On Wednesday's "Today" show, Matt Lauer played a portion of his interview with Sarah Palin in Alaska where he asked Palin if his former "Today" co-anchor, Katie Couric, was "unfair," during her pre-election interview, to which Palin responded she found some of the questions, "a little bit annoying."
The following exchange was aired on the November 12, edition of the "Today" show (audio available here):
MATT LAUER: More now of our interview with Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin. Virtually unknown before John McCain picked her as his running mate, Palin founder herself under an intense media spotlight. I asked Governor Palin about one of her first interviews during the campaign with Katie Couric, where she stumbled over a number of questions. And I asked her if seeing the clips from that interview, hurt her confidence.
[On screen headline: "Did Couric Interview Shake Her Confidence?"]
SARAH PALIN: No, no, because, you know I'm sure that some of my impatience showed through in that, in that interview. I think it also showed, though, that certainly as a Washington outsider and as somebody not, not one to just, I guess, kind of play even the, the campaigning media game that is played in, in just repeating, perhaps, memorized lines in an, in an interview, that's not me.
LAUER: But you didn't think the interview was unfair? I mean, the questions were fairly straight forward, weren't they?
PALIN: Well sure, yeah. But you know questions about well, "You know what do you read up there in Alaska?" To me that was kind, a little bit annoying because I'm like, "You know what do you mean what do I read up in Alaska? I read the same things that you guys read in New York and there in L.A. and in Washington state. What do you mean, what do I read up there?" But anyway, just, just some annoyance that certainly showed through and, you know, perhaps that, that annoyance that showed through would have led some to be annoyed with me, watching the interview. And that's understandable.
LAUER: Were you treated any differently by the McCain advisers after that interview? Did they, did they look at you differently at all in terms of your qualifications to be the Vice President?
PALIN: I don't think so. And, and certainly based on one interview, I, I think that they are, they were much more expert and professional to allow just one interview to, perhaps, lose confidence or faith in me, as John McCain's pick.