Sarah Palin Pans Obama for His Handling of Egypt Crisis

Sarah Palin, in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network to be aired Monday, says the revolution in Egypt "is that 3 a.m. White House phone call" to President Barack Obama that "went right to the answering machine."

Palin also questioned whether "those who are screaming for democracy there in Egypt" can be trusted. Palin taped the interview with David Brody, CBN's White House correspondent, on Friday night after her speech at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, commemorating the late President Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday. The network released a transcript of the interview online; the full interview will appear on the 700 Club show on Monday.

The reference to the 3 a.m. phone call reprises an ad Hillary Clinton ran in the 2008 Democratic primary campaign that was meant to underline her experience in foreign policy and Obama's lack of it.

Palin didn't say what she believes should be done in response to the turmoil in Egypt, which began Jan. 25 when young protesters took to the streets to demand that President Hosni Mubarak leave office. But she acknowledged that a change of leadership in the northern African country is imminent.

"Who's going to fill the void?" Palin asked. "Mubarak, he's gone, one way or the other... Is it going to be the Muslim Brotherhood? We should not stand for that, or with that or by that.

"Any radical Islamists, no, that is not who we should be supporting and standing by, so we need to find out who was behind all of the turmoil and the revolt and the protests so that good decisions can be made in terms of who we will stand by and support," she said.

Palin told Brody that the Obama administration hasn't adequately explained the situation to the American public.

"Surely they know more than the rest of us know who it is who will be taking the place of Mubarak," she said. "We need to know what it is that America stands for so we know who it is that America will stand with. And we do not have all that information yet."

During the height of protests last week, Obama said an orderly transition in Egypt needed to begin "right now," though Mubarak has said he would remain in power until elections next September. On Saturday, the administration appeared to be calling for a more gradual transfer of power.

In the interview, Palin left the door open to a 2012 GOP presidential bid. When Brody asked her what she would do differently if she runs for president than the 2008 race when she was John McCain's running mate, she said, she "would continue on the same course of not really caring what other people say about me or worrying about the things that they make up, but having that thick skin and a steel spine."

Taking a shot at one of her favorite targets, the press, Palin said, "I think much of the mainstream media is already becoming irrelevant...We're so far from being able to trust what so many of the mainstream media personalities, characters, feed the American public that it scares me for our country."

Palin shrugged off criticism for not attending the Conservative Political Action Conference later this month, noting she declined to attend because of scheduling conflict. Some have attributed that to differences she has had with David Keene of the American Conservative Union, a longtime organizer of the annual conference.

"I've never attended a CPAC conference ever so I was a little taken aback this go around when I couldn't make it to this one either and then there was a speculation well I either agree or disagree with some of the groups or issues that CPAC is discussing," she said. "It really is a matter of time for me."

Palin's busy schedule won't include at least one other event to which she had been invited. A nonprofit group that benefits military veterans said Saturday it was canceling the May appearance for "safety concerns" because of "an onslaught of negative feedback" after a public announcement Friday. Tickets starting at $165 went on sale for the event starting in mid-January.

But that cancellation means Palin's schedule would be clear on May 2 - when NBC and Politico are sponsoring a GOP presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.