Sarah Palin: I Was "Annoyed" by Katie Couric's Newspaper Question
(AP/Harpo Productions/George Burns)
"For people who only know me from that interview, I don't blame people for thinking I was ill-qualified," Palin said on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
Palin was roundly criticized after the interview for not naming any of the news sources she regularly reads. However, the former Alaska governor said she answered the way she did because she was bristling at the very question.
"It was more like, 'Are you kidding me, are you really asking me?" Palin said. "It seemed like [Couric] was discovering this nomadic tribe ... asking me, 'How do you stay in touch with the real world?"
"I rolled my eyes and was annoyed with the question," she continued, adding that she thought, "No matter what I say it will be twisted and perceived as a bit negative."
Palin was irritated at the start, she said, because she did not want to answer Couric's questions immediately following an exciting round of meeting with voters. She left the voters to come upon Couric, thinking, "There's the perky one again," Palin told Oprah.
Transcripts of Couric's Interviews with Palin: Economy | Foreign Policy | Other Issues | Palin and McCain Together
In her discussion with Oprah, Palin also discussed:
• Wardrobe issues: "It gave me a lot of appreciation for what Hillary Clinton had probbaly gone through."
• Why her ticket lost: "The economy tanked under a Republican administration... Unfortunately, our ticket represented what was perceived as status quo."
• Telling her husband their child would be born with Down Syndrome: "He probably had a better reaction than I did when he heard the news. I was much more frightened."
• Her family's relationship with her grandson's father Levi Johnston: "I hear he goes by the name Ricky Hollywood now... He's quite busy with his media tours and he hasn't seen [his son] in a while."
• Working as a politician while raising five children: "It never occurred to me that I couldn't do the job because of my children."
• Resigning from her position as Alaska governor: "My state, the state that I so dearly loved... was being hampered by my presence there being shackled behind the governor's desk."
• Possibly running for president in 2012: "It's not on my radar screen right now."
More Coverage of Sarah Palin's Book Tour:
Bob Schieffer on Palin: No Future in Politics
Palin Book Roils Former McCain Aides
Palin "Vindictiveness" in Her New Book?
Sarah Palin's Book: The Fact Check
Palin Publicity Blitz Full Speed Ahead
Palin Talks with Oprah About Katie Couric, Levi Johnston
