Palin Becomes Increasingly Accessible To The National Media

By: Scott Conroy
Topics: Sarah Palin

(CBS)

From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(COLORADO SPRINGS) It was less than two weeks ago when Sarah Palin astonished her traveling press corps by lifting the curtain (literally) and journeying to the back of her campaign plane to answer reporters' questions for the first time after 40 days on the campaign trail. But the candidate who has been criticized for having a bunker mentality when it came to the national media can now lay legitimate claim to being more accessible than either Joe Biden or Barack Obama.

In the past two days alone, Palin has answered questions from her national press corps on three separate occasions. On Saturday, she held another plane availability, and on Sunday, she offered an impromptu press conference on the tarmac upon landing in Colorado Springs. A few minutes later, she answered even more questions from reporters during an off-the-record stop at a local ice cream shop.

By contrast, Biden hasn't held a press conference in more than a month, and Obama hasn't taken questions from his full traveling press corps since the end of September. John McCain—who spent most of the primary season holding what seemed like one, never-ending media availability—hasn't done one since Sept. 23.

Though she often turns the "mainstream media" into a punching bag on the stump, Palin clearly enjoys interacting with reporters. She seems to relish the opportunity to demonstrate that her breadth of knowledge far exceeds what she offered to CBS News' Katie Couric in a series of interviews that were marked by vague, often convoluted answers to straightforward questions.

After her plane in Colorado Springs, Palin answered no less than 14 questions from the media. It took traveling press secretary Tracey Schmitt three attempts finally to get the governor to move along.

After reaffirming her belief that some parts of Obama's tax plan carry "socialist principles," Palin was asked whether she thought the government's move to pump money into U.S. banks was also socialist. It isn't difficult to imagine the Sarah Palin of a month ago getting tripped up by this question, but her answer this time was clear and concise.

"No, I do not," she said. "And I believe that there are those measures that had to be taken by Congress to shore up not only the housing market but the credit markets also to make sure that that's not frozen, so that our small businesses have opportunities to borrow."

When she brought three of her young children to a Coldstone Creamery a few minutes later, Palin took even more questions from reporters, confidently approaching the cameras, rather than trying to avoid them.

Asked for her reaction to Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's recent suggestion that the media should investigate members of Congress who may hold "un-American" views, Palin didn't hesitate.

"Well, that's quite subjective," she said. "I would think that anyone running and wanting to serve in Congress is quite pro-America. You know, that is the mission, to better this country. So I would question what the intent of that would be."

Transitioning to the rising violence in Afghanistan, Palin meandered through her answer a bit more but succeeded in getting several points across.

"And we do need more troops in Afghanistan and we need that same surge strategy that's worked in Iraq and we need to make sure that we have that counter-insurgency strategy, too, in place," she said. "We need to grow our military. We need to incentivize our young Americans to realize what it is in terms of benefits and service our military can offer. We need to grow our military and get more troops in there. Work closer with the leaders in Afghanistan and make sure that with our NATO allies also that we are all working together there to fight that War on Terror there. Also, we can't afford though to lose in Iraq and think we are going to be any better in Afghanistan. That's why we are still opposed to an early or premature withdrawal from Iraq. We've got to win both the wars on both those fronts Afghanistan and Iraq."

Scott Conroy
Scott Conroy is a National Political Reporter for RealClearPolitics and a contributor for CBS News.
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by intankinated October 22, 2008 11:43 PM EDT: gnffl....you are correct...Biden did get them transposed. As former chair of the judicial committee, that was definitely a gaffe. Article 1, Section 3, Clause 4 refers to legislative branch Article 2 refers to succession. Thanks for pointing that minor technicality out for us.

Biden and Palin both said the VP supports Presidential agenda, which isn''t explicit in Constitution. However, Sarah seems to be at odds with the McCain platform - overturn Roe v Wade, environment, off-shore drilling, Pakistani intrusion, and even how the campaign is run.

Make no mistake, Palin has her own agenda, and if McCain kicked off (I hope not), both her and Todd would be running the country. Colin Powell and Warren Buffet''s observations are aligned with voters that are concerned with her tone and agenda. No matter how charming and witty, and motherly she is...is not qualified to be president.; Reply to this comment


by intankinated October 22, 2008 10:59 PM EDT: brianfh01...
Some challenge: answer, no one, including obama... has blocked, sealed, blah blah blah documents. I read the Jerome Corsi "Obama Nation" book too. He cites obscure internet webs and political editorials as references. He put his PH.D to good use didn''t he?

Obama''s birth certificate has been verified by the Annenberg Political Fact Check a bipartisan group that accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals.

Even Bill O''Reilly on 10/13/08 confirmed it..."I have in my hand ... a certified copy of Obama''s birth certificate as originally issued in Honolulu in 1961." He read aloud everything appearing on the document and ended by stating that anyone who continues to question Obama''s citizenship and birthplace is just a - - "nut"!

