访谈录 2008-09-17&09-19 ABC专访Sarah Palin

We caught up with Sarah Palin at her home on the western end of Wasilla, the two-storey home she and her husband built five years ago. It’s ringed by evergreens 1 and saw-toothed mountain peaks, and even as a parking spot for their seaplane outback.

I can’t imagine you’re going from governor of a small populated state -- sparsely 2 populated, to all of a sudden, you are being talked about for vice 3 president and you’ve got this.

I've got this, you know, in our Alaska, seems to be such a micro-cosmos to the rest of the US. And to me, it’s, it’s the same people, the same issues here much grander scale in some of the big cities that we were visiting. But, everybody has got issues, everybody has got burdens.

But haven't you said to yourself at some point in the past two weeks.  Holy cow!

 (I) haven't had time to think that yet, and just say that, um, I have certainly said, wow, what an opportunity and it’s a humbling 4, humbling experience already. It’s very humbling.

Little frightening?

Not so much frighteni

Overwhelming?

And not so much overwhelming, but just a great responsibility that I’m recognizing, a great responsibility, and certainly the, the drive to not let people down. Not let women down in this.

(You spoke…) That adds to it.

I, I saw you quoted it somewhere as speaking rather admiringly of Mrs. Clinton, Senator Clinton, during the primary campaign. (Do you) think Obama should have picked her?

I think he’s regretting not picking her now. I do. But what determination, and wit, and even grace through some tough shots that were fired her way. She, she handled those well.

We continued our interview in the comfort of the Palin’s living room.

Governor John McCain and you are now talking about the GOP as a party of change, we’ve got a very sick economy, tell me the three principal things you would do to change the Bush economic policies.

And you are right, our economy is weak right now, and we have got to strengthen it and government can play an appropriate role in helping 5 to strengthen the economy. We need to put government back on the side of the people, and make sure that it is not government solely 6 looked at for all the solutions for one. Let me tell you what I did here in the city of Wasilla, and then as governor of Alaska, what I did as a city council member then and then as mayor who was coming, and we cut personal property taxes in Wasilla. We cut small business inventory 7 taxes …..

You raised the sales tax.

No, well, we had a two percent sales tax, and when people came to local government and said we want a sports arena 8 here, I said that’s fine, and I wanna a sports arena also. But we are gonna have to pay for it.

Yet, you didn’t want get off the Wasilla, but you came into the city with a debt-free city, and left it with considerable millions of dollars of debt.

A thirteen-million-dollar sports arena that we  bounded for, but see we put government on the side of the people by asking them if that’s they wanted. It was a question on the ballot 9, and they got to vote, yes, or no, so that’s what we did. We only eliminated small business inventory taxes. I eliminated things like business license 10 renewal 11 fees on our small businesses. Those economic indicators 12 of success on a local level should provide to America that world view that I have of what we can do on a local level, and then at state level where we just suspended our fuel tax in our state also, get taxes under control but at the same time we are cutting taxes, you got to reduce the growth of government.  

And then I wanna come back to the question, I wanna know, Coz you’ve advertised yourself now as the party of change, I want to know what you would change in the Bush economic principles. What you said to me at the beginning, I don’t think anybody in the Bush administration would disagree with. What do you change in the Bush economic plans?

We have got to make sure that we reform the oversight 13 also of the agencies, including the quasi-government agencies like Freddie and Fannie, those things that have created an atmosphere here in America where people are fearful of losing their homes, people are looking at job loss, people are looking at unaffordable healthcare for their families, we have got to reform the oversight of these agencies that have such control over Americans’ pocket books.

So let me summarize the three things that you change in the Bush economic plans, one, two, three.

Reduce taxes, control spending, reform the oversight in the overseen 14 agencies and committees to make sure that America’s dollars and investments are protected.

So let me break down, some of those down. You talk about spending. How much smaller would the McCain budget be? Where would you cut?

We are gonna find efficiencies in every department, we’ve got to. There’s something that I think should be off the table. Veterans programs, off the table, you know, we owe it to our veterans, and that’s the greatest manifestation 15 that we can show in terms of support for our military, those who are in public service fighting for America.

Taking entitlements off the table? Or can we reform social security?

We need to get into every department, every division and that’s what’s gonna be the task of cabinet members, and the next level of bureaucracy, and the next level of bureaucracy.

Well, I’m trying to get it specifically, you were saying take the military off the table you talked about entitlement reform? Is there money you can save in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?

 I am sure that there are efficiencies that are gonna be found in all of these agencies, I am, I am confident in that.

But agencies are not involved in entitlements. Basically, discretionary spending is 18% of the budget.

We have certainly seen excess in agencies though, and in, when, when bureaucrats 16, when bureaucracy just gets kind of comfortable going with the status quo and not being challenged to find efficiencies and spend other people’s money wisely, and maybe I’m wrong, but I believe that the American people, their will at this time is to see efficiencies reigned 17 in government so that the private sector 18 and our families can grow and prosper 19.

The interview, Sarah Palin with Charles Gibson.