Sarah Palin Fires Back at Obama, Mocks His "Experience" on Nuclear Issues

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Republicans

(Credit: CBS)

NEW ORLEANS - In a high profile address before thousands of conservative activists at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference Friday, Sarah Palin attacked the Obama administration for its energy policy, mocked the media and liberals for suggesting she is inciting violence and hit back at the president's criticism of her knowledge on nuclear issues.

Mr. Obama said in an interview Friday that he was unconcerned with Palin's attacks on his decision to announce that in most cases the United States will not use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear country.

"Last I checked, Sarah Palin's not much of an expert on nuclear issues," he said.

Palin shot back in her comments Friday, mocking the president for "the vast nuclear experience that he acquired as a community organizer." She said that his alleged experience had not helped him make progress in the issue with Iran and North Korea.

Palin was greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm by the delegates here, who entered the hall to find Alaskan caribou jerky waiting on their seats. Hundreds of flashbulbs went off when Palin came onstage, and standing ovations and chants of "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah" broke out throughout her remarks.

Palin, a potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate, said the Obama doctrine involved "coddling enemies and alienating allies," attacking the administration for its handling of Israel, Iran and North Korea. She criticized the administration for its "yes we can spread the wealth around" attitude and said its programs, which she said took money from future generations, involved what "a lot of us" consider "stealing."

She suggested alternatives to the Obama administration's "Yes we can" slogan, among them "repeal and replace," in reference to the health care bill, and "don't retreat, reload," which prompted a standing ovation.

Palin said "don't retreat, reload," was "not a call for violence," despite what Democrats and members of the media have suggested. She said the media is "so desperate to discredit the people's movement, the tea party movement" that they make up such claims.

Later, after saying the word "shoot," she quipped, "I said shoot, I'm sorry," prompting laughter from the crowd.

Palin said that too many in Washington see money as free, referencing the stimulus package passed by the Obama administration. She quoted Bill Clinton's comment about then-candidate Obama during the presidential campaign, stating in a deep voice, "If this ain't the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen."

On energy policy, she said "the left has waged a multi-front war on conventional resources." Palin dismissed the president's decision to open up some offshore areas for drilling, saying, "they banned more offshore drilling than they allowed." She said the administration had purposely built a delay into opening the areas "to give environmentalists more time to sue."

"Let's drill, baby, drill, not stall, baby, stall," said Palin.

She said the president had opened up drilling in certain areas to help win support for his energy policy, but that he is "not going to find bipartisanship down there."

Palin argued that the president is "trying to play both sides against the middle" and is pushing a policy that will "destroy jobs and impose a new national tax on energy on all of us."

The former Alaska governor, reading from prepared remarks, deemed the Environmental Protection Agency the "economic punishment agency" for claiming a role to regulate carbon emissions. She said the Obama administration's nuclear policy was " a lot of smoke and mirrors" because it was difficult to actually build a nuclear facility.

Palin also said global warming skeptics were "a little bit vindicated" by revelations that "there was some snake oil science" going on in climate change research, deeming the situation "Goregate."

She added that while activists may be down, there is nothing wrong "that a good old-fashioned election can't fix."

"Today the grand old party has its eyes wide open," Palin said. "We're getting back to our grand old roots."

More Coverage from the Southern Republican Leadership Conference:

Jindal Jokes RNC Staffers Should Avoid Bourbon Street
Is This How Straw Polls are won?
"Evangelicals for Mitt" Step Into Romney Vacuum
Newt Gingrich: We Need a President, Not an Athlete
Liz Cheney: Obama Putting America on Path to Decline
All Hotsheet Coverage of the SRLC

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by MissaAO April 15, 2010 12:07 PM EDT: "Shorter wingnuts everywhere: We can only blow up the entire ******? planet like 100 times over now! MY ***** IS SHRINKING!"; Reply to this comment

by Phlogiston2 April 13, 2010 8:35 PM EDT

"Last I checked, Sarah Palin's not much of an expert on any issues," I said.

