McCain Defends Palin Over Pakistan Comment

Senator McCain yesterday defended his running mate, Governor Palin, even as she contradicted his policy against talking publicly about attacking terrorist targets in Pakistan. Mr. McCain chided Senator Obama during Friday’s presidential debate for saying publicly he supports striking terrorist targets inside Pakistan if the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to do so. But on Saturday, Ms. Palin said much the same thing to a customer at a Philadelphia restaurant, with the press nearby. “If that’s what we have to do stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should,” Ms. Palin said in the exchange, which was captured on video and reported by CBS News. “She was in a conversation with some young man,” Mr. McCain said during his own interview yesterday on ABC’s “This Week.” “She understands and has stated repeatedly that we’re not going to do anything except in America’s national security interest and we are not going to, quote, announce it ahead of time.”