Sarah Palin: I Was "Annoyed" by Katie Couric's Newspaper Question

[sabra]

Source: CBS News

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey which airs today, 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin contends her Oct. 2008 interview with CBS News Anchor Katie Couric unfairly cast her in a negative light.

"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.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/16/politics/politi...

[WI_DEM]

1. Sure it would be twisted if the twit had answered by naming a couple of Alaska papers

and then lied and said the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. The fact is I doubt she reads much at all--newspapers or books.

[Frances]

27. Didn't Levi say she doesn't read

[Stingo]

60. Just looks at the pictures

Maybe it will be a big sin when she "reads" Playgirl, eh?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

68. who was trig's dad?

is that the secret that Levi is keeping for his Playgirl tour/

[ChairmanAgnostic]

67. doesn't? or cannot? Subtle difference, to be sure, but,

inquiring minds wanna know.

[XemaSab]

51. She was the governor of Alaska

I think saying that she starts out the day with Alaska news, then gets to other stuff if she has time would be a decent answer.

Sadly, I don't even think she reads so much as the Nome Nugget.

(To put it in a different light, if Arnold didn't name the Sacbee and the LA times, at minimum, I would think he was an unfit governor. If he did say he read those papers, I would assume he was getting quite a bit of his national and international news there too. On the other side of the coin, if he said he read 10 different papers every morning, I would suspect that he wasn't getting a lot of actual work done! )

[onehandle]

2. Moron. nt

[Skittles]

3. LOL - "......for not naming any of the news sources she regularly reads"

I love the assumption this vapid piece of shit actually reads - she reads nothing more than the labels on her hair products

[Roland99]

4. Annoyed or not, she couldn't answer a very basic question. Probably still couldn't.

What a stupid fucking moron.

[Mariana]

55. She STILL hasn't answered it, as far as I know. nt.

[Magleetis]

5. She can make all the excuses she wants

She can't hide the fact that she is a fucking idiot. Go away.

[Brickbat]

6. Heh. Anyone can come up with a do-over. The problem is, she didn't look irritated. She looked like

she was thinking, "Wait, what, newspapers? OMG, they didn't cover this one for me!" The tape don't lie.

[Raschel]

49. Exactly! I didn't see any irritation or eye rolling. She looked like she couldn't think of a thing

to say. The big liar.

[lib_wit_it]

53. Agreed! A totally made up after-the-fact excuse. She is such a blatant liar! I wish Oprah

hadn't been such a cream puff. I'm so sick of Palin's lies going unchallenged.

[Blue For You]

7. More public relations revisionism. That's all she ever does.

Constantly trying to undo her doings. And that's a task mightier than she.

[Buzz Clik]

8. "No matter what I say it will be twisted and perceived as a bit negative." So, logically...

... I said the dumbest possible thing imaginable to make sure that I appeared to be a total moron.

[Journeyman]

9. She's got a point: I too would be annoyed if someone showed the world I was a nitwit. . .

especially if was done on a network television show, while I was in the midst of an election campaign trying to prove my non-existent qualifications to be a heartbeat from the Presidency.

It wouldn't change the fact that I'm an idiot, but I'd still bristle at the memory a year or more later.

[TroglodyteScholar]

46. +1 n/t

[apnu]

10. OK Sarah, I'll take you at your word, now can you explain the Turkey carnage interview? (nt)

[Tempest]

16. She blames the TV station in the book

Even though she was the one who picked out the spot for the interview.

[Doctor_J]

11. Which impertinent commie asked her what countries are in North America?

that one stumped her too. Was she annoyed?

[otohara]

12. I Was THRILLED

thank you Katie...

Your country is forever grateful.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

13. horseshit

[madmom]

14. What happened to feeling sorry for Couric?

[Tempest]

15. It wasn't just the newspaper question

It was also that she couldn't name a Supreme Court decision other than Roe vs. Wade.

And just three months earlier the SC ended Exxon's lawsuit against the state which royally screwed her constituents, and she didn't think of it.

