Palin passes her first night of interview with a "C"

Give GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin a passing grade for the first part of her interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson aired this evening during his newscast.

Palin sounded authorative but missed two big test questions proferred by a persistent Gibson.

First, she could not recall the Bush Doctrine that announces that the United States will pre-emptively atrack anyone who is a terrorism threat. She walked around the doctrine, but Gibson finally had to state it for her for an accurate response.

Second, she did not convincingly explain her remarks to her church's congregation that the invasion of Iraq and Afgahnistan were supported by God. She tried to summon the remarks of Abraham Lincoln, but his words really did not apply to her comments.

Finally, Palin lost a "plus" from her grade for not really explaining if NATO protection of the Ukraine and Georgia would require NATO countries including the United States to respond militarily to Russia.

She did score points by attaching her state's proximity to Russia to following the activities inside the former Soviet Union. She attached the right surnames to right leaders. And she made a good point about oil production in her state and her knowledge of it in applying it to America's national security, besides the future of our economy.

You can see more of the interview tonight on Nightline after the nightly news. Gibson will interview her tomorrow in Alaska. But the excerpts shown by Gibson this evening were enough for me.