Palin pitch leaves Hong Kong investors unimpressed

Hong Kong, Sep.24 (ANI): Former Alaska Governor and defeated US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin failed to enthuse investors attending the CLSA Asia Pacific Markets Forum - a lavish annual beano where over a 1,000 people come to hear the views of the foremost political and business minds on earth.

Palin's first ever visit to East Asia began with a monologue that invoked the spirit of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and sounded "unmistakably" like a pitch for the 2012 presidency.

Several members of the audience described the speech as "long, humorless and George W Bush-like".

It was a rare foreign outing for Palin, who committed a series of foreign policy gaffes during last year's campaign. She claimed to be familiar with Russia, thanks to Alaska's proximity to the country, and had only visited Kuwait and Germany before - on both occasions to meet US troops stationed there.

Several audience members reportedly walked out 30 minutes before the end, citing "more important things to do" or describing the talk as "too partisan and too much like a speech at the Republican convention".

The speech carefully attacked America's worsening fiscal position and directly condemned President Obama's healthcare plan.

Although the CLSA event was strictly off-limits to media, one attendee remarked that the speech felt like it was carefully crafted for a global television audience. (ANI)