Transcript of Palin's Interview With CNN's Wolf Blitzer

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And joining us now, the governor of Alaska.
The -- I guess you could call her now the former Republican vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin.

Governor, thanks very much for coming in.

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks, you can call me the has-been, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: No, you're not a has-been. A lot of people know that. Let's talk a little bit about what's going on in our country right now. It's a pretty historic moment when you think about it. The first African-American president, President-elect Barack Obama. This is historic. What does it mean to you?

PALIN: It's historic and I think this time is full of optimism. And it's an opportunity for everybody to get it together and start working together. For us as Republicans to reach out to Barack Obama and the new administration that will be ushered in and offer the solutions that we see for meeting some of America's great challenges right now.

This is an opportunity to all be working together. And of course, President-elect Obama had promised also bipartisan efforts to meet the challenges. So let's seize this opportunity, let's take him up on that offer. And let's start working together.

BLITZER: Are you ready to help him?

PALIN: Absolutely. Especially on energy independence, energy security that we need for this nation, being the governor of an energy-producing state knowing that we have the domestic solutions there in our state and in other energy-producing states.

I'm more than willing and able to help President-elect Obama to start tapping into the domestic solutions that we have now so we can quit being so reliant on foreign sources of energy.

BLITZER: So if he reaches out to you and says, Governor Palin, I need your help on energy or some other issues, kids with special needs, for example, and says, I want you to be part of a commission, you would be more than happy to say, yes, Mr. President.

PALIN: It would be my honor to assist and support our new president and the new administration, yes. And I speak for other Republicans, other Republican governors also, they being willing also to, again, seize this opportunity that we have to progress this nation together, a united front.

BLITZER: Because, you know, during a campaign, every presidential campaign, things are said, it's tough, as you well know, it gets sometimes pretty fierce out there. And during the campaign, you said this, you said: "This is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I see America."

And then you went on to say: "Someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he is palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."

PALIN: Well, I still am concerned about that association with Bill Ayers. And if anybody still wants to talk about it, I will, because this is an unrepentant domestic terrorist who had campaigned to blow up, to destroy our Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol. That's an association that still bothers me.

And I think it's still fair to talk about it. However the campaign is over. That chapter is closed. Now is the time to move on and to, again, make sure that all of us are doing all that we can to progress this nation.

Keep us secure, get the economy back on the right track, and many of us do have some ideas on how to do that and hopefully we'll be able to put all of that wisdom and experience to good use together.

BLITZER: So looking back, you don't regret that tough language during the campaign?

PALIN: No, and I do not think that it is off-base nor mean-spirited, nor negative campaigning to call someone out on their associations and on their record. And that's why I did it.

BLITZER: I just want to sort of footnote, was that your idea or did somebody write those lines for you?

PALIN: It was a collaborative effort there in deciding how do we start bringing up some of the associations that perhaps would be impacting on an administration, on the future of America. But again, though, Wolf, knowing that it really -- at this point, I don't want to point fingers backwards and play the blame game, certainly, on anything that took place in terms of strategy or messaging in the campaign.

Now is the time to move forward together, start progressing America.

BLITZER: Let's talk about some of the current issues on the agenda right now. And I speak to you as someone who is a emerging as a potential leader, not only in the Republican Party, but maybe if you want to run again for president or vice president down the road.

Right now a big issue, should the U.S. government, the federal government bail out the Detroit -- the big three automakers?

PALIN: Oh, that is the discussion of the day. And there is going to come a point here where absolutely the federal government must play an appropriate role in shoring up some of these industries that are hurting and will ultimately hurt our entire economy and the world's economy if there aren't some better decisions being made.

But we also have to start shifting some debate here in our country and start talking about personal responsibility and responsibility of management in some of these corporations and companies so that from henceforth it's not assumed that the federal government is going to be bailing out everybody who is going to soon line up, Wolf, for more taxpayer assistance.

And I'm talking about personal responsibility too in terms of homeowners and in terms of folks who maybe have extended their own credit. Sure, predatory lenders are to blame in all of this also, but we have got to make sure, for instance, we're not talked into buying a $300,000 house, because really we know we can only afford a $100,000 house.

And we've got to start living those lessons that we try to teach our children in terms of not living beyond our means and extending our own personal credit to the point of not being able to pay our monthly bills and then expecting government to grow and be the answer.

BLITZER: So, sorry, I'm still waiting for the answer, should the government bail out the big three automakers?

PALIN: Well, that -- it's in debate right now and I'm listening closely to the debate and there is a lot of information that even you and I certainly aren't privy to, to understand all of the ramifications if federal government were going to step in and bail out.

