Brian Williams: "Governor, are you a feminist?"

"I'm not gonna label myself anything, Brian," said Palin. "And I think that's what annoys a lot of Americans, especially in a political campaign, is to start trying to label different parts of America different, different backgrounds, different . . . I'm not going to put a label on myself."

Is she joking? How many labels has she used Maverick, Reformer, Terrorist, Joe Six-Pack, Pro-American, Un-American, Socialist, Pit-Bull, Hockey Mom…hell she labels just about everything!

In the same interview…
Brian Williams: Is an abortion clinic bomber a terrorist, under this definition, governor?

Palin: (Sigh). “There’s no question that Bill Ayers via his own admittance was one who sought to destroy our U.S. Capitol and our Pentagon. That is a domestic terrorist. There’s no question there. Now, others who would want to engage in harming innocent Americans or facilities that uh, it would be unacceptable. I don’t know if you’re going to use the word terrorist there”

WHAT!???

OKay I agree WHAT is she Governor Sarah Palin talking about>>>Whomelse is deeply confused why that last quote????? Catherine

I never thought anyone would make GWB look eloquent, but she's darn close. I LOL'ed when she said she wouldn't label herself -- since she's quick to label other people.

But darn, doesn't she look pretty? Guess all that high-priced make-up and clothing is really working for her. I hate the glasses, though. Too sharp. Maybe they need to hire a high-priced optician for the campaign.

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Palin was probably trying to think if it qualified as being a "terrorists" in the legal sense.
ETA: I do not know the legal stuff concerning what is a "terrorist"

Such as some that view people that have abortion as murders ... but legally it is not the same.

What exactly is the "legal sense" of terrorist?

Legally, abortion clinic bombers are every bit as much domestic terrorists as William Ayers ever was.

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Pot, meet.....

nevermind.

You give Sarah Palin way too much credit for thinking. Face it - she is no good at unscripted material.

Actually, no, I think you are wrong.

She was slapped upside the head by the media when the idea of the Bush Doctrine came up mid-interview. Never mind that there is no official definition of "Bush Doctrine" - and that there are several definitions depending on who you are talking to.

Two days ago, a CNN reporter mis-quoted a piece that was intended to bash the press and told Palin that even conservatives were pounding her in their pieces, calling her stupid, etc. CNN backtracked the next day and acknowledged their dirty trick.

The media is waiting to smack her down and hoping she'll mis-state something or acknowledge something that they believe has another meaning. The word "terrorist" certainly conjures up things in all of our minds, but I have no clue - and Palin probably has no clue - if there is some specific legal definition of 'terrorist'. I can see her not wanting to mis-speak and acknowledge something is 'terroristic' when there is some legal definition of 'terrorist' and that event does not fit some legal definition.

For instance... I see a lot of hateful speech here. I doubt it would qualify as 'hate speech' from a legal perspective. If an interviewer asked me, "So is there a lot of hate speech on the MyCoupons election board?" and I answered yes, BAM, I'd be accused of wanting to expand hate speech laws to apply to internet message boards.

Palin has been tripped and trapped by such questions enough that I suspect she treads very lightly about a lot of topics.

FWIW... I really hope she goes on O'Reilly.

She's the one that likes to bandy about the word terrorist -- seems like she ought to be able to define it.

She had the same problem with her other favorite world -- elitist.

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Problem, schmoblem.

She's had to face liars like that nutjob from CNN recently. I'm sure she knows what *she* considers a terrorist, and I'm sure that whatever that is, you wouldn't like it, so exactly *what* it is is really irrelevant.

I have found this so far it is from 1988. I will try to find something that shows IF the FBI ever updated.

Abortion clinic violence as terrorism - Studies in Conflict & Terrorism

"Violence against abortion clinics and other activities directed toward patients and staff of abortion facilities have been termed terrorism by the pro-choice movement. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation denies that these actions are terrorism"

Also the cases I have found show that the people where charged with other crimes ..no terrorism charges.

ETA another link this one from 1995
http://www.cqpress.com/context/artic...error_def.html

"If government agencies can't agree on a single definition of terrorism, the public's perception is even more confused."

How easily some people choose to forget about the interviews with Katie Couric - what a joke. These were not trick questions made up by the media to 'trap' poor Palin. These were legitimate questions that could have been answered by either party.

This is only one example of the Palin's lack of experience.

Welcome to the real world where politicians need to answer questions from all sorts of media - not just from FOX news where she is protected.

As I said... I hope she goes on O'R on Fox News. So far, she has not.

I certainly don't consider her "poor Palin." I think she outshines Katie any day. Palin's ratings among the constituents she serves in her job are much better than Couric's are with hers.

Always shifting the blame to someone else. What in the world does Couric's ratings have to do with Sarah Palin's ineptness to answer a simple question during an interview?

Biden isn't a bastion of knowledge either. . . .you would think both parties could have made better choices.

