NEW YORK -- A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but sometimes it tells only part of the story.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was photographed this week in her first conversations with world leaders, chatting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, as well as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The images, which have been broadcast around the world, show Palin engaged in the same type of dialogues that President Bush or John McCain are accustomed to, and they could go a long way in establishing her foreign policy credentials.
But in the effort to get those photos out Tuesday -- and to prevent the press from asking Palin impromptu questions -- the campaign changed the storyline in a way it hadn't anticipated.
The campaign initially prevented reporters and producers from attending the meetings' opening (known as a photo spray) and only acquiesced once the all the major networks -- CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and Fox -- said they would not shoot the images or run them on their channels unless there was editorial presence. Representatives from the wire services and a print pool reporter were not allowed into the Karzai meeting but were invited for quick glances of the Uribe and Kissinger exchanges, which each lasted for less than 30 seconds.
Campaign aides said the lack of access was inadvertent. "We regret the mix-up and were happy that the pool had access to the governor's meetings with President Uribe and Dr. Henry Kissinger," spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt told NBC News.
Palin's routine has been carefully choreographed since she first came onto the national scene, and the running assumption has been that it's based on fear of what the press might ask her. She has not held a press conference and has conducted only two sit-down interviews. Her staff seemed startled when a television producer asked her about the economic situation last week while she was drinking coffee at a Cleveland deli, and a trip to an ice cream shop on Friday in Orlando was done without alerting the media.
But by keeping the press at bay during the United Nations General Assembly, the lack of access became part of the story. Blogs and newspapers quickly reported that journalists were not being allowed into the meetings. The evening shows mentioned the lack of questions as part of their reports.
For Palin, the meetings represent an opportunity to look presidential and get an up-close understanding of international issues before next week's vice presidential debate. With Karzai, she advocated for more U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and with Uribe, she spoke of defeating FARC guerillas in Colombia. She chatted with Kissinger about the world's hot spots. She also received her first national security briefing from Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence.
Steve Biegun, Palin's foreign policy advisor, said the Alaska governor "intuitively understands" the importance of relationships with U.S. allies. "I'd say, obviously she is meeting with some people who are very well-established leaders, and her purpose in those meetings was to develop a relationship and to listen," Biegun said.
Palin was scheduled to join McCain for several additional meetings Wednesday, including with President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia and President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine. The candidates were also scheduled to sit down together with U2 frontman Bono, but that meeting was cancelled. Palin is also meeting separately with President Jalal Talabani of Iraq and President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan.
In the end, the campaign may have won the day. Most people will likely see the images of Palin chatting with foreign leaders, hear about what she discussed with them and gloss over the media sparring. How the pictures were obtained becomes merely an afterthought.
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