[Old and In the Way]

17. She ought to have been annoyed at her inability to handle softball questions.

If she can't answer a simple question like "what newspapers do you read?", she has no one to blame but herself. Thankfully, these interviews weren't kept from the public. I really hope she runs in 2012...if she thinks it was tough going last time, let her run for President and see how humiliating that experience will be for her. She reminds of Bush...someone who is full of hubris and pathologically incapable of understanding how totally unqualified he/she is for this office.

[Frank Cannon]

20. Well, we all know how it turned out for Bush anyway

On the other hand, Sarah Palin does make Dubya look like R. Buckminster Fuller.

[Mike Daniels]

28. She's in for a suprise if she does run for the Republican nomination

There's no way in hell Romney and Huckabee plus others aren't already digging through her past to see what they can use against her in the primaries.

I guarantee her constant whining and claims of persecution are being catalogued by every opposition researcher out there. If I were a potential candidate for 2012 I'd use those instances an an argument that if she can't handle criticism as a "celebrity" then she sure wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of having to deal with it as leader of the USA.

[FlyByNight]

18. Always the victim

Nothing's ever her fault. She seems to gladly take no responsibility about anything: her actions, her incoherent ramblings, whatever.

She's really annoying. Isn't her 15 minutes up yet?

[mitchum]

35. That's because she is psychopathic

According to the psychopath, the psychopath is never at fault

[llmart]

47. No, it's because she suffers from

narcissistic personality disorder. Thinks the world begins and ends with her and her wants and needs. What a pathetic excuse for a human being.

[Mr. Sparkle]

19. I was surprised she didn't use her fall back answer ...

"I like to read the military times, you know, to show that I support the troops." I bet it crossed her mind about 30 seconds later, just after she had her "D'Oh" moment.

[Cass]

21. My god, the whining never, ever stops with this woman.

The perpetual victimhood is getting old.

And her inner 'mean girl' surfaces once again when she talks about Katie Couric - seems she never misses an opportunity to take an unprofessional, catty swipe at Couric.

[Taverner]

25. Exactly! eom

[closeupready]

22. Bunch of nonsense. You failed. End of story.

Couric was giving you SOFTBALLS, and you couldn't handle even THAT. Honey, you are so out of your league, it ain't funny.

[liberal N proud]

23. Not near as annoyed as we are being force fed this book.

[Kablooie]

24. and so ... What papers DOES she read? She's never said.

[Mariana]

56. Sure she did. She reads all of them. Remember? nt.

[sunnybrook]

59. wasn't it all of them

that they put in front of her or something like that?

[NYC Liberal]

26. Geez, it was just an offhand, "by the way" kind of question! It wasn't meant to be anything serious!

The only reason it became this huge thing is because she couldn't answer that simple question - probably because she doesn't read.

I don't see how simply naming her local paper would be "twisted" - even if she was bullshitting it. Unless she did what she did, or said she read Ku Klux Klan's newsletter or something, nobody would have even remembered the question.

[stanwyck]

29. Wow. I wonder how she'll characterize world leaders.

There's the maniacal one again? There's the dangerously insane one again? Couric did NOT ask Palin "how she stayed in touch with the "real world." That's just Palin spinning her inability to answer a simple question that wouldn't throw your average fifth grader off course. She was asked straight out what she reads on a regular basis. And she couldn't answer the question.
The people who worship this woman are fools.

[sinkingfeeling]

30. This isn't news in the slightest. I want Palin to just STFU and go away.

[graywarrior]

31. No Sarah, not annoyED, you are annoyING.

[Submariner]

32. We need to keep this airhead "Annoyed" for the next month

and keep her off message. We need to keep her on the defensive.

The hot and heavy crap is coming down in the Senate on HCR, and we don't need this airhead out there on the talk show circuit spewing anti-health care talking points to her "fired up" racist ignoramus base. The health care fiasco does not need her spoon stirring the pot.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[superconnected]

39. It should be called unplanned parenthood.

[uppityperson]

42. Why?

[superconnected]

44. If you don't get a joke, I can't help ya.

[uppityperson]

58. ah.

calling planned parenthood "unplanned parenthood" is a joke? Promoting the use of contraceptives is...a joke. Ah

[superconnected]

63. I see you still don't get the joke.

Ah well, humor is a higher form of thought. Not everyone has it. I see why your name is "uppityperson."

