How Does Sarah Palin Rank in Foreign Travel Experience?*

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  09.02.08 | 10:52 AM ET

imageInquiring traveler minds want to know. Of course, John McCain earned big points in our U.S. Presidential Candidates Travel Scorecard earlier this year. And while we’ve yet to complete a full analysis of his new running mate, initial reports on the Alaska governor are not promising.

Take this passage in the New York Times: “Ms. Palin appears to have traveled very little outside the United States. In July 2007, she had to get a passport before she visited members of the Alaska National Guard stationed in Kuwait, according to her deputy communications director, Sharon Leighow. She also visited wounded troops in Germany during that trip.”

Kudos for visiting Kuwait and Germany, but why no passport before then?

Beyond that, a spokeswoman has said she has visited Ireland but offered no details.

Because Joe Biden was running for president when we published our report, we’ve vetted him. Barack Obama’s running mate earned no less than four out of five Air Force Ones.

Wrote our own Julia Ross:

There’s nothing like dodging Janjaweed raids to liven up a road trip. Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, the Balkans—three decades on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have seen Biden land in the world’s hottest conflict zones. Our go-to guy for places to avoid—we’re sure he’s got strong opinions on Burma—but not the ideal source for where to find the best tapas in Madrid.

* Update, Sept. 11: Looking back, those initial reports appear to have been pretty accurate. In Palin’s first interview since becoming McCain’s running mate, she was asked about her travel experience. From the ABC News transcript:

Charlie Gibson: Did you ever travel outside the country prior to your trip to Kuwait and Germany last year?

Palin: Canada, Mexico, and then, yes, that trip, that trip was the trip of a lifetime to visit our troops in Kuwait and stop and visit our soldiers in Germany. That was the trip of a lifetime and it changed my life.

She went on to acknowledge that she has never met a foreign head of state.

Related on World Hum:
* 2008 U.S. Presidential Candidates Travel Scorecard

Photo by http2007 via Flickr, (Creative Commons).