Sarah Palin tells Katie Couric why she didn't get a passport until 2006.

In her second "CBS Evening News" interview with Katie Couric, Sarah Palin was asked why she didn't get a passport until 2006. Did it, as some of her viewers wonder, show a lack of curiousity and interest about the world and other cultures?

She told the CBS newsperson that she had to work, sometimes two jobs, and that's why she didn't backpack around Europe like privileged kids do.

"I'm not one of those who maybe come from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduated college and their parents get them a passport and a backpack and say, 'Go off and travel the world.' Noooo. I worked all my life. In fact, I  usually had two jobs all my life, until I had kids. ... I was not part of, I guess, that culture."

So there.

Turns out she's not the only one without wanderlust or the abiity to travel.

According to a 2007 report in USA Today, only 74 million Americans have valid passports. This figure may have increased now that a passport is required for travel to Mexico.

According to a 2007 count, the U.S. population is 281 million. That means a surprisingly small percentage of American citizens travel outside the country. And now that the value of the dollar has dropped so drastically, foreign travel is likely to take a hit.

But let's talk about Palin being able to see Russia from her house. The Alaska governor rolled her eyes when discussing how her comment "I can see Russia from my house," was, as Couric put it,  "mocked" by reporters.

Couric pressed, asking why Russia's visibility enhances her foreign policy credentials.

"Well, it certainly does," Palin replied. "Our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of."

Has she ever been involved in any negotiations with the Russians?

"We have trade missions back and forth, we do" said Palin. "It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state. "

What did you think of Palin's Russian view? Do you have a passport? Does traveling outside the U.S. change a person's worldview?

Is it important for a vice president -- for all US citizens -- to travel to foreign countries and understand their diverse cultures and our place in the world?

To read the full transcript and see the complete video interviews, click HERE.

Comments

[Katie]

Does Obama wear eyeshadow? Yes! Watch tonight and see for yourself.

[CB]

Barely qualified to be governor, much less a heartbeat away from septagenarian John McCain's presidency,

[john]

IT WAS TINA FEY WHO SAID THIS, NOT PALIN!!

But let's talk about Palin being able to see Russia from her house. The Alaska governor rolled her eyes when discussing how her comment "I can see Russia from my house," was, as Couric put it, "mocked" by reporters.

[John D]

I have traveled extensively, and I am not rich. I worked hard, paid my own way, and explored the world because I am curious about the world. I find Palin to have a very weak excuse for not traveling internationally. In general I find her to be a very weak VP candidate. It is unfortunate McCain picked such a lightweight to run with him.

[Kristian Flores]

I think that is a ridiculous answer. I never "backpacked: around Europe. But I tend spend every spring break on mission trips to third world countries trying to make a difference in the lives of those that are less privileged. The money for these trips was donated through various fundraisers. Her answer sounds not only bitter, but egocentric and ethnocentric.

[Lou Ann Sillings]

Not everyone can afford to travel out of the country very often. I want to travel more than anything in the world- but right now all I can do is go to school and work. I don't have loaded parents like some of my friends who pay for me to go out of the country. I'm sick of people looking down their noses at college students who work during the summer instead of going to Europe.

[Ken]

www.nomorestupid08.com

We have started a new political organization called NO MORE STUPID 08.

Sarah Palin is NOT a member.

The NO MORE STUPID Manifesto

No More Stupid Leaders/Obama For President

No More Stupid Followers/Fund Public Education

No More Stupid Wars/Forget Iraq, Remember Afghanistan

No More Stupid Trade Deals/FAIR Trade before Free Trade

No More Stupid Thieves/Regulate Wall Street

No More Stupid Oil/Clean, Renewable Energy FIRST

No More Stupid Sexism/Equal Pay For Equal Work NOW

No More Stupid Zealots/Mind Your Own Damn Business

[Santiago Palacio]

i am not from a privileged family, I work months to save so that I can travel. She is not a smart person

[Ivan]

Palin is right and Couric comes across (as does the media) as snobby.

[george erdelyi]

I cannot think of a faster way to destroy what little credibility we have left in the world than to elect Palin as VP. It's scary enough that the brain frozen idiots in Alaska thought she was govenor material. God help us all if McCain/Palin wins!

[Jack]

I am a 25 year old college student currently attending a state university. I taught at a community college well before I even received enough courses to be considered half done with my bachelors. I have not traveled out of the country. I hadn't been out of the state for quite a while.

I am intelligent, I am thoughtful, and I am respectful of other cultures in ways even Democrats are incapable. I do not have a passport and don't foresee having one anytime soon.

Much like Mrs. Palin, I was not given the opportunity outside of being asked to learn abroad. I had the chance to travel Europe, but I chose not to.

Does that somehow make me unable to understand the plight in Sudan, the Middle East, or South American countries? Does that make me unable to stand up for what I think and believe simply because I didn't live in a country for 3 months or visit it for 3 hours?

Of course not. I may not like Mrs. Palin, but it is absolutely silly to pretend like not traveling abroad excludes her from being a Vice President. The forefathers expressed a desire to have no qualifying criteria outside of age and citizenship for a reason. Maybe we should start considering the real issues instead of these insultingly bad ideas of what travel vacation destinations beget more foreign experience.

[Caroline]

I, too, did not have a passport until my 40s, and I didn't travel (not one of the priviledged kids...). I also don't claim to be an expert in foreign policy and ready to lead the free world as a potential president. I have no problem with Sarah Palin except in that she isn't qualified for the job she seeks. I don't want her as a brain surgeon either....

[R. TOOL]

Yes, it is very important to travel the world, so you can understand other cultures.
Ms. Palin sounds so ignorance, I think she knows what she is talking about. It is a waste of time to talk to her.