[uppityperson]

64. Ah. insults rather than explanations. AH indeed

[Name removed]

65. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[uppityperson]

69. Ah. Insults again.

[mitchum]

34. "Quit making me stupid!"

[pundaint]

36. What is there to say about Palin?

She has been wholly fabricated out of commentary. Withdraw that and she will fade into the land of asterisks.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

37. LBN?

Really?

Kind of watering it down, isn't it?

[superconnected]

38. She can't handle an interview but thought she should be 2nd in line for President.

Amazing.

[2Design]

40. who pays her while she goes on this book tour? Do the networks?

I know she is addicted to the shining lights but doesn't realized her lights are out

[tammywammy]

41. She didn't look "annoyed" just stupid that she couldn't answer such a softball question. n/t

[LiberalLovinLug]

43. A consumate lier

She couldn't think of a paper, because she rarely picked one up.
To cover her non-answer she attacks the questioner.

This doesn't have its own thread, which it probably should but this is taken from a link on the Top 10 Conservative Idiots
By Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Dish
Bookmark it.

After you have read these, ask yourself: what wouldn't Sarah Palin lie about if she felt she had to?

Palin lied when she said the dismissal of her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, had nothing to do with his refusal to fire state trooper Mike Wooten; in fact, the Branchflower Report concluded that she repeatedly abused her power when dealing with both men.

Palin lied when she repeatedly claimed to have said, "Thanks, but no thanks" to the Bridge to Nowhere; in fact, she openly campaigned for the federal project when running for governor.

Palin lied when she denied that Wasilla's police chief and librarian had been fired; in fact, both were given letters of termination the previous day.

Palin lied when she wrote in the NYT that a comprehensive review by Alaska wildlife officials showed that polar bears were not endangered; in fact, email correspondence between those scientists showed the opposite.

Palin lied when she claimed in her convention speech that an oil gas pipeline "began" under her guidance; in fact, the pipeline was years from breaking ground, if at all.

Palin lied when she told Charlie Gibson that she does not pass judgment on gay people; in fact, she opposes all rights between gay spouses and belongs to a church that promotes conversion therapy.

Palin lied when she denied having said that humans do not contribute to climate change; in fact, she had previously proclaimed that human activity was not to blame.

Palin lied when she claimed that Alaska produces 20 percent of the country's domestic energy supply; in fact, the actual figures, based on any interpretation of her words, are much, much lower.

Palin lied when she told voters she improvised her convention speech when her teleprompter stopped working properly; in fact, all reports showed that the machine had functioned perfectly and that her speech had closely followed the script.

Palin lied when she recalled asking her daughters to vote on whether she should accept the VP offer; in fact, her story contradicts details given by her husband, the McCain campaign, and even Palin herself. (She later added another version.)

Palin lied when she claimed to have taken a voluntary pay cut as mayor; in fact, as councilmember she had voted against a raise for the mayor, but subsequent raises had taken effect by the time she was mayor.

Palin lied when she insisted that Wooten's divorce proceedings had caused his confidential records to become public; in fact, court officials confirmed they released no such records.

Palin lied when she suggested to Katie Couric that she was involved in trade missions with Russia; in fact, she has never even met with Russian officials.

Palin lied when she told Shimon Peres that the only flag in her office was the Israeli flag; in fact, she has several flags.

Palin lied when she claimed to have tried to divest government funds from Sudan; in fact, her administration openly opposed a bill that would have done just that.

Palin lied when she repeatedly claimed that troop levels in Iraq were back to pre-surge levels; in fact, even she acknowledged her "misstatements," though she refused to retract or apologize.

Palin lied when she insisted that the Branchflower Report "showed there was no unlawful or unethical activity on my part"; in fact, that report prominently stated, "Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act."

Palin lied when she claimed to have voiced concerns over Wooten fearing he would harm her family; in fact, she actually decreased her security detail during that period.

Palin lied when asked about the $150,000 worth of clothes provided by the RNC; in fact, solid reporting contradicted several parts of her statement.

