Posted on 09/30/2008 3:35:13 PM PDT by BigEdLB
HH: Governor Sarah Palin, welcome to the Hugh Hewitt Show. Great to have you.
SP: Hey, thank you so much. Nice to hear your voice.
HH: Governor, your candidacy has ignited extreme hostility, even some hatred on the left and in some parts of the media. Are you surprised? And what do you attribute this reaction to?
SP: Oh, I think theyre just not used to someone coming in from the outside saying you know what? Its time that normal Joe six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency, and I think that thats kind of taken some people off guard, and theyre out of sorts, and theyre ticked off about it, but its motivation for John McCain and I to work that much harder to make sure that our ticket is victorious, and we put government back on the side of the people of Joe six-pack like me, and we start doing those things that are expected of our government, and we get rid of corruption, and we commit to the reform that is not only desired, but is deserved by Americans.
HH: Now Governor, the Gibson and the Couric interview struck many as sort of pop quizzes designed to embarrass you as opposed to interviews. Do you share that opinion?
SP: Well, I have a degree in journalism also, so it surprises me that so much has changed since I received my education in journalistic ethics all those years ago. But Im not going to pick a fight with those who buy ink by the barrelful. Im going to take those shots and those pop quizzes and just say thats okay, those are good testing grounds. And they can continue on in that mode. Thats good. That makes somebody work even harder. It makes somebody be even clearer and more articulate in their positions. So really I dont fight it. I invite it.
HH: Have you followed the attacks on you, say, via Drudge or the blogs? Some of them are just made up and out of left field, others are just mocking. Do you follow those?
SP: No, I sure dont, and thank God I dont have time to follow those. You know, I think that those shots, too, though, no matter what were taking and receiving, its nothing compared to what real shots are against Americans in this world. Americans today who are worried about losing their home and figuring out how in the world theyre going to pay their fuel bill next month, and send their kid to college, and may be worried about losing a loved one that theyre sending off to a war zone to protect our rights. Those are the shots that Americans are taking, so all this political nonsense and the lies, the rhetoric that is spun out there about someone just trying to offer themselves up in the name of service to this great country, Ill take it.
HH: Governor, you mentioned the people who are struggling right now. Have you and your husband, Todd, ever faced tough economic times where you had to sit around a kitchen table and make tough choices?
SP: Oh my goodness, yes, Hugh. I know what Americans are going through. Todd and I, heck, were going through that right now even as we speak, which may put me again kind of on the outs of those Washington elite who dont like the idea of just an everyday working class American running for such an office. But yeah, theres been a lot of times that Todd and I have had to figure out how we were going to pay for health insurance. Weve gone through periods of our life here with paying out of pocket for health coverage until Todd and I both landed a couple of good union jobs. Early on in our marriage, we didnt have health insurance, and we had to either make the choice of paying out of pocket for catastrophic coverage or just crossing our fingers, hoping that nobody would get hurt, nobody would get sick. So I know what Americans are going through there. And you know, even today, Todd and I are looking at whats going on in the stock market, the relatively low number of investments that we have, looking at the hit that were taking, probably $20,000 dollars last week in his 401K plan that was hit. Im thinking geez, the rest of America, theyre facing the exact same thing that we are. We understand what the problems are. Its why I have all the faith in the world that John McCain is the right top of any ticket at this point to get us through these challenges. Its a good balanced ticket where hes got the experience, and hes got the bipartisan approach that its going to take to get us through these challenges. And I have the acknowledgement and the experience of going through what America is going through.
HH: Governor, when you say things are tight right now, is that simply because of Todd being off not working? Or is it because of extraordinary demands on the fiscal resources of the Palin family? Whats the situation there?
SP: No, its just the great financial crisis that America is in as our savings accounts also, and a 401K, theyre being hit.
HH: Sure.
SP: Our stocks, you know, they took a hit yesterday. And then of course, just the same thing that other Americans are asking themselves today. Weve got three teenagers. How are we going to pay for their college education? How are we going to make sure that were investing wisely today. Were putting a lot of faith in other people who are using our money as investments. We have to count on the federal government to be overseeing these agencies and entities, making sure that were not going to get screwed on this deal, and that our savings are safe. So there again, John McCains got some great ideas on granting authority, for instance, to the FDIC, making sure that our deposits are insured. He wants to increase that deposit insurance cap of all of our money, our savings, from $100,000 dollars up to $250,000 dollars, so that families like mine, so that we dont have to worry about our money being safe or not under FDIC.
HH: Governor, lets turn to a couple of issues that the MSMs not going to pick up. Youre pro-life, and how much of the virulent opposition to you on the left do you attribute to your pro-life position, and maybe even to the birth of, your decision, your and Todds decision to have Trig?
SP: Yeah, you know, I think that thats been probably the most hurtful and nonsensical slap that weve been taking is our position that we have taken, pro-life, me personally, and saying that you know, even though I knew that 13 weeks along that Trig would be born with Down Syndrome, and I said you know, hes still going to be a most precious ingredient in this sometimes messed-up world that we live in. I know that my son is going to provide a lot of hope and a lot of promise in this world, and Im so thankful of course that Ive had the opportunity to give him life and to bring him into this world. But I think yeah truly, that thats been a hurtful slap that we have taken, because people just dont understand. Ironic too, Hugh, that some would consider my position on life and trying to usher in a culture of life, respecting the sanctity of life in America, that that is seen as an extreme position when to me, an extreme position is one that Barack Obama took when he was in the Illinois State Senate, not even supporting a measure that would ban partial birth abortion, not even supporting a measure that would during, after a botched abortion and that babys born alive, allowing medical care to cease and allowing that baby to die. That to me is extreme. Thats so far, far left its certainly out of the mainstream of America. To me, that is the extreme position, not my position of just wanting that culture of life to be respected, and not wanting government to sanction the idea of ending life.