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- George Orwell Animal Farm

In response to Wowitsdark, wow you love poking fun at me."pot, meet " , nevermind.. Why did you not finish the quote. Anyhow, you seriously have to be kidding me about Sarah Palin and comparing her to Katie Couric, who is my personal opinion and I am sure others, a true American sweetheart... Now let me speak further, I would rather have Katie Couric as the new Vice President over Sarah Palin anyday. In my view, Sarah Palin is so tiny in comparison to the Knowledge and Intelligence and Professionlism Katie Couric as always protrayed.... Again its plain and simple as the head on your shoulder's... When Sarah Palin speaks the truth comes out loud and clear, she does not know what the heck she is doing , nor talking about. Again she be better off to stay where she came from. Like I have also stated before I am totally, all for a women in power, thats why I would have loved to seen Senator Hilary Rodman Clinton run for office as vice president, as least she knows how to speak and answer questions. But there is still the future and we have not seen the last of Hilary. So in ending Wowisdark any comments about my post you would like to call the pot, meet, kettle. Seriously if your endorsing Sarah Palin I am shaking my head in total disbelief......Catherine

You'll have to ask truble about Katie. I think they are old sorority sisters or something like that.

I read your sentence saying that it is as plain and simple as the head on my shoulders that Palin does not know what she is doing or talking about.

I can understand if you don't agree with her politics. I can even understand if you think she doesn't interview well with the national media. She's new at it and it doesn't come as naturally to her as it does to those who have been grilled like that for years. When you watch her in interviews on Alaskan television shows from before her VP run, you see a very confident, comfortable woman who knows her stuff. Again - you can disagree with her politics, but if you are going to fuss about skips in her verbosity in front of the media, be prepared to fuss at Joe Biden's spelling of the three-letter word J-O-B-S.

I take back what I said about pots and kettles. That implied that you and Governor Palin were pretty much equal in terms of the amount of sense you make.

I love Palin and would never... nevermind.

Wowisdark, you simply cannot say anything nice can you, nor can you admit that Sarah Palin is way over her head , her pretty head as Truble2301 would say in hot water... I never said I dislike the person, all I have been saying is that I do not think she has enough know how to be the new Vice President of our Country. She seems like a very nice lady, never said she was not, but honestly again to compare her to Katie Couric who is a true professional on all levels of communication and on all levels of the media and all levels of politics. Katie has been on television so long and has conducted so many interviews, to put her Down is a shame. In the end as always we have to agree to disagree... Catherine

Catherine, do you realize how tanked Couric's ratings have been? The fact that she scored an interview with Palin boosted her ratings for the first time in a very long time.

In the past six months, Couric has lost half a million viewers.

As far as the ratings issue it went up because everyone wanted to see Palin 'TANK' again.

It is free laughable entertainment.

WHAT indeed.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Palin changes tune on ‘feminist’ label - Blogs from CNN.com

But, she sure is purty.

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Ana
The Republicans have been putting lipstick on a pig for 8 years. Is a pitbull wearing lipstick an attempt to keep us from noticing the pig?

Wowisdark, do you realize all the many wonderful upheld responsible Jobs or positions Katie Couric as on her reseme????. Again the bottom line is she Katie asked important questions we as Americans want answer's to and she asked them of Sarah Palin who had the opportunity to answer them. Finally after so many speeches and talks and interviews Sarah Palin is not no where qualified for the job.How can you expect the AMERICAN PUBLIC TO FEEL.... do you honestly think they were not going to ask her the same questions, they have asked of each candidate. Anyone running in our democracy deserves and should be expected to be asked hard tough nose questions. This is by far one of the hardest and most serious and most more important elections in a long time. We have so many problems, huge difficult problems, just because she is new to these kinds of questions is not an excuse. She accepted the nomination from McCain, she decided she wanted to run for the vice president position, then as such, she has to answer those questions. But so more important she must know what she is talking about , we as Americans want answers and sadly for me and other, she does not have the answers... CAtherine

Cathrine, with all due respect, that is because you are a liberal and she is a conservative. If she was a liberal, you would be smitten with her and I would not like her.

She's given many interviews besides the one with Couric, which I'm glad to admit was not her best. She was still very green where the national media was concerned and her nervousness showed. I certainly think she has a responsiblity to respond to any questions the American people deem necessary to form their opinions, and I don't necessarily think that Couric was trying to trick her or trap her with the Bush Doctrine question. I also don't blame Palin for being confused by the question, because "Bush Doctrine" means different things to different people, and it's not even an official moniker. It's something the press uses on occasion, but even then it is not used identically by the press. If she'd spent the last eight years shadowing Bush himself she wouldn't necessarily know what Katic Couric was after in that interview.

Please don't yell and ask me how I can expect the AMERICAN PUBLIC TO FEEL. The American public is deeply divided, and as a single group, they do not *feel* one way about Governor Palin. Your feelings do not represent the feelings of all Americans - they just mirror the liberal ones. And that's fine. It's your right to feel the way you do. It won't make conservatives put their hands over their ears and threaten to move to Europe if your guy wins, and it won't make us cry and pout. We just see things differently... which is what being an American is all about, last I knew.

