Sarah Palin Interview Analysis 2

Sarah Palin continued her discussion with ABC’s Charlie Gibson. Just as she had been during the first part of the meeting, she was feisty, combative and perhaps even defiant.

When Gibson asked, “Didn’t George Bush come to Washington eight years ago talking about reforming Washington in the same kind of language?”, Palin replied rather matter-of-factly, “Well, we’re promising the reform. And we are the mavericks”. Palin is certainly a maverick (she has an unwed pregnant daughter and premarital sex/pregnancy which goes against traditional Republican ideals), but can she truly “reform” Washington, given that she has so little experience in her current job?

Regarding “The Bridge to Nowhere”, Gibson asked, “You have said (that) continually, since he (i.e. McCain) chose you as his vice-presidential nominee, that I said to Congress thanks, but no thanks. If we wanted to build that bridge, we’ll build it ourselves” to which Palin replied “Right”. Then, however, Gibson made the following remark/observation that really forced Palin onto the defensive: “But it’s now pretty clearly documented. You supported that bridge before you opposed it”. How did Palin respond? “I was wearing a T-shirt with the zip code of the community that was asking for that bridge. Not all the people in that community even were asking for a $400 million or $300 million bridge”. This is another strike against Palin. This “bridge to nowhere” is an earmark and Palin has flip-flopped on this issue and flip-flopping is exactly what killed Democrat John Kerry’s campaign in 2004. The question is: will John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign fall by the wayside for the same reason?