Palin lied when she suggested that she had offered the media proof of her pregnancy with Trig to "correct the record"; in fact, no reports of her medical records were ever published; and the letter from her doctor testifying to her good health only emerged hours before polling ended on election day, even though there was nothing in it that couldn't have been released two months earlier.

Palin lied when she said that "reported" allegations of her banning Harry Potter as mayor was easily refutable because it had not even been written yet; in fact, the first book in that series was published in 1998 - two years into her first term - and such rumors were never reported by the media, only circulated as emails.

Palin lied when she denied having participated in a clothes audit with campaign laywers; in fact, the Washington Times later confirmed those details.

Palin lied when asked about Couric's question regarding her reading habits; in fact, Couric's words were not, "What do you read up there in Alaska?" or anything close to condescension.

Palin lied when she mischaracterized the "$1200 check" given to Alaskans as the permanent fund dividend check; in fact, that fund had yielded $2,069 per person, and she claimed otherwise to obscure the fact that Alaskans also received a $1200 rebate check from a windfall profits tax on oil companies - a tax widely criticized by Republicans.

Palin lied when she claimed to be unaware of a turkey being slaughtered behind her during a filmed interview; in fact, the cameraman said she had picked the spot herself, while the slaughter was underway.

Palin lied when she denied having rejected federal stimulus money; in fact, she continued to accept and reject the funds several times.

Palin lied when she claimed that legislative leaders had canceled a meeting with her to hold their own press conference; in fact, they only canceled it after being told she would not participate, and the purpose of the press conference was very different from the meeting's.

Palin lied when she announced on the news that she never holds closed-door meetings; in fact, she had just attended a closed-door meeting with the legislature earlier that day.

Palin lied when she said that former aide John Bitney's "amicable" departure was for "personal" reasons; in fact, Bitney said he was fired because of his relationship with the wife of Palin's friend, plus a Palin spokesperson later claimed "poor job performance" for his firing - without elaborating.

Palin lied when she said she kept her running injury a secret on the campaign trail; in fact, her bandaged hand was clearly visible in photographs and the story was widely talked about.

Palin lied when she claimed that Alaska has spent "millions of dollars" on litigation related to her ethics complaints; in fact, that figure is much, much lower, and she had initiated the most expensive inquiry.

Palin lied when she denied that the Alaska Independence Party supports secession and denied that her husband had been a member; in fact, even the McCain campaign noted that the party's very existence is based on secession and that Todd was a member for seven years.

[Cass]

61. Wow, great compilation! Saying the Israeli flag is the only flag in her office

is pretty disturbing - no American flag, no Alaskan flag but an Israeli flag is the only flag displayed in the Alaska Governors' office. For her to even say this, even though it is not true, is just flat-out bizarre.

[damntexdem]

45. Yeah, well I'm annoyed by Palin's answers -- to almost any question.

What the heck -- I'm just annoyed by Palin, period.

[unkachuck]

48. annoyed?

....I think you mean more like, dumbfounded....just like I'm dumbfounded that your still running for prez in 2012....

....you'd better get rove and the boys hustling soon, your reinvention/reconstruction is going to make W's look easy....

[MadMaddie]

50. Hey Sarah you weren't running for a beauty pageant

your were running for the 2nd highest position in the US.....we were annoyed you didn't have the sense to attempt to answer the question.

[bamacrat]

52. Im sure she would have loved it she were asked what team are you rooting for ....

oh wait Alaska doesnt have any teams fine. Which sledder she liked in the Iditerod.

[Javaman]

54. Well then failin, you wouldn't mind answering the question now?

frankly, I think she wanted to answer the question, but replying with, "the john birch society newsletter", somehow wouldn't cut it. I think she knew that.

She has the inability to speak extemporaneously.

The woman is a functional moron.

[tantip1]

57. Levi Knows More About Palin!

I wonder how much Levi will get offered to spill the beans on Palin since he said he knew something about Palin that would bring her down, I wonder what it could be.

[marshall]

62. Lots of people are annoyed by Katie

That's why people listen to her. That's how she gets the answers.

[superconnected]

66. Media Whore.

[Blandocyte]

70. I have been "annoyed" by questions on tests

that I should've known the answer to. Sounds similar.