Sarah Palin keeps an eye on Russia on New Yorker cover

The new issue of The New Yorker features a cartoon of  Sarah Palin keeping an eye on Russia from the Governors Mansion.

Inside, the New Yorker mentions that the distance to Russia from the governor's mansion in Juneau, Alaska, is about 1,200 miles.

Funny.

But the funniest thing is that Palin never claimed to be able to see Russia from her house or the governor's mansion.

Tina Fey said it on "Saturday Night Live." Watch the video here. And several astute Dish Rag readers have actually left comments about this, so let's clear it up.

Here's what Sarah actually said. Well, two versions of what she actually said.

Most transcripts of the interview quote her as saying, "They're our next-door neighbors. And you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska."

But on ABC.com, her official statement is:

"They're our next-door neighbors. And you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."

And she's right.

Russia and Alaska are divided by the Bering Strait, around 55 miles at its narrowest point.

Smack in the middle of the Bering Strait are two small islands. There's Big Diomede, which sits in Russian territory, and Little Diomede, part of the United States.

At one point, these two islands are a little less than 2 1/2 miles apart.

On an unfoggy day, you could, if you really wanted to, see one island from the other island. The population of Little Diomede is about 170 Inupiat Indians. It's unknown if they are keeping an eye on Big Diomede, which reportedly has a small military presence.

Bet the Inupiat are probably more concerned about their other neighbors, the polar bears, whales and walrus. Some of the Inupiat are famous for their ivory carving.

Hope that sets the record straight. Sarah may have said a lot of dumb things lately -- and she may say more Thursday night during the debates -- but she didn't claim to be able to see Russia from her house.

Photo: The New Yorker