Sarah Palin appeared on Tuesday’s Good Morning America to promote her new book and hit back at liberal condescension from journalists, most notably attacking Katie Couric as arrogant. Speaking of her infamous interview with the CBS anchor during the 2008 campaign, Palin interpreted Couric’s question about what newspapers she read as "How up there in Alaska, in this kind of nomadic, Neanderthal atmosphere that you live in, how are you connected to the world?"
The former governor admitted to interviewer Barbara Walters: "Unfortunately, I was wearing my annoyance on my sleeve. And I shouldn't have done that. Because, it seemed to me that she was asking ‘Do you read?’" After noting that, at that point in the campaign, she had just completed an op-ed for the New York Times, Palin chided, "And that surprised me that [Couric] hadn't done that homework."
Walters conducted a mostly friendly interview with Palin, calling her "charming" and remarking that she "answered every question." The ABC host also gave the Republican an opportunity to respond to the current Newsweek cover that referred to Palin as "bad news" and featured her in running shorts.
Palin derided Newsweek as "cheesy" and instructed, "For me personally, it's a wee bit degrading. Newsweek should be more policy-oriented, more substance-oriented, than showing some gal in shorts on the cover."
Although Walters was often chummy with Palin, at one point she asked the ex-Governor about her daughter Bristol, who is a teenage mother. The journalist wondered, "If Bristol had wanted to have an abortion, would you have let her?" That type of question mostly comes to pro-life politicians. Liberal, pro-choice Democrats are not often asked if they would encourage their daughters to have an abortion.
The interview aired in two parts. A transcript of the first segment, which aired at 7:01am EST on November 17, follows:
DIANE SAWYER: And, of course, when it comes to Republicans, the undisputed center of the stage this week is Sarah Palin.
ROBIN ROBERTS: And as we said, ABC's Barbara Walters had a chance to sit down with her and talk about the book and so much more. Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA WALTERS: Good morning. Well, she was very charming. Answered every question. And, of course, the most important thing is, what does she want for her political future? Well, here is the big question: Do you ever want to be president of the United States?
SARAH PALIN: That certainly isn't on my radar screen right now. But when you consider some of the ordinary turning into extraordinary events that have happened in my life, I am not one to predict what will happen in a few years. My ambition, if you will, my desire, is to help our country, in whatever role that may be. And I cannot predict what that will be, what doors would be open in the year 2012.
BARBARA WALTERS: Will you play a major role?
SARAH PALIN: If people would have me, I will.
WALTERS: To many, you are a possible presidential candidate. Steve Schmidt, McCain's campaign's senior adviser says publicly, and I quote, "She would not be a winning candidate. And if she was, the result would be catastrophic."
PALIN: Sounds like Steve Schmidt. I guess I really, really disappointed him. And she's the one who was in charged of that vetting, is I was told. So, everyone's entitled to their opinion, though. I know truth. And I'm fine with who I am and where I am.
WALTERS: One way you could have enormous influence is, of course, to have a talk show.
PALIN: I probably would rather write than talk.
WALTERS: Have you been offered your own talk show?
PALIN: There's been lots and lots of offers in these last months coming our way. Some bizarre things.
WALTERS: Like?
PALIN: Funny things. Reality shows.
WALTERS: You say no to that?
PALIN: Absolutely not. I would never. No, I would never want to put my kids through such a thing. Shoot, our life has become kind of a reality show.
WALTERS: Whether she joins the media or not, Palin, who was mercilessly lampooned during and after the campaign, will be associated with Tina Fey's iconic impersonation of her on Saturday Night Live. Did her impersonation of you harm you?
TINA FEY (as Sarah Palin): First off, I want to say how excited I am to be in front of the liberal elite media, as well as the liberal regular media.
PALIN: I think there was a blurred line there between what Tina Fey was parodying and saying. And what I was saying, for instance. She was saying, "I can see Russia from my house," pretending that she was me.
