Transcript: Palin And McCain Interview

More In-Depth Answers To Questions Katie Couric Asked McCain And Palin On The Broadcast

(CBS)  CBS News anchor Katie Couric spent much of Sept. 29 behind the scenes of the McCain-Palin campaign speaking with Sen. John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. This is an unedited transcript of the interview portions broadcast on Sept. 30.

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Katie Couric: Do you consider yourself a feminist?

Sarah Palin: I do. I'm a feminist who believes in equal rights and I believe that women certainly today have every opportunity that a man has to succeed and to try to do it all anyway. And I’m very, very thankful that I've been brought up in a family where gender hasn't been an issue. You know, I've been expected to do everything growing up that the boys were doing. We were out chopping wood and you’re out hunting and fishing and filling our freezer with good wild Alaskan game to feed our family. So it kinda started with that. With just that expectation that the boys and the girls in my community were expected to do the same and accomplish the same. That's just been instilled in me.

Couric: What is your definition of a feminist?

Palin: Someone who believes in equal rights. Someone who would not stand for oppression against women.

Couric: Where do you stand on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act?

Palin: I’m absolutely for equal pay for equal work. The Ledbetter pay act - it was gonna turn into a boon for trial lawyers who, I believe, could have taken advantage of women who were many, many years ago who would allege some kind of discrimination. Thankfully, there are laws on the books, there have been since 1963, that no woman could be discriminated against in the workplace in terms of anything, but especially in terms of pay. So, thankfully we have the laws on the books and they better be enforced.

Couric: The Ledbetter act sort of lengthens the time a woman can sue her company if she's not getting equal pay for equal work. Why should a fear of lawsuits trump a woman's ability to do something about the fact that women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. And that's today.

Palin: There should be no fear of a lawsuit prohibiting a woman from making sure that the laws that are on the books today are enforced. I know in a McCain-Palin administration we will not stand for any measure that would result in a woman being paid less than a man for equal work.

Couric: Why shouldn’t the Ledbetter act be in place? You think it would result in lawsuits brought by women years and years ago. Is that your main problem with it?

Palin: It would have turned into a boon for trial lawyers. Again, thankfully with the existing laws we have on the books, they better be enforced. We won't stand for anything but that. We won't stand for any discrimination in the workplace - that there isn't any discrimination in America.

Couric: Do you think the coverage of you been sexist?

Palin: No. I don’t. It's obvious there are some double standards here. You know, in terms of what the media has been doing. But I think that's more attributable to the Washington media elite not knowing who I am and just asking a whole lot of questions. Not so much based on gender, though. But based on just the fact that I’m not part of the Washington herd.

Couric: Having said that, do you think it would be sexist not to question your credentials and your policy positions.

Palin: It would be sexist if the media were to hold back and not ask me about my experience, my vision, my principles, my values. You're right.

Couric: If that's the case, why haven’t you been more accessible to reporters?

Palin: I am so happy to talk to reporters. My life is an open book, happy to do it and very happy for more opportunities to do so.

Couric: Have you been pushing the campaign to sort of "Free Sarah Palin?"

Palin: The campaign knows that I am an open book. I mean, obviously is out there for God and everyone to judge my voting record, actions that I've taken as an administrator, as an executive, as a business owner, as a mom. My record is out there and my life is out there.

Couric: But having said that, reporters out there are extremely frustrated, as I’m sure you know, that they haven't been able to talk to you more, question you more, challenge you more on certain things.

Palin: I think this may be a little bit more about a campaign of reform, where just because maybe someone in the media elite hasn't had the access that maybe they're demanding, because we're running the campaign the way that we believe will best result in a good result for America - and that is a victory for John McCain. And maybe some are kind of put off by that. But that's all part of no more politics as usual; no more business as usual. I'm out there talking to the American people, those who I so dearly love and care about. I'm talking to them in these rallies that are attracting 20 - 30,000-plus people. I'm doing these rope-lines. I'm talking to every individual American that I can, in every hour that I have in my day. That's who I will be serving, that's who I'm connecting with today.

Couric: Governor Palin, almost every expert say it will take about ten years for domestic drilling to have an impact on consumers. So isn't the notion of "drill, baby, drill" a little misleading to people who think this will automatically lower their gas prices and quickly?

