Palin takes Manhattan

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Call it foreign-affairs speed dating: In a meet-and-greet whirlwind set to last no longer than 30 hours, Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin is in the midst of her "coming out" to foreign-policy society at the United Nations General Assembly.

The introductions began last night with a cocktail party thrown by none other than Pres. George W. Bush at Manhattan's famous Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Among those she's met or is scheduled to meet are Afghan Pres. Hamid Karzai, Iraqi Pres. Jalal Talabani, Colombian Pres. Álvaro Uribe, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and U2's rockstar-turned-activist, Bono.

These fleeting encounters have the potential to backfire, but there might be more to glean from Palin's "must meet" list than from any gaffes. James Bone of the Times, for instance, points out that her meetings with Georgian Pres. Mikheil Saakashvili and Ukrainian Pres. Victor Yushchenko are "a gesture towards a revanchist Russia," and notes that nowhere on her agenda was there a representative of Britain. So, while this dance may be fleeting -- those looking for clues about Palin's diplomatic capabilities and the McCain camp's foreign-policy intentions should pay close attention.