Sure sure. You mean that they, unlike your Nazi friends at Fox and
Friends, didn't lob her air ball questions. They didn't ask her
questions like "Um, do you want to be VP?... Oh.. Um.. Like, is
hunting fun? Ooh. Are you proud to be a mommie"? No, instead they
asked questioned like "Can you explain the Bush Doctrine?" To which
she got that deer in the headlights look... and couldn't even recall
who Bush was. Maybe she should have closed her eyes and pray for an
answer instead of looking like a retard on national TV.
---
GIBSON: You said recently, in your old church, "Our national leaders
are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God." Are we fighting
a holy war?
PALIN: You know, I don't know if that was my exact quote.
GIBSON: Exact words.
PALIN: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln's words
when he said ˜ first, he suggested never presume to know what God's
will is, and I would never presume to know God's will or to speak
God's words.
But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that's a repeat in my comments,
was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other
time, but let us pray that we are on God's side.
That's what that comment was all about, Charlie. And I do believe,
though, that this war against extreme Islamic terrorists is the right
thing. It's an unfortunate thing, because war is hell and I hate war,
and, Charlie, today is the day that I send my first born, my son, my
teenage son overseas with his Stryker brigade, 4,000 other wonderful
American men and women, to fight for our country, for democracy, for
our freedoms.
Charlie, those are freedoms that too many of us just take for granted.
I hate war and I want to see war ended. We end war when we see
victory, and we do see victory in sight in Iraq.
GIBSON: I take your point about Lincoln's words, but you went on and
said, "There is a plan and it is God's plan."
PALIN: I believe that there is a plan for this world and that plan for
this world is for good. I believe that there is great hope and great
potential for every country to be able to live and be protected with
inalienable rights that I believe are God-given, Charlie, and I
believe that those are the rights to life and liberty and the pursuit
of happiness.
That, in my world view, is a grand -- the grand plan.
GIBSON: But then are you sending your son on a task that is from God?
PALIN: I don't know if the task is from God, Charlie. What I know is
that my son has made a decision. I am so proud of his independent and
strong decision he has made, what he decided to do and serving for the
right reasons and serving something greater than himself and not
choosing a real easy path where he could be more comfortable and
certainly safer.
(nailed her... she's a liar... or just doesn't remember the nonsense
that comes out of her mouth)
---
Couric: You've said, quote, "John McCain will reform the way Wall
Street does business." Other than supporting stricter regulations of
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more
example of his leading the charge for more oversight?
Palin: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings
two years ago about Fannie and Freddie - that, that's paramount.
That's more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives
did for us.
Couric: But he's been in Congress for 26 years. He's been chairman of
the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with
less regulation, not more.
Palin: He's also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his
own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to
get people to understand what he's been talking about - the need to
reform government.
Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I
know you've said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you
give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking
a stand on this?
Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done,
that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership
abilities. And that is what America needs today.
Couric: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the
point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more
regulation.
Palin: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you. (wink)
---
Couric: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your
foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?
Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a
foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundary
that we have with Canada. It's funny that a comment like that was
kinda made to Â∑ I don't know, you know Â∑ reporters.
Couric: Mocked?
Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.
Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy
credentials.
Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors
are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of.
And thereÂ∑
Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example,
with the Russians?
Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very
important when you consider even national security issues with Russia.
As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United
States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over
the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that
an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because
they are right there, they are right next to our state.
---
"You know, conditions have really changed in Alaska in the political
arena since Aug. 29, since I was tapped to run for VP. When that
opposition research -- those researchers really bombarded Alaska --
started digging for dirt and have not let up. They're not gonna find
any dirt," she said. "We keep proving that every time we win an ethics
violation lawsuit, and we've won every one of them. But it has been
costing our state millions of dollars. It's cost Todd and me. You know
the adversaries would love to see us put on the path of personal
bankruptcy so that we can't afford to run."
As to whether another pursuit for national office, as when she joined
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the race for the White House less than a
year ago, would result in the same political blood sport, Palin said
there was a difference between the White House and what she had
experienced in Alaska. If she were in the White House, she said, the
"department of law" would protect her from baseless ethical
allegations.
(Department of Law... I guess she plans to expand the Federal
government. There is no such department.)
---
GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last
couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?
PALIN: They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia
from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.