Palin: And it's why we should have started ten years ago tapping into domestic supplies that America is so rich in. Alaska has billions of barrels of oil and hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of clean, green natural gas onshore and offshore. Should have started doing it ten years ago but better late than never. We need to make sure that our nation's taking those steps to become energy independent.

Of course, ramping up supplies domestically is a key to that. But so is weaning ourselves off the hydrocarbons. We have got to get on board with the alternative fuel. John McCain has some great plans there. Also tapping into the nuclear, the clean coal to biomass, geothermal, tides, waves, all those things that we have as alternative energy sources, it's gotta be an all-of-the-above approach to energy independence. We cannot keep going down the road that we're going on now. And that's circulating nearly $700 billion, American dollars, into other countries, ramping up, boosting up their economy, decimating our own, not when we have the solution here domestically.

Couric: And we'll talk about alternative sources in a moment.

John McCain: Could I just mention one other thing about this. I disagree with the 10-year figure. I talked to the independent petroleum producers who said, "Look, we can do some of this in a matter of months. We can do a lot more of it … in a matter of just a short period of time." And it's …

Couric: Don't they have a vested interest in saying that, though, Senator?

McCain: Well, they have the capability. And I don't think they're not telling the truth. I mean, they're the ones who are out there doing it. But I agree … with Governor Palin. What's the moral of this story? We should have done it a long time ago. But the point is that it also does have an effect on the futures, on the price of a barrel of oil. And many disagree with that. But I know that when they think that there's, when anybody market forces believe there's gonna be an increase in the supply then obviously the price of that commodity goes down, whether it's oil or any other supply and demand situation. And finally one other thing: India and China are drawing on basically a finite resource in the world. So we may have an additional supply to help us bridge between our dependence on oil and natural particularly oil … and the future, which is alternate energy.

Palin: Yeah.

Couric: Gov. Palin, I know you'd like to see drilling take place in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And Sen. McCain, you oppose this. You call it, quote, "one of the most pristine and beautiful parts of the world."

McCain: Uh huh.

Couric: Who's right?

McCain: Did you expect two mavericks to agree on - (laughter) to agree on everything? Look, I … we just have, we'll be talking more and more about this issue. We do agree on the off-shore drilling and other means of limiting our dependence on foreign oil. But for us to agree on everything would make us, I think, a little boring. You can … say a lot about us, but we're anything but boring.

Couric: Who's gonna cave on this issue?

Palin: I don't think there's any need to characterize anything as caving. We'll continue to work together on this issue. And that issue is domestic supplies of energy being tapped, flowing into very, very, very hungry markets across our U.S. And we are on the same page there in seeking solutions to reach that goal.

Couric: At peak production, governor …

McCain: I wanna go and moose-hunt with her. And then we can, maybe we can have a look.

Couric: Experts say it'll take almost 20 years and it would …to achieve peak production … in ANWR. And it would still only cut foreign oil dependence by about two percent and only for a little while … so is it really worth …

Palin: Yeah, I don't know who the …

Couric: The risk?

Palin: …experts are who say that it would take 20 years. As the governor of an energy-producing state, we're supplying 16, 17 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy coming from my state. And as the former chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the geologists, the petroleum engineers whom I speak with are saying it can be done a lot quicker than 20 years from now. And, remember ANWR is a 2,000-acre plot that's in the midst of 21 million acres. That's not where the supply of domestic energy sources is, though, necessarily. I mean, that's not the be-all, end-all. Offshore is where the supply of energy is. And we'll tap into that.

[floras-2009]

" This is an unedited transcript of the interview portions broadcast on Sept. 30. "

An unedited transcript of THE PORTIONS BROADCAST. To show they are being honest, they should publish a transcript of the WHOLE interview, not just the portions they chose to broadcast.

[rcreed4]

There is nothing at this point that makes me happier than to see someone push politics into a different direction. What happens if politicians can''t talk in circles b/c they might actually have to face consequences?

Come on America, only we can make change stick. %u201CWe the people%u201D...not the government.