But we do know that the auto industry is that important that certainly it needs to be considered. But, you know, I'm not going to ignore the debate again that I think needs to lead to the personal responsibility, the management decisions that have been made in some of these companies and corporations that have also led us to where we are.

BLITZER: So I hear you saying you need more information right now.

PALIN: Yes, I do. Yes.

BLITZER: What about the $700 billion bail out of the financial industry?
Was that the right thing to do with hindsight, based on what you know right now, or the wrong thing to do?

PALIN: I still believe that it was the right thing to do to be able to propose this rescue package, certainly in the home mortgage industry, because with foreclosures up 71 percent, compared to where we were last year on foreclosures, this is the -- this is bad ultimately for our entire economy.

And it doesn't do any neighborhood or any community, any state any good to see the rate of foreclosures that we have. So with home mortgages and overall with the general bailout plan, yes, I think it was the right thing to do, the federal government had to take some action.

But it cannot be assumed again that taxpayers can be looked to for all of the bailouts as more and more corporations, companies, entities, come forward with their hand out for governments to…

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Should…

PALIN: … the bill.

BLITZER: … Congress go forward right now with another economic stimulus package to help the struggling middle class?

PALIN: I do want to see the struggling middle class be the ones at the end of the day who are not stuck with the bills and stuck with the burdens. But I am not one, again, to believe that it should be just assumed that it's taxpayer bailout that will be the solution to all of the problems, all of the financial challenges that our nation is facing.

Supportive of the $700 billion initial, now hearing more rumors, more speculation of even greater amounts being poured into that. There again, need more information but not being so enthused about a second, a third, a fourth stimulus package.

BLITZER: President Bush only has, what, two-and-a-half months or so left. What would you like to see him do in these remaining days and weeks? What's the most important thing he should be doing right now?

PALIN: He is already doing that. And that is reaching out to Barack Obama and to both potential new cabinet members also, and those who we know will be in the cabinet, reaching out to them.

And not being one to stay away, to shy away from addressing the challenges that we have today, working with the new administration and start ushering in some solutions. So I appreciate that he has already done that.

And that bodes well for our president also. And other things also that bode well for President Bush and keeping our country safe for the last seven years with no new attack on the homeland, those things that I think we cannot lose sight of, that President Bush has allowed for progress in those areas in our nation. You know, I want to do a shout out to our president and thank him for that.

BLITZER: Even though he may have hurt you and John McCain in terms of becoming president and vice president?

PALIN: You know I think that there is so much blame to go around, if you will, in terms of why it was that the Republican ticket did not win.
And, it -- that's being attributed to, we didn't get the Hispanic vote, that really hurt; we were outspent tremendously because of course Obama took the private financing, John McCain stuck to his promise of just keeping the public financing of the campaign, so greatly outspent; Barack Obama was a great campaigner, he had a very strong organization.
So many reasons, I'm not going to look backwards there again and point to just President Bush and the administration as to why our ticket didn't prevail.

BLITZER: Do you look back and you say to yourself, I wish I would have done something differently? Is there anything -- you look back and say, you know, I think I could have done something differently that might have helped?

PALIN: I just wish that there had been more hours in the day, been able to speak to more Americans through the media. I would have --

BLITZER: We tried. We tried, God knows.

PALIN: Sorry, all right. I'm glad we're here today, Wolf.

Yes, but just more hours in the day so that we could have reached more Americans with that message of who it is that John McCain is. He is a true American hero; he does have solutions in mind for this country to get the economy back on the right track and to win the wars. But he now, as a leader in the Senate -- we're going to be looking to him, again, being able to unite the party, but also help to unite the nation, working with the new administration.

John McCain has continued to be that strong leader in America. And we need to listen to him.

BLITZER: Let's talk about affirmative action right now. It's a sensitive subject. Now that there is a president-elect who is African-American, do you believe it is time to get rid of affirmative action in our country?

PALIN: I am one to believe in equal opportunity for everyone. And there probably are some specific policies that it is time that America can kind of turn that page, understanding that with the intent of treating everybody equally and providing equal opportunity in the work place and in education, there are some specific policies that I'm sure we can move beyond. And here again, as Barack Obama prepares to take this office of Washington and of Lincoln, what progress our nation has made in not allowing race to be prohibitive at all -- a prohibitive factor in an election.

I'm so proud of America and very happy to see what Barack Obama -- he has accomplished this for himself, but also for our nation, for our children to know that race is not a factor, cannot be a factor, cannot be a ceiling or a prohibition towards progress.

