Palin: I'm Ready

Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin sat down for her first extended interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson. The full interview will be broadcast on Friday, but excerpts are available and were shown on the evening news broadcast. In one part of the interview, Gov. Palin addresses the questions about her experience and declares herself ready to serve as Vice-President, and president if necessary.

GIBSON: Governor, let me start by asking you a question that I asked John McCain about you, and it is really the central question. Can you look the country in the eye and say "I have the experience and I have the ability to be not just vice president, but perhaps president of the United States of America?"

PALIN: I do, Charlie, and on January 20, when John McCain and I are sworn in, if we are so privileged to be elected to serve this country, will be ready. I'm ready.

GIBSON: And you didn't say to yourself, "Am I experienced enough? Am I ready? Do I know enough about international affairs? Do I -- will I feel comfortable enough on the national stage to do this?"

PALIN: I didn't hesitate, no.

GIBSON: Didn't that take some hubris?

PALIN: I -- I answered him yes because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink. So I didn't blink then even when he asked me to run as his running mate.

Palin said that she has never met a foreign head of state and has only traveled outside the country once, to Germany and Kuwait to visit troops serving in the Iraq War and wounded troops receiving medical care. Palin counted that relative lack of worldliness as a strength, not a weakness, and fit it into the McCain's campaign's overall theme of shaking up the Washington establishment.

GIBSON: Have you ever met a foreign head of state?

PALIN: There in the state of Alaska, our international trade activities bring in many leaders of other countries.

GIBSON: And all governors deal with trade delegations.

PALIN: Right.

GIBSON: Who act at the behest of their governments.

PALIN: Right, right.

GIBSON: I'm talking about somebody who's a head of state, who can negotiate for that country. Ever met one?

PALIN: I have not and I think if you go back in history and if you ask that question of many vice presidents, they may have the same answer that I just gave you. But, Charlie, again, we've got to remember what the desire is in this nation at this time. It is for no more politics as usual and somebody's big, fat resume maybe that shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment, where, yes, they've had opportunities to meet heads of state ... these last couple of weeks ... it has been overwhelming to me that confirmation of the message that Americans are getting sick and tired of that self-dealing and kind of that closed door, good old boy network that has been the Washington elite.

There were problems for the governor in her appearance, though. Asked if she supports the Bush Doctrine, the right of the United States to active pre-emptively in its own defense, Palin seemed at first not to understand the question, answering in effect that she agreed with the president's overall stance in the war on terror. Gibson pressed her and asked whether she favored preemptive military action. Palin regained her footing, saying, "...if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have every right to defend our country. In fact, the president has the obligation, the duty to defend." Palin also seemed to support the notion that the U.S. has the right to make cross-border incursions into Pakistan to pursue al-Qaeda terrorists, even without permission of the Pakistani government. "In order to stop Islamic extremists, those terrorists who would seek to destroy America and our allies, we must do whatever it takes and we must not blink, Charlie, in making those tough decisions of where we go and even who we target," she said.

But there were problems for Gibson in his questioning as well. Gibson asked Palin about a statement she made at her church, originally misreported by the Associated Press. The AP report quotes the governor as saying that U.S troops in Iraq were, "on a task that is from God." But the transcript of the speech shows quite a different context. The full quote makes clear that Palin was expressing the hope that the troops were being wisely used, not attaching any religious significance to their mission.

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

Gibson presented Palin with the truncated AP quote in his interview, calling them her "exact words," and seeking her response. Palin said that she was paraphrasing a quotation from Abraham Lincoln, who said, "...let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God's side."

The McCain campaign has been preparing Gov. Palin for her national media debut and will assess the interview and her performance. There will likely be more interviews for her, and more preparations. The longer that the McCain campaign can keep the campaign focused on Gov. Palin, and off of Barack Obama, the better it is for Sen. McCain's chances of winning in November. Palin will eventually make the rounds of all the major media outlets, and her performances will only get stronger as a result.