Unless we stand up and change our tolerance and expectations of politics, no change will last no matter who is elected.

Laughing is healthy and usually we do it when we are happy. It is also a natural reaction to fear. I laugh sometimes when my kids get caught in a fib but not the individual that 50% or so of you think can lead our country.

[bellatisha1]

Can''t find any articles in yr 2008, regarding Joe
Biden''s proclivity toward "plagiarism". Did his values
change?

[finchman6363]

Don''t forget that the VP casts the tie-breaking vote in the senate. I was an undecided voter until McCain appointed Sarah Palin. It is obvious from her interviews and her speeches that she lacks any intellectual depth or curiousity, much like the current president, who, I might add, also faltered when asked about the news sources he relied upon, at least admitting that he didn''t read a lot. Her answers are vague, off point and suggest that she is accustomed to getting by with brushing past real inquiry with bravado. It just doesn''t seem to work as well in the intense limelight of the national stage. I also have grave concerns regarding her education, or lack thereof. Again, not to say that she isn''t intelligent, but that when it comes to putting in the time to really learn the issues, she doesn''t have the "track record". Larry Sabato, who teaches political science at the University of Virginia put it best (and I am only paraphrasing)when asked if Palin could be ready for the debate tonight. His response was that he has seen students cram for exams and get satisfactory results on a single exam, but it didn''t mean that they had actually learned the material. Sarah Palin can learn the catch phrases taught to her, clearly, but is she truly ready to be the vice president and possibly the president of the United States? Certainly not as much so as a legion of other contenders for the VP nomination that were passed over for Palin.

[kc629]

i agree with many of the posts here but the one fact is we already know about the other candidates, we know what their answers would be to these questions!

she may personally not like Palin but she is still human. every journalist or piece of journalism for that matter is biased to at least some degree; everyone puts a little of themselves in their writing

i think Katie was trying to give those of us who want to see Palin answer for herself not one of Bush''s hand-me down spokesperson answer for her, as a journalist trying to "get the story" that frustrated her as it has many journalists

Palin set herself up for all this bad press!

[usafes]

Also not mentioned is the muslim influence that has been a constant in Obama''s life. Like all the, soon to be voters, I can''t help but want to know as much about what drives a potential president or vice president. If questions are asked about ones church envolvement, shouldn''t each be questioned on these matters? Why does Palin''s family life style draw interest and with Obamas request that family is of limits are rewarded. I think Catie Curic''s interview is very much biased and without forum to equal fact finding. In case you are wondering I have never voted Republican except for the second time Ronald Ragan ran. I did not vote for Clinton the first time but did the sencond time. Point is I did not have enough information provided by the media on the man the fist time he ran but considered his record the second time. NO I do not think Clinton was a good father, husband, or moraly good man.

[blues2003]

Palin is so unqualified it''s laughable.....
Thanks John McCain for pandering to the Hillary vote and putting yet another bullet in the gun that shoots the GOP in the foot come November.
Every election seems to be about the "lesser of two evils" in canidates.....Palin Makes my choice so much easier.!!!!!!

[blues2003]

Palin is so unqualified it''s laughable.....
Thanks John McCain for pandering to the Hillary vote and putting yet another bullet in the gun that shoots the GOP in the foot come November.
Every election seems to be about the "lesser of two evils" in canidates.....Palin Makes my choice so much easier.!!!!!!

[darrren12000]

to the snide person who wants to meet the individual who "chose" being gay -- a lot of gay and lesbian people do actually feel that it''s a choice. at the end of the day -- it doesn''t matter whether it''s chosen or not. it shouldn''t be the source of discrimination. give me a break. palin vetoed a law that would have allowed discrimination against *** and lesbians. what has obama done for glbt people? NADA

[darrren12000]

this wasn''t too bad. i''m VERY liberal, and i can see the discrimination. katie couric would never be so tough with a democrat. she asked three follow-up questions on ledbetter and a few on the abortion issue. usually they just let it go. obama is against gay marriage. why hasn''t that been an issue for katie?

[sawfingers]

Also, no mention of Obama receiving contribution from both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. No mention that McCain had warned Congress of the impending time bomb the financial industry had set up with the housing start frenzy and directly marketing those homes to people who could not clearly afford to own them. CBS and the other mainstream media outlets are so clearly biased, they have no credibility.