GIBSON: What insight does that give you into what they're doing in
Georgia?
PALIN: Well, I'm giving you that perspective of how small our world is
and how important it is that we work with our allies to keep good
relation with all of these countries, especially Russia. We will not
repeat a Cold War. We must have good relationship with our allies,
pressuring, also, helping us to remind Russia that it's in their
benefit, also, a mutually beneficial relationship for us all to be
getting along.
We cannot repeat the Cold War. We are thankful that, under Reagan, we
won the Cold War, without a shot fired, also. We've learned lessons
from that in our relationship with Russia, previously the Soviet
Union.
We will not repeat a Cold War. We must have good relationship with our
allies, pressuring, also, helping us to remind Russia that it's in
their benefit, also, a mutually beneficial relationship for us all to
be getting along.
GIBSON: Would you favor putting Georgia and Ukraine in NATO?
PALIN: Ukraine, definitely, yes. Yes, and Georgia.
GIBSON: Because Putin has said he would not tolerate NATO incursion
into the Caucasus.
PALIN: Well, you know, the Rose Revolution, the Orange Revolution,
those actions have showed us that those democratic nations, I believe,
deserve to be in NATO.
Putin thinks otherwise. Obviously, he thinks otherwise, but...
GIBSON: And under the NATO treaty, wouldn't we then have to go to war
if Russia went into Georgia?
PALIN: Perhaps so. I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO
ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected
to be called upon and help.
But NATO, I think, should include Ukraine, definitely, at this point
and I think that we need to -- especially with new leadership coming
in on January 20, being sworn on, on either ticket, we have got to
make sure that we strengthen our allies, our ties with each one of
those NATO members.
We have got to make sure that that is the group that can be counted
upon to defend one another in a very dangerous world today.
---
GIBSON: Let me turn to Iran. Do you consider a nuclear Iran to be an
existential threat to Israel?
PALIN: I believe that under the leadership of Ahmadinejad, nuclear
weapons in the hands of his government are extremely dangerous to
everyone on this globe, yes.
GIBSON: So what should we do about a nuclear Iran? John McCain said
the only thing worse than a war with Iran would be a nuclear Iran.
John Abizaid said we may have to live with a nuclear Iran. Who's
right?
PALIN: No, no. I agree with John McCain that nuclear weapons in the
hands of those who would seek to destroy our allies, in this case,
we're talking about Israel, we're talking about Ahmadinejad's comment
about Israel being the "stinking corpse, should be wiped off the face
of the earth," that's atrocious. That's unacceptable.
GIBSON: So what do you do about a nuclear Iran?
PALIN: We have got to make sure that these weapons of mass
destruction, that nuclear weapons are not given to those hands of
Ahmadinejad, not that he would use them, but that he would allow
terrorists to be able to use them. So we have got to put the pressure
on Iran and we have got to count on our allies to help us, diplomatic
pressure.
GIBSON: But, Governor, we've threatened greater sanctions against Iran
for a long time. It hasn't done any good. It hasn't stemmed their
nuclear program.
PALIN: We need to pursue those and we need to implement those. We
cannot back off. We cannot just concede that, oh, gee, maybe they're
going to have nuclear weapons, what can we do about it. No way, not
Americans. We do not have to stand for that.
GIBSON: What if Israel decided it felt threatened and needed to take
out the Iranian nuclear facilities?
PALIN: Well, first, we are friends with Israel and I don't think that
we should second guess the measures that Israel has to take to defend
themselves and for their security.
GIBSON: So if we wouldn't second guess it and they decided they needed
to do it because Iran was an existential threat, we would cooperative
or agree with that.
PALIN: I don't think we can second guess what Israel has to do to
secure its nation.
GIBSON: So if it felt necessary, if it felt the need to defend itself
by taking out Iranian nuclear facilities, that would be all right.
PALIN: We cannot second guess the steps that Israel has to take to
defend itself.
---
GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?
PALIN: In what respect, Charlie?
GIBSON: The Bush -- well, what do you -- what do you interpret it to
be?
PALIN: His world view.
GIBSON: No, the Bush doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the
Iraq war.
PALIN: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid
this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on
destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though.
There have been mistakes made. And with new leadership, and that's the
beauty of American elections, of course, and democracy, is with new
leadership comes opportunity to do things better.