Nope wowisdark I totally disagree with you if i was a conservative I would agree with her, no matter my being a liberal. Have you not read any of my posts, where I talked about Bill Clinton and how I cannot stand to look at him, why because I had trust in him, he was our leader of this great nation. He had so many numerous personal problems and all the lies over and over again. The last straw for me was when he admitted a bold face lie on national television and said he did not have any sexual relations with Monica... How could I trust him, in though he is a Democrat and even though he was the president, and whether people say it was his personal life.. B>S> So why again can I admit his wrong doing was I suppossed to stand behind and say, Ok Bill Clinton our president thats ok with what you did, I accept you because we are both liberals. Again your right I do and deserve my views, however can you as a conservative admit that Sarah Palin does not have the experience to be the Vice President of our country???/ If you totally believe in what your stating, then to me you also doing the same thing. Your accepting her in ability to become the perhaps new Vice President just because you're both conservatives???? Catherine

I would not want Sarah Palin to run for the Presidency at this time, and certainly, I think it would be a good thing if she had more national experience than she currently has.

What I do see in her is a conviction and an ability to stick to her personal belief system, regardless of whether it's popular, even within her own party. She's guided by a 'true north' that seems to transcend an affiliation to party or people. She seems, in my opinion, to have good judgment. When faced with the realization that a man who had essentially been her short-term political mentor, who had encouraged her to run for Lt. Gov. and who then got her appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission after she lost that race, was as crooked as they come, she helped take him down. When she realized that another Republican who had been in on taking him down had lied about his motives and concealed some vital evidence that might've made him look bad, she quit her position and took a flashlight to his activities as well. This was early in her political career (other than her mayoral job) and yet even at that stage, right and wrong were more important to her than loyalty to a *person*. That says a lot to me about the kind of person she is, and I think it's the very kind of person we don't have enough of in Washington on either side of the aisle.

I have to ask, Catherine... with Clinton, what did you think about the Paula Jones issue? Or Gennifer Flowers? Those of us on the right saw those things early on and felt at that point that he couldn't be trusted, but the left - and some of the right, obviously - elected him, anyway. There were too many stories of him with other women for them to all be lies, and he was so fudgy about the whole, "I didn't inhale" thing. At least Obama comes right out and admits to the felony of cocaine use.

But back to Palin... I see unwavering conviction and a sense of duty to fix things that are broken, whether it be corrupted individuals or corrupt policies like the one that had prevented any forward motion on the Alaska natural gas pipeline for nine years as the politicians and energy companies spent years in secret back room meetings. As soon as she was elected governor, she halted the secret meetings, made them all pubic record, and opened up for bid the very things the oil companies that had been in bed with her predecessor wanted to get contracts for without the competition of a bidding process.

She has a solid record of demanding that government be accountable to the taxpayers. She insisted that the checkbook for the state of Alaska be put online. Any citizen of Alaska could, at any time, log onto Alaska's state website and view check numbers, amounts, payees... any checks that the State of Alaska had cut to anyone were made available.

She had extremely high approval ratings amongst the people she governed - 85% as recently as this past summer. That says something about her ability to perform in such a way that both Democrats and Repubicans are impressed with her ability in an executive role.

I think she is very comfortable with the buck stopping with her. Something tells me she wouldn't vote "Present" very often if she were a senator. I don't think she spends much time posturing politically - I think she is what she is what she is, and she doesn't try to spin herself. I think that in part, that's why she doesn't appear as relaxed as she could/should when being interviewed by the national media - there is probably an expectation on the part of the McCain campaign that she won't she won't use words that can be taken out of context and twisted.... and I think that in Alaska, serving as Governor, she didn't have to worry about such things on a daily basis.

Again.... I wish she had more national experience and would not want to see her running for President today. However, she seems to be a quick study, and her President would certainly appoint cabinet members and other such individuals right off the bat. If she were faced with the need to step into his shoes a year into the job, I feel pretty confident that she'd be fully up to speed and ready to govern. If for some reason she had to step in prior to that, she'd have the experience of McCain's cabinet to advise her through whatever new territory she might have to face.

Ideal? No, but better, IMHO, than Biden. I disagree with his policies and might feel warmer to the idea of him being President if they mirrored mine better.... but they don't. Experience is nice, but at the end of the day, well, just because I have lots of *experience* playing golf, you wouldn't want me on your team because I suck. I'd take a six year old Tiger Woods over 40+ year old 'experienced' me any day, because he has what it takes, deep in his gut, and always has.

And that's how I see Palin. It's in her bones to lead.

FTR, Katie was my RA my first year in college, not a sorority sister. And as much as I disliked Katie, she was as smart as they come and has certainly made a success of herself.

The notion that Palin has it "in her bones to lead" is really funny. Lead where? Off a cliff?

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