FEY: And I can see Russia from my house.
PALIN: Well, of course, I never said that. Of course, I’ve never said that. And yet, the line was blurred. And I think people because it was repeated so often, perhaps believed that I had said such a thing. I think she was funny, though. And I think she was very talented and spot-on.
WALTERS: At the time, what Palin did say to Charles Gibson, was that there's an island in Alaska where one can see Russia. And this strategic proximity was part of her foreign policy experience. Her response to that question came back to haunt her again, in an interview with Katie Couric, as did Couric's question about what she reads.
[From Couric interview] KATIE COURIC: What specifically, I'm curious?
WALTERS: Why didn't you answer?
PALIN: Unfortunately, I was wearing my annoyance on my sleeve. And I shouldn't have done that. Because, it seemed to me that she was asking "Do you read? How up there in Alaska, in this kind of nomadic, Neanderthal atmosphere that you live in, how are you connected to the world?" When I had just done an op-ed in her hometown newspaper, the New York Times, when I had just been interviewed by all those national media outlets. And that surprised me that she hadn't done that home work. Very unprofessional of me, though. My fault, my bad, that I answered the way I answered. And that was with that proverbial roll of the eyes. Like, are you kidding me? Are you really asking me that?
WALTERS: But the result of that interview, which Palin says was unfairly edited, was that she was considered unqualified to be vice president. Palin says in her book, this impression was reinforced by deliberate leaks to the press, by some anonymous members of John McCain's staff. Towards the end of the campaign, the press reports quoted unnamed McCain aides, calling you a diva. You know this. A whack job. A narcissist. Why do you think these people were trying to destroy your reputation?
PALIN: For some people, this is a business. And if failure in this business was going to reflect poorly on them, they had to kind of pack their own parachutes and protect themselves and their reputation so they won't be blamed. I'll take the blame, though, because I know at the end of the day what the truth is. And if it makes them feel better to be able to say, "She's the one that caused the downfall because she had a lousy interview," then, so be it.
WALTERS: You know, Governor, it has been said, though, that no candidate was picked on and made fun of as much as you were.
PALIN: Oh, there's so much bull crap out there. About my family. About my record. About my state. And it really hurts when I hear the negativity about the state of Alaska. And, of course, my family. So, a lot of bull.
WALTERS: It's still going on, this kind of ridicule. David Letterman, who is not your best friend, here is the latest:
DAVID LETTERMAN: That brings us to a little segment we call "things more fun than reading the Sarah Palin memoir." Things more fun. Take a look. Watch this.
ANNOUNCER: Number 14, driving into a tree.
WALTERS: Can you just shrug this kind of thing off?
PALIN: Well, I can ‘cause those aren't even funny.
WALTERS: Would you like to go on the David Letterman show?
PALIN: I don't think I'd want to boost his ratings. I do want him to sell my book, though. So, I hope he keeps it up.
WALTERS: Smart girl.
ROBERTS: I know. She is. Going Rogue. And she was very critical of the McCain aides. What's been their reaction?
WALTERS: Well, she says they muzzled her, that they wouldn't let Palin be Palin. They say her book is total fiction.
ROBERTS: You spent some time with her. She has had a tumultuous up couple of years. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. How did you find her, Barbara?
WALTERS: Very confident. Very appealing, whether you agree with her or not. And when she says bull crap, I went, what? But, you know, she says she tells it like it is. And I think that's what made her to so many people and the people who do like her, makes her so popular.
ROBERTS: Yeah. She has been through a lot. And has handled it. You're going to come back in our next half hour. You have other questions that you ask her about President Obama, even.
WALTERS: About President Obama. And you will meet two of her children. [Laughs.] I laugh because what they like most, as you will hear, is something I won't want to eat.
ROBERTS: That is a tease. She is teasing us. Okay. We'll see you.
SAWYER: I'm suspecting it involves moose.
WALTERS: How did you know?
SAWYER: Just guessing.
