Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin met leaders of international hot spots today as part of a carefully choreographed campaign to expose the candidate to foreign affairs while shielding her from the media.
Only brief glimpses of Ms Palin, running mate to Republican presidential nominee John McCain in the November 4th election, were permitted as she met with leaders from Georgia, Ukraine, Iraq and Pakistan, who are in New York for the UN General Assembly.
Ms Palin, who as governor of Alaska lacks foreign policy experience, could be heard chatting politely during the fleeting seconds the media was allowed to witness.
"There's plenty to do here, isn't there? Plenty to see," said Ms Palin to Iraqi leaders in a New York hotel.
"I have plenty to do at home also," replied Iraqi first lady Hero Ahmed.
The exchange was warmer at Ms Palin's meeting with Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, who greeted her with a huge smile, called her "gorgeous" and said he understood why many Americans "are crazy about you."
Ms Palin met solo with Iraqi and with Pakistani leaders but was joined by Mr McCain in meetings with Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko and Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili.
A meeting of Ms Palin, Mr McCain and U2 singer Bono, who is active on behalf of African causes, was off limits to the press entirely.
Ms Palin told reporters the day was "going great."
"The meetings are very informative and helpful. A lot of good people share an appreciation for America," she said.
Before yesterday, when Ms Palin met Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, she had never met a foreign leader. Aides say she got her first passport in 2006.
Her lack of foreign policy expertise has been the subject of criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans.
The McCain campaign has been readying her for a debate next month with her Democratic counterpart Joe Biden, a veteran senator from Delaware who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has broad knowledge of foreign policy issues.
Since her nomination earlier this month, Ms Palin has given no news conferences and only two nationally televised interviews.
Reuters