In her first television interview after joining the Republican presidential ticket, Sarah Palin was asked to explain the insight that Alaska's proximity to Russia gave her into foreign policy. "They're our next-door neighbors," she said. "And you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska." She wasn't technically incorrect: with the Bering Strait just a few miles wide, on a clear day you can see Russia from parts of Alaska. But after the phrase was famously bimbo-ized by Tina Fey into "I can see Russia from my house!" that didn't really seem to matter.