[sawfingers]

KC is no Walter Conkrite. CBS has made it clear that it supports Obama through the shaping of its stories and posturing Couric as a heavyweight anchor. I cannot believe she let Biden pass on FDR appearing on TV in 1929 when Hoover was president and before TV was invented. Generally, the media is a disgrace.

[rcreed4]

KC did a great job campaigning for one side, wasn''t that obvious? I am not surprised though...the media has always done a good job of assuming the American people are to dumb to see thru their attempts to sabotage those who have different sided opinions than they personally "claim" to have.

How important is "the freedom of speech"? What happened to our right to form an opinion based on non bias truthful reporting?

If you didn''t read the opening page interview and the "full un-edited interview%u201D you should...they are different.

For all you one sided close minded people out there, you only win if there is change that sticks and makes everyone stronger. If you can%u2019t hear the difference in our candidates and understand what it means to be a leader of change than please read the full articles.

There is a %u201Cright%u201D and a %u201Cwrong%u201D in everything and great leaders don%u2019t make decisions solely based off a personal opinion. They make decisions to impact the culture, values and visions of all those involved.

McCain and Palin have my vote and I choose to not hate or discriminate against anyone for having a different opinion. Some of my best friends are liberals and homosexuals and just because we may not see eye to eye does not mean I am against them or want to force them to change. Can you say this about yourself?

This is not about political parties, race or gender%u2026it%u2019s about making a choice that America must come first.

[f77111]

McCain voted against the Ledbetter Equal Pay Act , and Palins answer was pure BS. Do your homework Americans,these two are a couple of ignorant clowns,don''t let them anywhere near the White House.

[f77111]

Being Governor makes her a Geologist and a Scientist too, I guess that I''m a Dentist,an Engineer,and an IT Professional,and that''s just from playing poker today.At this rate I can be President in a week !

[dranreb4-2009]

I want to meet this gay best friend of hers who "chose" to be gay.

[spinner49]

Has anyone noticed that SP often sounds like she''s saying one thing, when she''s actually saying the opposite?

Like saying she wouldn''t want anyone put in jail for having an abortion, but never saying she wouldn''t want anyone put in jail for performing and abortion.

And again, she''s "not going to solely blame all of man''s activities on changes in climate." Huh? One wants to think she means she''s not going to blame climate change on man''s activities.

If she''s ever at the United Nations, the interpreters are not going to know what to do about her grammar!

[strandc]

There was a lead story buried in Palin''s response to Katie''s question about that Wasilla church''s quest to cure homosexuality.

Is the Republican base aware that Sarah Palin is not even a church member? She says she "gets to visit" a couple of churches when she''s home.

What kind of good Christian does not even join a congregation?

She goes on to say that she wishes she had the "time and consistency to be a more regular attendee of church, but no, have not."

No time to regularly attend church? Not a priority apparently. Sarah Palin has 5 children and those kids not been raised in a church atmosphere?

Does the Republican base know this about her??

See the quotes below.

Couric: Your church sponsored a conference that claimed to be able to convert *** into heterosexuals through prayer. Do you think that *** can be converted, governor?

Palin: Well, you''re absolutely wrong, again, on the facts. My church, I don''t have a church, I''m not a member of any church. I get to visit a couple of churches in Alaska when I''m home, including one, Wasilla Bible Church, and that''s the one that you''re talking about.

...

Palin: I wish I had time and the consistency to be a more regular attendee of a church but, no, have not.

[bux1fan]

I would much prefer to have a woman who loves and believes in America as vice-President, even if she might not be as polished or professorial as the media elite would like her to be, than to have a glib, blame America first, silver-tongued, Saul Alinsky-trained Marxist, as President. Further, Palin has MUCH more executive experience than does the community agitator Obama. She has actually accomplished things in the political world other than voting "present". And the above post that says "Palin is no Hillary by a long shot"? To that I would only say, Thank God. (Yes, I said God. So sue me.)

[chazzzman2]

http://www.cbsnews.com/
stories/2008/09/24/eveningnews/
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