Sarah Palin

Gov. Sarah Palin says success on a local level exemplifies experience

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 and saw-toothed mountain peaks, and even as a parking spot for their sea plane outback.

I can’t image you’re going from governor of the small populated state, smallest populated too. All of a sudden, you are being talked about for vice president and you got this.

That is, you know Alaska seems to be such micro-cause move to the rest of the US. And to me, 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.

That’s how what you said to yourself at some point in the past two weeks. Wholly cow!

Haven’t had time to think that together to say that, um, I have certainly said, well, what an opportunity and it’s a humbling, humbling experience already. It’s very humbling.

Little frightening?

Not so much frightening.

Overwhelming?

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

(You spoke…) That adds to it.

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

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

We continued our interview in the comfort of 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 to strengthen the economy. We need to put government back on the side of the people, and make sure that it is not government’s solely \ 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 was come in, and we cut personal property taxes in Wasilla. We cut small business inventory taxes ….

You raised the sales tax.

Now, well, we had a two percent sales tax, and when people came to local government and said we want a sports arena here, I said that’s fine, and I wanna a sports arena also. But we are gonna have to pay for it.

Yet, I didn’t want to get off the facility, but you can aim the city with the debt-free city in left with. Consider of millions of dollars of debt.

A 13 million dollars sports arena that you bounded for, but thing we put government on the side of the people by asking them if that’s they wanted. It was a question on the ballot, and they got to vote, yes, or no, so that’s what we did. We eliminated small business inventory taxes, I eliminated things like business license renewal fees on our small businesses. Those economic indicators of success on a local level should provide to America that were viewed that I have of what we can do on a local level, and then a state level where we just suspended our fuel tax on our state or so. Get taxes under control but at the same time we are cutting taxes you got to reduce the growth of government.

And I wanna come back to the question I wanna know because 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 also of the agencies, including the quasi-government agencies like Freddie and Fannie, those things that have created an atmosphere here in the America where people are fearful of losing their homes, people are looking at job loss, people are looking at unaffordable health care for their families, we have got to reform the oversight of these agencies that have such control over American’s 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 and the oversea agencies and committees to make sure that America’s dollars and investments are protected.

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

We are gonna find efficiencies in every department, we have got to. There’s something that I think should be off the table. Veteran’s programs off the table. You know, we owe it to our veterans, that’s the greatest manifestation 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 you may 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 specifically, you are saying take military off the table, Do you talk about entitlement reform? Is there money you can save in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?

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

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

We have certainly seen access in agencies though, and in when bureaucrats, when bureaucracy just gets this kind of comfortable goal 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 in government for this private sector and our families can grow in prosper.

The interview Sarah Palin with Charles Gibson.