BLITZER: Let's talk about some of the other issues. And we have a question, one of our I-Reporters sent this in. Eric Olson of Savage, Minnesota. He said he's a Democrat, he voted for Barack Obama, but he had this question.

PALIN: OK.
BLITZER: “Gov. Palin, before the election you were speaking with James Dobson of "Focus on the Family" and you said that you were confident that God would do the right thing for America on Nov. 4th. Did God do the right thing for America?”

PALIN: I don't know if that was my specific quote. But I do believe that there is purpose in everything. And for me personally I put my life in God's hands and ask him to -- don't let me miss some open door that he has for me, and I'll travel through that. I think the same thing for our nation as we seek God's guidance, his wisdom, his favor and protection over our nation, that at the end of the day, that the right thing is done.

And I do believe that prayers were answered, others who prayed across this nation in the election that this nation would be protected, that we would be safe, that we would be prosperous and favored. I believe that prayer is answered.

BLITZER: All right. Fair enough. What does Barack Obama have to do right now in your opinion to show that he's going to reach out to Republicans and independents and work in a bipartisan way?

PALIN: He needs to do what I did when I was elected governor of Alaska and that is you don't use a litmus test of partisanship. You do not look to someone's party affiliation but you look to fill your Cabinet positions especially with the best of the best. That's what I did as the governor of Alaska, appointing Democrats, independents, Republicans, all to work in a team effort, really walking the walk, not just talking the talk, not just that rhetoric of you know, an ability that's preached to reach across the aisle but he's really going to have to walk that and he can do that by appointing others who are not just a member of his own "Democrat" Party and I think we're going to see that.

BLITZER: Here is another question from Dan Wuan of Lansing, Michigan. He was undecided, he says he leaned McCain at one point, he was for Bush in '04. He ended up voting for Barack Obama. This is his question. "What would you propose the GOP do to reconcile this ideological shift in order to regain moderates and independents who so movingly voted for President-Elect Obama?"

He is referring to the ideological shift. Conservatives, social religious based versus the more moderate, pragmatic independents in the middle.

PALIN: Well, if there is some kind of perception that conservatives and those who maybe represent the conservative base are not pragmatic and are not – thinkin' along those lines that you put obsessive partisanship aside than you know I beg to differ with the whole premise of his question. Certainly this is an opportunity, though, too, bring people together, to unite and start finding the solutions to America's great challenges but as you're reading these viewers' questions, got any questions from anybody who voted for McCain?

BLITZER: I think we do but we're going to get to that.

PALIN: Oh good! OK!

BLITZER: Another question. What are your new ideas on how to take the Republican Party out of this rut that it's in right now? Give me one or two new ideas that you're going to propose to these governors who have gathered here in this hotel.

PALIN: Well, a lot of Republican governors have really good ideas for our nation because we're the ones there on the front lines being held accountable every single day in service to the people whom have hired us in our own states and the planks in our platform are strong and they are good for America. It's all about free enterprise and respecting the …

BLITZER: Does that mean you want to come up with a new Sarah Palin initiative that you want to release right now.

PALIN: Gah! Nothing specific right now. Sitting here in these chairs that I'm going to be proposing but in working with these governors who again on the front lines are forced to and it's our privileged obligation to find solutions to the challenges facing our own states every day being held accountable, not being just one of many just casting votes or voting present every once in a while, we don't get away with that. We have to balance budgets and we're dealing with multibillion dollar budgets and tens of thousands of employees in our organizations.

That executive experience that every governor has and must have being put to good use now as we work together as governors to help reach out to Barack Obama's administration, being able to help him make good decisions based on the solutions that we already seek. For me specifically of course, energy independence that is doable here in this country, we have the domestic solutions because we have the domestic supply.

BLITZER: And that's a huge issue for you.

Here is another question from Chris Plumstead of Cumberland, Maine.
Let me read it to you.

"I was wondering how you plan on dealing with a convicted felon as senator of your state." Referring – He is referring to Ted Stevens.

PALIN: Right!

BLITZER: He may or may not be reelected. We don't know. But what are your thoughts?

PALIN: Well, and after the four counts, the felony counts, in the …

BLITZER: Seven.

PALIN: Seven. Yeah. After they came back. And I called for him to step down. He chose not to. Now it is in the hands of the U.S. Senate. It takes two thirds vote to expel. It's up to the U.S. Senate to decide what to do but the voters of Alaska, the will of the people, was that he would be representing Alaska and whether some of that vote's intent was that he would win the election and then we would have a special election and still have a chance to hold onto that seat, the Republican Party, maybe that was some intention there of some of the voters but it's in the U.S. Senate's hands now, not in my hands.