The lefties are claiming McCain blocked access to all his military records and POW interviews. That''s nonsense as well.; Reply to this comment


by BrianFH01 October 22, 2008 5:54 AM EDT: intanketc.;
Man, talk about spotting motes in neighbors'' eyes and ignoring your own logs!

Challenge: name ONE national office candidate EVER who has sealed and refused and blocked access to ALL documentation of his/her life and career, from birth through residence through school through university through employment and medical through political career -- prior to Backtrack Obama.

Waiting ...; Reply to this comment


by intankinated October 22, 2008 1:36 AM EDT: Don''t forget the Palins mentor, Joe Vogler of the Alaskan Independence Party. Vogler who hated the US, founded the AIP and circulated a secession petition - how patriotic is that? The same group that has modern ties to Chechen rebels that have ties to al-Qaida. The Palins themselves say their "Alaskans first and Americans second". And as Alaskans now are finding out, their governor has some explanations to give back home. Let''s see how that deposition goes tomorrow...could be why her approval rating has plummeted.

Yeah, let''s all get on the bridge to oblivion...with a woman who fears black cats, believes in witchcraft, doesn''t support women''s rights, is clueless on national matters, an environmental wreck, and has no idea of the concept of separation of powers. Like her hero, *** Cheney, she wants to expand "her powers" once in office...oh but wait, first she''s got to figure out what they are....maybe she can get some pointers from McCain''s old buddy J. Gordon Liddy or Thomas Keating.

ACORN - big deal...every election has voter registration issues. The Republicans got slammed in 2004 for not having enough voting machines, translators, and shady vote counts in Florida. And Bush pulled off the biggest scam of all - losing the popular vote in 2000 and still getting the electorals.; Reply to this comment


by intankinated October 21, 2008 11:42 PM EDT: sansantiago...we''re not electing the homecoming king and queen here. Palin definitely is an accomplished woman who is passionate about her values. I''m sure she is a wonderful mother and has many friends. However how can she serve as VP when she is constitutionally ignorant of the office itself? She repeatedly tells the press and even schoolkids - that the VP "really gets in there and works with Senate to enact policy". That is not the role of the VP. The VP presides over the Senate only in case of a tie vote - having no constitutional legislative powers whatsoever. There''s a reason why this country has executive, legislative, and judicial separation of powers.

She''s against women''s rights, period...is reckless with the environment and wants to expand the role of VP...which she''s not even clear on.

I''m glad she is giving impromptu interviews to the media since there is slant, both right and left, in all media outlets....and because she always seems to put her foot in her mouth.; Reply to this comment


by kikiquela October 21, 2008 3:31 PM EDT: So Sarah Palin has become more accessible to the media. I think it is due to the fact that she is looking towards the future and her own political aspirations to become President in 20121 She realizes she energizes the base more than Mccain. Hopefully Barack Obama will win this election since Sarah Palin would not make a good president. She is too dogmatic, sees America in " black and white", would veto a lot of the bills and bring America back to the " Dark Ages"!; Reply to this comment


by kycatfan6674 October 21, 2008 11:59 AM EDT: "Those women that hate her have to have their heads examined. The woman is everything our mothers told us we could grow up to be and better looking."

I don''t hate Sarah Palin. She''s not that relevant. I just don''t personally believe she is qualified to be VP of anything larger than a medium sized corporation, if that.

My mom''s aspirations for me were even higher: I can speak in complete sentences without using filler words like "also," "too", and "there", and without cue cards to keep me from veering off into the wilderness. I also have traveled in Europe, so I have foreign policy experience and could be VP myself, you betcha!; Reply to this comment


by kycatfan6674 October 21, 2008 11:50 AM EDT: "In the past two days alone, Palin has answered questions from her national press corps on three separate occasions. On Saturday, she held another plane availability, and on Sunday, she offered an impromptu press conference on the tarmac upon landing in Colorado Springs. A few minutes later, she answered even more questions from reporters during an off-the-record stop at a local ice cream shop. "

So, let''s see, she''ll probably be on Meet The Press next weekend then, right?

Just kidding.; Reply to this comment


by sphincface October 21, 2008 11:28 AM EDT: Hey JSmithCSA, I heard a funny joke at the Palin rally yesterday in Colorado... Sarah had about 250,000 (using Obama math) screaming for her to win. Okay, here''s the joke:

"What does a sphincter and your housecat have in common? Think about it."; Reply to this comment


by sansantiago October 21, 2008 11:12 AM EDT: I really like Sarah Palin. Those women that hate her have to have their heads examined. The woman is everything our mothers told us we could grow up to be and better looking.; Reply to this comment