[samrlives]

The fact that Palin equates getting a passport with upper-class American leisure culture, just proves to me that she is a mouth piece for the elements of the McCain campaign that hope to further divide this nation by inflaming the culture wars. I am not college educated. My parents never gave me "a passport and a backpack" and a trust fund to travel the world. I have been working full time since I was 16, sometimes two or three jobs. Yet, I have had a passport since I was 18 and I have traveled when I could because I have an innate curiosity about the larger world around me. I have been to Egypt and Sub Saharan Africa, as well as South and Central America. I hope that I am a better parent for the experiences I can pass along to my children and I hope they will grow up to be as curious as I am.

Sarah Palin is not qualified to run for executive office. I say this as a working mother, independent voter, and the wife of a combat veteran.

[bush5186]

Why can't she just say that she worked, raised a family, never had the opportunity to travel before a year ago. Those would all be personal, valid reasons for not getting a passport before last year.

INSTEAD, she has to mock and criticize those who have gone out and traveled the world. And, excuse me, she was 43(?) when she got her passport? But she mocks people she calls college-age graduates whose 'parents give them a backpack and tell them to see the world.' She's saying that the large number of people who travel abroad are moneyed 'brats' whose parents foot the bill?

Sorry. I worked my way through college, worked two jobs much of my early life, and got a passport when my husband was stationed overseas. I take offense that she her statements seem to mock anyone who chose to get a passport and travel to see the world.

Why is it that Palin and her party make every comment, make every statement about someone with a different view, a derogatory comment? Their party is about divisiveness and hatred and she is a prime example of it.

[R. TOOL]

Yes, it is very important to travel the world, so you can understand other cultures.
Ms. Palin sounds so ignorance, I think she knows what she is talking about. It is a waste of time to talk to her.

[Nick]

Palin may be a good governor and good person, but she is a terrible VP candidate. She simply lacks the knowledge base that would otherwise allow her to speak with mastery on issues relevant to the Nation. Palin needed a few more years in the minors, maybe she should have taken a run at Ted Stevens and taken his position away. Then Palin could have gone to Washington and taken part in the committees that, like Obama, would have prepared her for the national stage. At this point, Palin simply has nothing to contribute to the national discussion. McCain-Palin is the titanic just waiting to hit bottom.

[JOE BENTO]

Maybe the Republican puppet masters can accelerate her foreign policy experience by taking sarah to Epcot center and visiting each country there one at a time so she does not get too confused. If this is the person America wants the world to see as our leader then fine but prepare for the ridicule of our intelligence level. America must be smarter than having this action doll as our President or one pretzel choke away from our leader. Vote hope America vote for intellect and integrity Vote for Barack Obama!

[fhnfnm]

She is an idiot, plain and simple

[Southern Gal]

Well, I was not "one of those" rich kids who could backpack around Europe, either. In fact, I dropped out of high school. But I do have a deep curiosity about the outside world, a passport, a desire to travel, and the ability to speak in grammatically correct complete sentences. Plus, I'm a soccer mom. Perhaps McCain should have chosen me instead. I'm infinitely more qualified!

[germanguy]

Using prescripted talking points works for her, but she has no ability at speaking candidly.

As runner up president, I'm afraid that it just won't work.

Sarah flounders too much. Has no real political experience, given that somehow she became governor of the state of Alaska, I would have expected more credibility in her remarks.

Alaska for the most part, has the population equivalence of a less than major city in the lower states. So we are really looking at a town 'mayor' instead of a governor. The mayor in my town would make the same 'simplistic statements' that she has. Primarily because like the 'mayor' of Alaska, our mayor is running a 'farm town' like Alaska.

[Claudine Jones]

Well, I guess I was one of those 'privileged' kids. Back in 1968, I worked for a temp agency right after I got out of high school. I made around a buck an hour, paid about $75 a month for room and board in a big all women's rooming house. After six months of saving every extra penny I made, I bought myself a cheap ticket to Europe and saw the sights until I was ready to come back home and go to UC Berkeley for around $100 a quarter in tuition, living in a co-op and doing work-study 20 hours a week. How's that for 'privilege'?

[Hubert]

It is clearly obvious that Sarah Palin is nothing but a pretty face. She does not seem to have the intellect to perform in the job(s) she has been selected for, if McCain is elected. It is obvious he made a poor choice, but how does he get out of it? It woud be to her advantage to find a way to graciously bow out of the campaign. Should she ever become President, the United States would become the laughing stock of the world, moreso than it is is now. Republicans/Democrats both Parties, please wake up.

[bush5186]

Why can't she just say that she worked, raised a family, never had the opportunity to travel before a year ago. Those would all be personal, valid reasons for not getting a passport before last year.

INSTEAD, she has to mock and criticize those who have gone out and traveled the world. And, excuse me, she was 43(?) when she got her passport? But she mocks people she calls college-age graduates whose 'parents give them a backpack and tell them to see the world.' She's saying that the large number of people who travel abroad are moneyed 'brats' whose parents foot the bill?

Sorry. I worked my way through college, worked two jobs much of my early life, and got a passport when my husband was stationed overseas. I take offense that she her statements seem to mock anyone who chose to get a passport and travel to see the world.

Why is it that Palin and her party make every comment, make every statement about someone with a different view, a derogatory comment? Their party is about divisiveness and hatred and she is a prime example of it.

[ELBSeattle]

I really hope everyone in the country watches these interviews. Sarah Palin is giving us all the chance to see that she is, indeed, an empty-headed twit with zero experience and a propensity for the Apocalyptic Jesus. When she's not faltering and trying to think of something smart-sounding to say she is parroting the horse crap that Bush peddled for the past 8 years. 'They hate freedom.' Give me a very tired and frustrated break.