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by Leaderless April 14, 2010 8:57 PM EDT: LOL, where did you go to check it? bsnbc?


by doctordawg April 13, 2010 3:22 PM EDT: By leaving off the very next thing Obama said, you have stupid on your hands that will never wash off:

"If the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff are comfortable with it, I'm probably going to take my advice from them, and not from Sarah Palin".

Sarah's response ignores this statement. And you intentionally spread the ignorance.; Reply to this comment


by Stimpygato April 13, 2010 10:10 AM EDT: This was funnier than her appearance on SNL! What a joke =); Reply to this comment


by stxsteve April 13, 2010 9:09 AM EDT: More Pain dished out by Palin....she plays on hate...who needs that?; Reply to this comment


by abby_del_abbey April 13, 2010 8:50 AM EDT: Palin is hardly qualified to comment on nuclear policy or any other policy. She is a squeaking wheel that is getting a lot of grease only because she has learned the tricks of the trade -- the trade of the circus barker who is able to con people. Barnum said that there's a sucker born every minute, and Palin is one of the biggest con artists in politics today.

She has no experience (aside from quitting her job as governor where her administration was riddled with corruption and cronyism, where her husband made decisions as to who got what positions). She is a demagogue who has found the way to make money, acquire fame, and have all the limelight that the media will give her.

Unfortunately for America, the media is all too happy to give her exactly what she wants -- and she gets to fleece Americans for all its worth.

Palin is all sound and fury -- signifying nothing ---; Reply to this comment


by naednevets April 13, 2010 8:29 AM EDT: This is how it should be..( anything Nuclear should be banned around the world and that includes Power plants, with the Exception of Medicine ) Then we get into The TECHNOLOGIES that are BEING HIDDEN under the name of NATIONAL SECURITY, and make the Planet a Utopian World where there is no hunger and people live together in PEACE...like the old saying( absolute power corrupts absolutely ) haven't we had ENOUGH?; Reply to this comment


by MissaAO April 13, 2010 4:38 AM EDT: "That's nonsense. This isn't the first time we've reduced our arsenal. The times before this hasn't had that effect, and as long as countries can make them, they will remain. How many countries have gone nuclear since the early '80's? Pakistan & North Korea, with Iran just behind them. Not to mention other states with aspirations."

South Africa developed nuclear weapons in the 1980s, but disarmed in 1990. Brazil also started developing nuclear weapons, but then stopped. I think there may be some other non-proliferation success stories, but I forget right now.

"In regard to the US having a "moral authority" by reducing their arsenal, you acknowledge we can still blow the world up several times over. This agreement is merely politics, nothing more."

... it's the politics necessary to get the ball rolling on nuclear disarmament. It takes a lot of time and money to disarm arsenals the size of the USA's and Russia's, and it's important that the two countries act in concert.

As I said, it will also increase public safety by reducing the vulnerability of nuclear arsenals to theft and terrorism.; Reply to this comment

by pasmalltown April 12, 2010 8:08 AM EDT

by Bill7021 April 11, 2010 3:57 PM EDT
"Conservatives are far more generous givers than liberals..."
------------------------------
It would suffice to say that most the "generous givers" are giving to realize tax deductions. Drop the conservative and liberal labels, please. If you can get off your pompous high horse for a moment, logic would tell you that without charitable deductions, most of the "generous givers" you speak of would not be so generous............

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by MPHgrad April 12, 2010 9:01 AM EDT: by pasmalltown April 12, 2010 8:08 AM EDT
by Bill7021 April 11, 2010 3:57 PM EDT
"Conservatives are far more generous givers than liberals..."
------------------------------
It would suffice to say that most the "generous givers" are giving to realize tax deductions. Drop the conservative and liberal labels, please. If you can get off your pompous high horse for a moment, logic would tell you that without charitable deductions, most of the "generous givers" you speak of would not be so generous...

I second that!

by SueZeeeQue April 11, 2010 4:37 PM EDT

Sarah's experience with international nuclear policy:

She can see Russia from her house.

But who's keeping an eye on Russia when she's out giving $100,000 dollar speeches?

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