[A]s the kitchen sizzled and orders were barked out, Palin found herself talking politics, calling McCain’s debate performance “awesome” and taking questions from a voter about the hunt for terrorists in Pakistan.
…
“So we do cross border, like from Afghanistan to Pakistan you think?,” Rovito asked.

“If that’s what we have to do stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should,” Palin responded, before moving on to greet other voters.

Those comments appear to contradict McCain’s long-standing position of negotiating with Pakistan before carrying out attacks on terrorists within their borders. The GOP nominee criticized Barack Obama in Friday night’s debate for his willingness to strike unilaterally inside Pakistan.

“He said that he would launch military strikes into Pakistan,” McCain said. “You don’t do that. You don’t say that out loud.”

When reached for comment to explain Palin’s apparently contradictory remark, McCain remained confident. “When I said, ‘You don’t say that out loud,’ I was talking directly to Senator Obama. I did not mean in general. I meant very specifically that Barack could not say it out loud. I didn’t mean for that to apply to other people, such as my running mate. See? No contradiction there. We’re a united front.”

When pressed and asked if he was implying that he agreed with Palin’s remark, McCain’s confidence waned. “Listen, she was ordering a cheesesteak. Whatever she said, she didn’t mean it. I doubt she even knows what Pakistan is.”

When asked if he really thought Palin’s lack of geographic knowledge was better than her contradictory political policy, McCain’s confidence imploded in on itself and he shouted, “I made a mistake, okay? Is that what you want me to say? Fine, I’ll say I made a mistake.”

When news of McCain’s confession of regret reached Palin she released the following statement: “Not awesome.”

Tags: politics, john mccain, sarah palin, pakistan, cheesesteaks