GIBSON: The Bush doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the
right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a
preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to
attack us. Do you agree with that?
PALIN: I agree that a president's job, when they swear in their oath
to uphold our Constitution, their top priority is to defend the United
States of America.
I know that John McCain will do that and I, as his vice president,
families we are blessed with that vote of the American people and are
elected to serve and are sworn in on January 20, that will be our top
priority is to defend the American people.
GIBSON: Do we have a right to anticipatory self-defense? Do we have a
right to make a preemptive strike again another country if we feel
that country might strike us?
PALIN: Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that
tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have
every right to defend our country. In fact, the president has the
obligation, the duty to defend.
GIBSON: Do we have the right to be making cross-border attacks into
Pakistan from Afghanistan, with or without the approval of the
Pakistani government?
PALIN: Now, as for our right to invade, we're going to work with these
countries, building new relationships, working with existing allies,
but forging new, also, in order to, Charlie, get to a point in this
world where war is not going to be a first option. In fact, war has
got to be, a military strike, a last option.
GIBSON: But, Governor, I'm asking you: We have the right, in your
mind, to go across the border with or without the approval of the
Pakistani government.
PALIN: In order to stop Islamic extremists, those terrorists who would
seek to destroy America and our allies, we must do whatever it takes
and we must not blink, Charlie, in making those tough decisions of
where we go and even who we target.
GIBSON: And let me finish with this. I got lost in a blizzard of words
there. Is that a yes? That you think we have the right to go across
the border with or without the approval of the Pakistani government,
to go after terrorists who are in the Waziristan area?
PALIN: I believe that America has to exercise all options in order to
stop the terrorists who are hell bent on destroying America and our
allies. We have got to have all options out there on the table.
---
Couric: What's your position on global warming? Do you believe it's
man-made or not?
Palin: Well, we're the only Arctic state, of course, Alaska. So we
feel the impacts more than any other state, up there with the changes
in climates. And certainly, it is apparent. We have erosion issues.
And we have melting sea ice, of course. So, what I've done up there is
form a sub-cabinet to focus solely on climate change. Understanding
that it is real. And Â∑
Couric: Is it man-made, though in your view?
Palin: You know there are - there are man's activities that can be
contributed to the issues that we're dealing with now, these impacts.
I'm not going to solely blame all of man's activities on changes in
climate. Because the world's weather patterns are cyclical. And over
history we have seen change there. But kind of doesn't matter at this
point, as we debate what caused it. The point is: it's real; we need
to do something about it.
---
Couric: If a 15-year-old is raped by her father, do you believe it
should be illegal for her to get an abortion, and why?
Palin: I am pro-life. And I'm unapologetic in my position that I am
pro-life. And I understand there are good people on both sides of the
abortion debate. In fact, good people in my own family have differing
views on abortion, and when it should be allowed. Do I respect
people's opinions on this. Now, I would counsel to choose life. I
would also like to see a culture of life in this country. But I would
also like to take it one step further. Not just saying I am pro-life
and I want fewer and fewer abortions in this country, but I want them,
those women who find themselves in circumstances that are absolutely
less than ideal, for them to be supported, and adoptions made easier.
Couric: But ideally, you think it should be illegal for a girl who was
raped or the victim of incest to get an abortion?
Palin: I'm saying that, personally, I would counsel the person to
choose life, despite horrific, horrific circumstances that this person
would find themselves in. And, um, if you're asking, though, kind of
foundationally here, should anyone end up in jail for having an Â∑
abortion, absolutely not. That's nothing I would ever support.
Couric: Some people have credited the morning-after pill for
decreasing the number of abortions. How do you feel about the morning-
after pill?
Palin: Well, I am all for contraception. And I am all for preventative
measures that are legal and save, and should be taken, but Katie,
again, I am one to believe that life starts at the moment of
conception. And I would like to see Â∑
Couric: And so you don't believe in the morning-after pill?
Palin: ... I would like to see fewer and fewer abortions in this
world. And again, I haven't spoken with anyone who disagrees with my
position on that.
Couric: I'm sorry, I just want to ask you again. Do you not support or
do you condone or condemn the morning-after pill.
Palin: Personally, and this isn't McCain-Palin policy Â∑
Couric: No, that's OK, I'm just asking you.
Palin: But personally, I would not choose to participate in that kind
of contraception.