BLITZER: So if he's reelected – they're still counting ballots, I take it, up there. And the Senate does – kicks him out of the Senate, is that something you might be interested in? Could you name yourself, for example, to succeed Ted Stevens?

PALIN: I suppose if you were that egotistical and arrogant you'd name yourself but I'm not one to name myself …

BLITZER: Do you want to be in the United States Senate?

PALIN: I believe that I have – I feel I have a contract with Alaskans to serve. I've got two more years in my term. I'm going to serve Alaskans to the best of my ability. At this point it is as governor.

Now if something shifted dramatically and if it were, if it were acknowledged up there that I could be put to better use for my state in the U.S. Senate, I would certainly consider that but that would take a special election and everything else. I am not one to appoint myself or a member of my family to take the place of any vacancy.

BLITZER: All right. So you're not going to name yourself but you're not ruling out the possibility of some other way of becoming a United States senator.

PALIN: I just don't want to close any doors at this point. Very, very happy, privileged, blessed to serve as governor, want to continue to do that but I'm not going to close a door in the future here. If Alaskans decide that perhaps I could be put to better use for them in another capacity.

BLITZER: You're not ruling out a run in 2012 for president of the United States, are you?

PALIN: Not ruling that out but there again, that is based on my philosophy that it's crazy to close a door before you know what's even open in front of you. You travel this road in life and as you turn a corner and there may be something there that circumstances change, you've got to call an audible and you decide to shift gears, take another direction, I'm always open for that.

But you've just got to be prepared and when you see opportunity and preparation meet, that's how you know that a door is open, you really go through it.

BLITZER: You have five children.

PALIN: Yes!

BLITZER: Michelle Obama and Barack Obama, they have two sweet little adorable girls.

PALIN: Sweet!

BLITZER: As you know.

Do you have any advice for Michelle Obama right now …

PALIN: Aww …

BLITZER: … who is about to become our first lady? Our first lady …

PALIN: Right. Right. Well, she is – I knew in the governor's mansion in Juneau, also, man, let the kids be kids, let them have their friends come over, let ‘em hold onto that childhood despite the fact that they are going to be in the public eye in more formal settings and everything else. Bring spunk and life into the White House. You do that via children being allowed to have fun and just be who they are and they are just going to have a blast so it's going to be good for the country also to see that young life in the White House I think it's going to just brighten up our entire country. I look forward to that.

BLITZER: I see a smile coming on your face just thinking about it.

PALIN: Absolutely. Yeah.

BLITZER: How did this campaign affect your family? Because your kids, they obviously came into the spotlight as well.

PALIN: My kids are cool, too!

They are very adaptable. They have been used to all these years me having a very busy schedule as a oil and gas regulator and a city manager and mayor and then governor and then Todd being very busy with a commercial fishing schedule and North Slope oil production schedule that he has – the kids have already been very adaptable, kind of going with the flow but at the same time being quite independent themselves and it's a great, fun family that we have. Also. Very full life. And they, too, I believe have felt that this has been the privilege of a lifetime to be able to get to know John McCain, be able to run with him, with his family, with the team that we had together. They got to travel the country and see things that of course never would they have had an opportunity before so it's been nothing but awesome.

BLITZER: Your son is serving in Iraq right now.

PALIN: Yeaaaaah.

BLITZER: Are you worried about the incoming commander-in-chief who is going to be his commander in effect.

PALIN: Well, you know, we've got make sure there too that Barack Obama surrounds himself with strong commanders who understand that our boys, our girls, with their boots on the ground -- their lives, my son's life, is in his hands. And I do have faith in this new administration that they are going to look out for America's finest, those in uniform, who are protecting us and our freedoms.

I have faith that all is going to be well. And my son, he's good. He is serving for the right reasons. He's a teenage kid who recognized that he had an opportunity to do all that he could, at his stage in life, to help protect America and to serve something greater than self. And I think about my son, I think about Track, in those terms and I think, is every elected official who is serving in government doing the same thing to the best of their ability? Are they protecting this country? Are they doing all that they can to make sure that our troops, over there especially, are well equipped, have the budget that they need, have all the tools that they need for them to do their jobs?

BLITZER: I'll leave it on that note because I know you're worried about your son every single day. Let's hope he is OK, let's hope all the men and women who serve in the U.S. Military in Iraq and elsewhere are OK.

Governor, I know it has been very busy but thanks very much for joining us.

PALIN: Thank you. Anytime. Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: As we say, better late than never.

PALIN: Thank you, Wolf. Appreciate you.

BLITZER: Thank you.