After fielding a question about the Cuban missile crisis in a daily briefing last October, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino later admitted, “I was panicked a bit because I really know nothing about the Cuban missile crisis.”
This turn of events raises several pertinent questions:
- Should we be concerned that the president’s chief spokesperson has such a loose grasp of basic Cold War history?
- How is it possible for someone whom Karl Rove says has “a really sharp mind” and is “one of the most talented professionals I’ve seen” to manage ignorance on such a big-ticket topic?
One might be tempted to blame Perino’s missile myopia on her alma mater, Colorado State University at Pueblo (where she earned a minor in political science). But when I asked current CSU-Pueblo professor Mark Gose about this, he said “the Cuban missile crisis has always been and still is included in many of our courses in political science and history.”
Indeed, the path to a political science minor at CSU-Pueblo seems to be littered with courses where the Cuban Missile Crisis would at least receive cursory treatment:
2 Comments | 
28. January 22nd, 2008 anon wrote:
Personally, I think that anybody involved in leading one of the more powerful countries of the world should know basic, and especially (in the large grand scheme of things) “recent” history. Although I’m sure that more people than I would like to think know nothing about this topic as well, the Cuban Missile Crisis is an event in history that can be learned from. After all, history can repeat itself. Even if Perino did not learn about it in school (which she probably did), it is from a period of time that she should familiarize herself with because it is referred to so much today through analogies and examples with current events.
32. January 31st, 2008 Melissa wrote:
I think Dana Perino should know about the Cuban Missile Crisis. As a person in a position of political authority she should be informed of pertinent historical information. Whether she was taught the subject is irrelevant. She should do personal, independent research on the matter. Saying she does not know about this important subject makes her appear irresponsible and unprofessional.