NEW YORK — The foreign policy education of Sarah Palin began in earnest Tuesday.
The small-town mayor turned governor of Alaska, who has barely traveled overseas, sat with leaders from some of the most troubled places in the world.
They talked about global hot spots that may be trouble for the United States and the United Nations, but which represent an opportunity for the Republican vice presidential candidate to show some understanding of international issues.
Tuesday's tutorials were with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Palin, wearing Alaska-shaped gold earrings, also consulted for almost 90 minutes with former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger in his Park Avenue office.
The candidate's staff carefully choreographed her debut onto the international stage, starting each meeting with a brief photo opportunity and allowing no questions. Unscripted moments were kept to a minimum.
At first, the campaign wanted to keep reporters out altogether. But after the five major television networks threatened to boycott coverage of the Palin meetings, a pool that included a print journalist eventually was allowed in.
During their session, Palin and Kissinger were photographed sitting on side-by-side couches, leaning toward each other. A table separating them was covered with photographs of Kissinger in the Oval Office with former Republican Presidents Reagan and Nixon. "Henry, thanks for your steady advice, Best George," read another picture inscribed by the man now in the White House.
Today, Palin and the GOP presidential nominee, John McCain, have sessions scheduled with the presidents of Georgia and Ukraine. Then there's lunch with the president of Pakistan and another joint appearance with McCain and a world celebrity of a different stripe -- U2 singer Bono. In the evening, Palin has a meeting planned with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Even some in her own party have criticized Palin for citing Alaska's proximity to Russia as evidence of her international exposure.
In fact, her foreign travel has been so sparse that her campaign initially counted a touchdown in Ireland as a visit.
During an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson shortly after she was selected to be McCain's running mate, Palin admitted that she had never met a head of state.