HH: Do you think the mainstream media and the left understands your religious faith, Governor Palin?
SP: I think that theres a lot of mocking of my personal faith, and my personal faith is very, very simple. I dont belong to any church. I do have a strong belief in God, and I believe that Im a heck of a lot better off putting my life in Gods hands, and saying hey, you know, guide me. What else do we have but guidance that we would seek from a Creator? Thats about as simple as it gets with my faith, and I think that there is a lot of mocking of that. And you know, so bet it, though I do have respect for those who have differing views than I do on faith, on religion. Im not going to mock them, and I would hope that they would kind of I guess give me the same courtesy through this of not mocking a persons faith, but maybe perhaps even trying to understand a little bit of it.
HH: Governor, lets close with some foreign affairs. It is reported that you had an Israeli flag in your governors office. You wore an Israeli flag pin occasionally. One, is that true? And two, why your support for Israel?
SP: Well, it is true, and I ran into Shimon Peres recently at a meeting, and he even pointed that out. He said I saw a picture of you on the internet, and you had an Israeli flag in your state government office, and I said I sure do. You know, my heart is with you. And all of those trials and tribulations throughout history that Israel has gone through, not only does that allow me to want to support that country, but Israel is our strongest and most important ally in the Middle East. And they are a democratic country who I believe deserves our support, and I know that John McCain believes as I do that Israel is our friend, and we need to be there to support them. They are there for us, and I do love that country.
HH: Last question, Governor. Have you and Todd heard from your son? And how is it on your nerves having your son deployed?
SP: That little stinker, I guess hes called his girlfriend a couple of times, but can you believe he hasnt called his momma yet? Hes over there. They were just leaving Kuwait heading into Iraq, and I am just so extremely proud of Track, my son, and all of the men and women, of course, serving in the military. Im proud that my son made this independent and very wise decision as such a young man at 18, deciding you know, he realized theres something he can do to help, to contribute, to help protect our nation, and I couldnt be more proud of him and all those who choose to serve in our military. Theyre serving for the right reasons. God bless them, God love them.
HH: Governor Sarah Palin, look forward to talking to you again, good luck on Thursday night.
SP: Thank you so much. Talk to you soon.
End of interview.
...we put government back on the side of the people of Joe six-pack like me,
Sarah, I love you, but implying that you like to knock back brewskis with the good ol' boys will not help your candidacy. We want a leader to be better than we are, not the same.
Could not disagree more. That is elitism and it is what lead us to the current crop of inbred idiots "leading" our country (and yes, McCain is in that pile). Our "betters" are augering this country into the ground. I think that it is high-frigging-time to try something different, and SP sounds good to me.
“Sadly, it seems that no longer matters. What else could explain Hussein’s lead in the polls,,,and even worse than that,,, what else could explain the election of Slick TWICE!!! “
Well the lead in the polls could be because of a biased media who is doing everything in their power to carry Bambi over the finish line. When you look at a poll, throw out 10% for the RAT candidate right off the bat.
Slick never got more then 47% of the vote. If Perot decided to stay home and watch reruns of Joany loves Chachi, we never would have heard of the Clintons.
If this is going to be the Palin strategy, then I hope there are more people who agree with you than with me.
Couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the dems overweighted in the polls compared to republicans, now could it.
Has to be because our candidates aren’t doing what you want them to do.
She picked a decent interviewer which makes all the difference and makes the case I have been saying all along. Ignore the likes of Couric
“You know, I think that those shots, too, though, no matter what were taking and receiving, its nothing compared to what real shots are against Americans in this world. Americans today who are worried about losing their home and figuring out how in the world theyre going to pay their fuel bill next month, and send their kid to college, and may be worried about losing a loved one that theyre sending off to a war zone to protect our rights. Those are the shots that Americans are taking...”
Dang! Knocked that one out of the park!
when will she be on Rush’s show?
how about Boortz? Cutey Pie?
Time to unleash her.
I was on a women’s site yesterday and the discussion was pathetic. Besides the slamming of Palin at how “stupid” she is, they reiterated a sentiment stated on this thread...”We don’t want someone like us, we want someone better than us.”
Not only are they disqualifying all “regular” folks from attaining high office, totally diminishing their own value but they’ve bought in to the MSM that the politicians are “better” than us - despite all the evidence to disprove that.
If it makes them feel better, perhaps they should try to become the governor of their state and then they can have a peg above their head to hang Palin on.
She needs to do well in the debate. The MSM is chipping away at her rather than hammering her as they did earlier in the campaign. For instance, CNN just showed a clip of her interview with Couric. Couric asked her what newspapers and magazines she read prior to being tapped as McCain’s running mate. For some reason, Palin dodged the question and never ended up naming any particular publication.
Her response was not a good one, to be sure. However, CNN seems to have a daily release of only her bad answers.
Have you heard the rumblings that the Bushies want the GOP to lose this year to set things up for Jeb later on down the road?
I wouldnt be surprised if they saw Palin as a threat to Jeb’s future prospects and have worked to take her down.
If I heard rumblings like that, I wouldn’t be surprised. However, much as I like Jeb, I don’t think Jeb could stand up to Sarah. Jeb is a fantastic leader but doesn’t connect to Republicans the way that Sarah does.
The performance of some of the Bush people around Palin have probably been noticed by Sarah. She’ll be less enamored of the Bush wing of the Party from now on. So, I suspect, will most Republicans.
Best,
Chris
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.