I watched some of the Couric / Palin interview. Not good, not good at all. Unlike the Gibson interview, this one is not blatantly edited to make Palin look bad – she does that on her own. At times, she is as inarticulate as Bush on one of his bad days. Here is one of the worse exchanges:
Couric: Why isn’t it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries? … Instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?
Palin: Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy – Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.
A lot of the interview goes like that. Here is a bit concerning Ahmadinejad Henry Kissinger:
Couric: You met yesterday with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who is for direct diplomacy with both Iran and Syria. Do you believe the U.S. should negotiate with leaders like President Assad and Ahmadinejad?
Palin: I think, with Ahmadinejad, personally, he is not one to negotiate with. You can’t just sit down with him with no preconditions being met. Barack Obama is so off-base in his proclamation that he would meet with some of these leaders around our world who would seek to destroy America and that, and without preconditions being met. That’s beyond naïve. And it’s beyond bad judgment.
Couric: Are you saying Henry Kissinger …
Palin: It’s dangerous.
Couric: … is naïve for supporting that?
Palin: I’ve never heard Henry Kissinger say, “Yeah, I’ll meet with these leaders without preconditions being met.” Diplomacy is about doing a lot of background work first and shoring up allies and positions and figuring out what sanctions perhaps could be implemented if things weren’t gonna go right. That’s part of diplomacy.
Never mind that it has been confirmed that Kissinger does support dialog without preconditions with Ahmadinejad. This is a question I don’t expect her to know. That said, when Kissinger went to China, the U.S. did not demand that the Chinese give up their military ambitions, or ditch communism. Diplomacy does not equal preconditions. They may be included in the diplomatic effort, but that is at the prerogative of the administration.
Here’s more:
Couric: But polls have shown that Sen. Obama has actually gotten a boost as a result of this latest crisis, with more people feeling that he can handle the situation better than John McCain.
Palin: I’m not looking at poll numbers. What I think Americans at the end of the day are going to be able to go back and look at track records and see who’s more apt to be talking about solutions and wishing for and hoping for solutions for some opportunity to change, and who’s actually done it?
Couric: If this doesn’t pass, do you think there’s a risk of another Great Depression?
Palin: Unfortunately, that is the road that America may find itself on. Not necessarily this, as it’s been proposed, has to pass or we’re going to find ourselves in another Great Depression. But, there has got to be action – bipartisan effort – Congress not pointing fingers at one another but finding the solution to this, taking action, and being serious about the reforms on Wall Street that are needed.
Couric: Would you support a moratorium on foreclosures to help average Americans keep their homes?
Palin: That’s something that John McCain and I have both been discussing – whether that … is part of the solution or not. You know, it’s going to be a multi-faceted solution that has to be found here.
Couric: So you haven’t decided whether you’ll support it or not?
Palin: I have not.
Couric: What are the pros and cons of it do you think?
Palin: Oh, well, some decisions that have been made poorly should not be rewarded, of course.
Couric: By consumers, you’re saying?
Palin: Consumers – and those who were predator lenders also. That’s, you know, that has to be considered also. But again, it’s got to be a comprehensive, long-term solution found … for this problem that America is facing today. As I say, we are getting into crisis mode here.
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.
Look, I just got my California teaching credential, and the quality of some of Palin’s answers are about on par with what I have seen from C student juniors. There just isn’t a whole lot of substance here. This is not a person who is ready to pass senior civics, much less be Vice President…
OK. That last bit went a bit overboard.
I know some will defend Palin to the end. But given her poor performances in the two interviews so far (Hannity was more of an infomercial), with the virtual press lock-out (28 days and counting) and the prospect of the McCain team wanting to move Fridays debate to Thursday, thereby bumping the VP debate down the road, it certainly looks like the McCain team IS typing to keep Palin away from the press because she is not ready for this job. At this point, I have to agree with that assessment.