---
GIBSON: Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?
PALIN: In what respect, Charlie?
GIBSON: The Bush -- well, what do you -- what do you interpret it to
be?
PALIN: His world view.
GIBSON: No, the Bush doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the
Iraq war.
PALIN: I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid
this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on
destroying our nation. There have been blunders along the way, though.
There have been mistakes made. And with new leadership, and that's the
beauty of American elections, of course, and democracy, is with new
leadership comes opportunity to do things better.
GIBSON: The Bush doctrine, as I understand it, is that we have the
right of anticipatory self-defense, that we have the right to a
preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to
attack us. Do you agree with that?
PALIN: Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that
tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have
every right to defend our country. In fact, the president has the
obligation, the duty to defend.
---
GIBSON: But this is not just reforming a government. This is also
running a government on the huge international stage in a very
dangerous world. When I asked John McCain about your national security
credentials, he cited the fact that you have commanded the Alaskan
National Guard and that Alaska is close to Russia. Are those
sufficient credentials?
PALIN: But it is about reform of government and it's about putting
government back on the side of the people, and that has much to do
with foreign policy and national security issues Let me speak
specifically about a credential that I do bring to this table,
Charlie, and that's with the energy independence that I've been
working on for these years as the governor of this state that produces
nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy, that I worked
on as chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission,
overseeing the oil and gas development in our state to produce more
for the United States.
GIBSON: I know. I'm just saying that national security is a whole lot
more than energy.
---
IFILL: Governor, Senator, neither of you really answered that last
question about what you would do as vice president. I'm going to come
back to that...
(LAUGHTER)
... throughout the evening to try to see if we can look forward, as
well.
Now, let's talk about -- the next question is to talk about the
subprime lending meltdown.
Who do you think was at fault? I start with you, Governor Palin. Was
it the greedy lenders? Was it the risky home-buyers who shouldn't have
been buying a home in the first place? And what should you be doing
about it?
PALIN: Darn right it was the predator lenders, who tried to talk
Americans into thinking that it was smart to buy a $300,000 house if
we could only afford a $100,000 house. There was deception there, and
there was greed and there is corruption on Wall Street. And we need to
stop that.
Again, John McCain and I, that commitment that we have made, and we're
going to follow through on that, getting rid of that corruption.
PALIN: One thing that Americans do at this time, also, though, is
let's commit ourselves just every day American people, Joe Six Pack,
hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and
say never again. Never will we be exploited and taken advantage of
again by those who are managing our money and loaning us these
dollars. We need to make sure that we demand from the federal
government strict oversight of those entities in charge of our
investments and our savings and we need also to not get ourselves in
debt. Let's do what our parents told us before we probably even got
that first credit card. Don't live outside of our means. We need to
make sure that as individuals we're taking personal responsibility
through all of this. It's not the American peoples fault that the
economy is hurting like it is, but we have an opportunity to learn a
heck of a lot of good lessons through this and say never again will we
be taken advantage of.
IFILL: Senator?
BIDEN: Well Gwen, two years ago Barack Obama warned about the sub
prime mortgage crisis. John McCain said shortly after that in December
he was surprised there was a sub prime mortgage problem. John McCain
while Barack Obama was warning about what we had to do was literally
giving an interview to "The Wall Street Journal" saying that I'm
always for cutting regulations. We let Wall Street run wild. John
McCain and he's a good man, but John McCain thought the answer is that
tried and true Republican response, deregulate, deregulate.
So what you had is you had overwhelming "deregulation." You had
actually the belief that Wall Street could self-regulate itself. And
while Barack Obama was talking about reinstating those regulations,
John on 20 different occasions in the previous year and a half called
for more deregulation. As a matter of fact, John recently wrote an
article in a major magazine saying that he wants to do for the health
care industry deregulate it and let the free market move like he did
for the banking industry.
So deregulation was the promise. And guess what? Those people who say
don't go into debt, they can barely pay to fill up their gas tank. I
was recently at my local gas station and asked a guy named Joey Danco
(ph). I said Joey, how much did it cost to fill your tank? You know
what his answer was? He said I don't know, Joe. I never have enough
money to do it. The middle class needs relief, tax relief. They need
it now. They need help now. The focus will change with Barack Obama.
IFILL: Governor, please if you want to respond to what he said about
Senator McCain's comments about health care?
