The scariest part is that her ticket will still get ~45% of the popular vote.

Palin's problem is that she has a surprising amount of trouble presenting BS in a coherent manner. Lots of politicians smooth talk non-answers all the time. She can't piece together talking-points quickly to conceal the BS because her lack of basic understanding of non-Alaskan issues. The fact that her camp hides her from the media really screwed up her confidence. So much so that she has now become mildly ******ed and can't even think for herself when the camera is on.

Holy mother of God. There's absolutely no way she can't be aware of the WSJ or New York Times.

She either did one of two things there:

1) Had a couple papers that came to mind, but thought Couric would just ask her for specifics about the newspapers.

2) Is freaking out in her head at any question requiring specifics and insta-reverts to talking points and generalities nearly irregardless of her actual knowledge.

Oh, now, she wasn't tapdancing there. I think that's the best part of the issue. She came out and said what she believes. Unfortunately that includes the choice of being gay, but whatever.

I reiterate what I said above though. She's the Rex Grossman of politics.

Sometimes, perhaps here, I think she is staying general just because she was told to do so, out of fear that specifics = trouble. That's really the only explanation I can come up with for her not citing one of the major newspapers.

SNL has a lot of material to work with this season. I might even tune in and watch it live on Saturday.

I can only imagine how brutal that sketch might have been had the entire Couric-Pain interview series been released earlier. This week they will probably do the debates, it should be great.

Was about to post this. Massive difference in her articulation of issues she actually thought about before the end of August.

Holy Cow, another Palin inteview!

Sarah Palin on the Hugh Hewitt show

Sad that I have to look for interviews that she doesn't completely tank on, but hey, I'll take any progress at this point. Sorta like when your team is getting shut out through three quarters and finally makes a first down. If the debate can be somewhat akin to a field goal then I'll be on cloud nine.

This seems like a good guess to me. Or perhaps she is concerned about saying that she gets her news from NYT because of its LIBERAL BIAS, although this doesn't explain why she doesn't say WSJ.

I think

this is also true, but applies more to questions like the bailout ("hmmm, let's see. . . . bailouts, bailouts . . . economy . . . jobs . . . free trade . . . man, I'm rolling!")

A McCainee saying she reads the Times would've all but but the kibosh on Palinmania IMO.

It was very strange. I mean why not name the main state level newspaper that you read every day? That just seems like such a simple and good answer. She is behaving like a scared animal--her intellectual territory has been encroached (earlier in the interview) and she is mad about that. She is very much on tilt.

If she gets emotional like this in the debate, it could make for some very high ratings. I'm stocking up on popcorn and beer.

Anchorage Daily News?
Washington Times?
Wall Street Journal?
Red State Online?

The abortion song and dance was completely standard, and coherent. The gay choice remark was a little unfortunate, but not a mega-gaffe given the makeup up the country.

I keep hearing they're locking her up in a hotel room trying to undo the teaching and make her be herself. That's absolutely the only way she could come off positively, and it might be too late to revamp that image. America is probably ok with a straightforward and charismatic person they think isn't any smarter than themselves, but works hard at her job. Right now they think she's mildly ******ed, and wonders if she does anything in Alaska but work on her hair.

If out of the gate she could have said something like (probably close to the truth):

"Oh, sometimes I read the Anchorage Daily News at home and catch some news online, but mostly I'm too busy as governor to sit down and read newspapers from all over the world. I obviously have staff brief me and update me about the day's big events."

You wouldn't think she's worldly or intellectual, but I don't think it would have been a bad answer at all politically. It might have even been a plus to a lot of undecideds. Having people realize you're just like them isn't bad, we stopped demanding rigorous intellectual curiosity... well... since I don't know when.

Isn't she just lying about her abortion position though? She claims that in the case of the girl raped by her father, it would be her policy to counsel life, but not make it illegal to have the abortion (claiming nobody should go to jail for abortion). But that is essentially a pro-choice position. Isn't she pro-life? Doesn't she believe that abortion ought to be illegal, not just inadvisable, in that situation?

It matters less what specifically she reads, and much much more that she is utterly incapable of giving a cogent answer to even the simplest of questions when she doesn't have a handler right by her side, or is fed every word to say. She has absolutely no idea how to think on her feet, which is not a quality I want out of anyone negotiating with Congress, or cabinet members, or world leaders, or anyone else, for that matter.

Seriously, that's like, "what's your favorite color?" Blue. No, green. Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

Srsly. The question was a total meatball, and she couldn't come up with anything? I think she's got a wicked case of performance anxiety at this point, and I can't say I blame her. If McCain loses, she's gonna take a ****load of the blame, and probably never get an opportunity like this again.

p.s. is anyone still talking Jindal/Palin '12?

+1

If some of you missed the "full" Couric pt. 2 bit, here.

I wouldn't say so. McCain supports abortion for rape and incest so that's the official position of the ticket. She was saying what she personally would counsel.

Eh, I doubt the "choice" garbage will go over well in CO, a pretty liberal swing state with a lot of homosexuals.

God, if she had only had said:

But how many homosexuals were undecided?

I doubt most of the country has accepted on full faith that being gay is genetic or whatever, and that suggesting otherwise is akin to bigotry.

Not saying it won't piss a few people off. It'll lose her some votes. I just doubt that this statement, among the sea of sheer gold, is unlikely to get big traction.

Well, maybe not undecided, but we know they're confused.

lol awesome