have learning the complexities of the relationships of just Europe alone..why there’s hate and love that goes back for centuries. Each politician should stand in a concentration camp, see the Danish Resistance Museum…some of the Republicans ralleys in Eastern Ohio scare the hell out of me that people in our nation have such hatred. Each politician should walk the streets of Mostar, see the photographic museum learn how people can hate their neighbor they shared coffee with a year before. See the destruction that hate sowed. Each politician should hold dying starving children in Africa, or better yet in our own country. Then you can call yourself a WORLD leader…not some idiot in EITHER party who just got a passport. Ms. Palin has been by her own account incredibly insulated..ask me what I read and I’ll say everything from National Geographic to the National Enquirer. Mr. McCain for all his political experience hasn’t traveled either AND I’ve traveled more the Mr Barack and Mr. Biden. Rick Steves just as all of us, is an American citizen with the right to say what we want about the political process. This is his website, his company, his books. If he wants to use this forum for his political opinion that is his right. It’s his profit and his loss. You readers, as an American Citizen have the right to buy his books or not, read this website or not, and watch his PBS specials or not…

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