PALIN: I would like to respond about the tax increases. We can speak
in agreement here that darn right we need tax relief for Americans so
that jobs can be created here. Now, Barack Obama and Senator Biden
also voted for the largest tax increases in U.S. history. Barack had
94 opportunities to side on the people's side and reduce taxes and 94
times he voted to increase taxes or not support a tax reduction, 94
times.
Now, that's not what we need to create jobs and really bolster and
heat up our economy. We do need the private sector to be able to keep
more of what we earn and produce. Government is going to have to learn
to be more efficient and live with less if that's what it takes to
reign in the government growth that we've seen today. But we do need
tax relief and Barack Obama even supported increasing taxes as late as
last year for those families making only $42,000 a year. That's a lot
of middle income average American families to increase taxes on them.
I think that is the way to kill jobs and to continue to harm our
economy.
IFILL: Senator?
BIDEN: The charge is absolutely not true. Barack Obama did not vote to
raise taxes. The vote she's referring to, John McCain voted the exact
same way. It was a budget procedural vote. John McCain voted the same
way. It did not raise taxes. Number two, using the standard that the
governor uses, John McCain voted 477 times to raise taxes. It's a
bogus standard it but if you notice, Gwen, the governor did not answer
the question about deregulation, did not answer the question of
defending John McCain about not going along with the deregulation,
letting Wall Street run wild. He did support deregulation almost
across the board. That's why we got into so much trouble.
---
Brian Williams: Is an abortion clinic bomber a terrorist under this
definition?
Sarah Palin: There's no question Bill Ayres, under his own admittance,
was, um, one who sought to destroy, er, our US Capitol and our
Pentagon. That is a domestic terrorist. There's no question there.
Now, others who would want to engage in harming innocent Americans or
facilities, that, uh, er, that would be unacceptable. Uh, I don't know
if you're going to use the word "terrorist" there, but it's
unacceptable and, uh, um, it, er, would not be condoned, of course,
on, on our watch, but I don't know what you're asking is if I regret
referring to Bill Ayres as an unrepentant domestic terrorist. I don't
regret characterizing him as that.
Brian Williams: I'm just asking what other categories you would put in
there. Abortion clinic bombers, protesters in cities where fires were
started, molotov cocktails were thrown, people died.
Sarah Palin: I would put in that category of Bill Ayres anyone else
who would seek to campaign to destroy our United States Capitol and
our Pentagon and would seek to destroy innocent Americans.
----
KING: All right. Let's do a little retrospective. Should you have not
done the Katie Couric interview?
PALIN: Sure, I should have done the Katie Couric interview.
KING: Should have done it?
PALIN: Her questions were fair -- I should have done it, yes. And her
questions were fair. Obviously being a bit annoyed with some of the
questions, my annoyance shows through. And I am who I am, though, and
I call it like I see it. And some of those questions, you know,
regarding what do I read up in Alaska, were to me a bit irrelevant.
And my annoyance at those questions showed through.
But there was nothing off-base, unfair about it. Certainly I should
have done the interview. And to attribute I think that interview to
any kind of negativity in the campaign or a downfall in the campaign,
I think it's ridiculous. I wish that there would be -- would have been
perhaps more dilution in terms of that interview being one of many,
many.
I wish I could have done more interviews along the trail. And in
retrospect, in hindsight, I wish I would had more opportunities or
that we would have seized more opportunities to speak more to the
American people through the media.
---
)Republican vicepresidental candidate Sarah Palin spoke with
Univision's Jorge Ramos about immigration, her criticisms towards
Barack Obama and the latino vote, among other things.)
An investigation by the Alaska legislature concluded that you abused
the powers of your office as governor by pressuring subordinates to
get your former brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired. The
investigation states that it's an abuse of power. Do you agree?
An Alaska state trooper had made threats against my family because he
had gone through a divorce years ago from one of my sisters, and this
Alaska state trooper did not like our family. And once I was elected
he said I'm going to bring down the governor and you know, he would
kill members of the family.
So you think it was an ethics violation?
Not at all because I did not ask the commissioner of public safety to
fire this state trooper. I never micromanaged any of my cabinet
members asking them to hire or fire anyone. In fact, the commissioner
has even stated on the record that neither I nor my husband ever asked
him to fire the state trooper.