A Tale of Two Palin Interviews With Gibson

UPDATE: The full, unedited transcript of Governor Palin's interview with Charles Gibson.
h/t American Digest.

Must say I thought Governor Palin's second interview Friday night from her home in Wasilla, Alaska with Charlie Gibson on ABC went far better, seemed more relaxed than Thursday night's segment from Fairbanks in which Gibson seemed condescending to the point of haughty towards her.

Clearly, he does not consider Palin one of his elitist own and it shows in an embarrassing way---embarrassing for Gibson that is. I found his tone and manner unattractive to say the least though it did seem to mellow a bit tonight.

In the first Thursday night segment I came away nervous about the Bush doctrine thing and wondered if I was the only one who couldn't pin down the definition succinctly. I too would have had to ask Gibson to clarify his understanding of the doctrine, as Palin did, in order to answer his question. But I wondered how her asking would play with the MSM. Would she be summarily dismissed as an ignoramous?

For me that was the emotional low point of the first interview. Otherwise I thought Palin handled herself well enough for a first go at it with an interviewer who clearly was not nearly so interested in getting to know her and her beliefs as in showing her up as inadequate for the jobs of VEEP or POTUS any way he could.

Friday morning after that first interview however came a startling revelation from Charles Krauthammer, columnist for the WaPo who had evidently first coined the phrase 'Bush doctrine' back in 2001: even Charlie Gibson had gotten the Bush doctrine thing wrong Thursday night! According to Krauthammer, the phrase Bush doctrine has evolved and changed over the past eight years. He goes on to elaborate:

"There is no single meaning of the Bush doctrine. In fact, there have been four distinct meanings, each one succeeding another over the eight years of this administration -- and the one Charlie Gibson cited is not the one in common usage today. It is utterly different."

Krauthammer explained the Bush doctrine had evolved from meaning 1) unilateralism after Bush refused to sign on to Kyoto to 2) 'You're either with us or for the terrorists' after 9/11, to 3) preemptive war as we prepared to go to war in Iraq, to now 4)the idea that "the fundamental mission of American foreign policy is to spread democracy throughout the world."

Wow. Suddenly Gibson looked even more smug, rhetorical and self-serving than he had seemed the night before. Palin looked entirely reasonable. And I didn't feel so stupid either.

Tonight, Palin came across more relaxed, self-assured with Gibson, more willing to define herself, as a leader must, and let the chips fall where they may. When Gibson called our economy "very sick," Palin countered that the economy is weak then elaborated the need for low taxes, reduced federal spending, increased accountability for the agencies that spend tax payers' money. She decried the secret earmarking process. More here in video.

Palin opened the book of her life's convictions to reassert she is pro-life but thinks abortion should be a state rather than a federal issue. She said she had no idea whether homosexuality is genetic but says she does not judge them. She reiterated that she grew up in a gun culture in a gun toting state and, needless to say, she's against banning assault weapons.

And then Palin confides to Gibson as a parting salvo she thinks Obama may be regretting not putting Hillary on the Dem's ticket and follows up with some more complimentary words for the former POTUS contender.

Overall, I came away from Palin's Friday interview with a sense of relief and conviction that she's solid in what she believes. It comes from real life experience. She knows what are negotiables and non-negotiables in her political beliefs. And in knowing them, she'll stand by them and up to the likes of Charlie Gibson with grace and grit in the weeks ahead.

Meanwhile, Newt on Palin.