'Meet the Press' transcript for August 31, 2008

MR. BROKAW: To that end, the National Review said, "By picking Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain has wowed the public and enthused the right. He has reinforced some of his winning themes that he has the mind-set of an outsider and a fighter against corruption. He's also reinforced his appeal as a candidate more in touch with traditional values and moral issues." That goes to the base.

There are other Republicans who are saying, "Listen, we'll be able to pull those Hillary Clinton voters who are not happy with the way Obama treated her across the line." What are the chances of that, Andrea?

MS. ANDREA MITCHELL: Well, they, they think now that they have a story. They have a story of a working mom, she is a colorful character, an Annie Oakley, you know, Annie get your gun. They love her story. But when she tried to talk about Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, in western Pennsylvania yesterday at a rally with conservative Republican voters, Hillary Clinton was booed. So she can use the Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro analogy if she wants to in interviews. She cannot use that at Republican rallies. She is not appealing to the same women who were really voting or supporting Hillary Clinton on ideological issues, but they think that they can peel off some of these working class women, not college-educated, who--the blue collar women who were voting for Hillary Clinton and may be more conservative on social causes.

Clearly, on the abortion issue, this is a woman who not only believe in fighting abortion, she made a personal choice which she's willing to talk about. She had a baby after being told that the baby would be developmentally challenged, her infant child. So she is a portrait of that.

The interesting thing is that John McCain has--as Mike has said--has returned to the original John McCain, the maverick. We are told that he wanted to pick Joe Lieberman. They tested it. He wanted to throw that long ball, and having tried that and having been shot down by the conservative base, he still wanted to fight Washington, to choose someone who took on Ted Stevens, and to take on the public corruption issue, and to say, Washington is broken. They decided they've reached a ceiling. The experienced argument was not working. They had to adapt and take the change argument, which was working somewhat for the Democrats, and by taking it, saying Washington is broken, this woman will help me fit it--fix it. It doesn't get to how is he going to govern. It gets to how me makes decisions. It's a fascinating portrait of John McCain.

MR. BROKAW: There's another issue in all of this, and Maria Bartiromo got to it when she interviewed Governor Sarah Palin just last week.

Maria, we have you in New York, but I want to share with our audience, first of all, that interview in which you talked about energy and the oil pipeline that she negotiated on far better terms than her Republican predecessor for the people of Alaska. Let's listen to some of that and then get your reaction to it.

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK): When you consider the naysayers, the--kind of the fearmongers, 30 years ago before the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline was built--and remember, that pipeline has supplied 15 billion barrels of oil into our domestic supplies here in America--and by the way, Biden, Joe Biden, was one who voted against that Trans-Alaska oil pipeline 30 years ago. He was fearful of allowing ramped up domestic supplies of energy even then, so of course, I fear that if he's of the same mind today, we're in a world of hurt there.

MR. BROKAW: That's Sarah Palin talking about getting the oil pipeline reactivated again, the one that began, as she pointed out, 30 years ago. But at the same time, Maria, she talks about wanting to drill in the Arctic Wildlife Reserve. Is she going to hold to that position?

MS. MARIA BARTIROMO: Yeah, I think so, Tom, and I think that this is a very, very important point, because while yes, we spoke about anti-corruption and about Hillary and her charisma, I think the biggest value she brings to the ticket is her expertise in energy. This is her comfort zone. She made a very compelling case to me that the area that we're talking about that is being debated about whether or not to drill, ANWR as you mentioned, is 2,000 acres in a 20 million acre plain. This is her comfort zone, this is really what she's overseeing.

Alaska is one of the few oil-rich areas we have in this country alone. She is going to really campaign on that--on that platform, not only as energy and oil relates to the economy. We know that oil is one of the biggest issues we face when it comes to the economy. It's certainly crippled the economy over the last year, watching oil prices reach record highs. But also, as energy relates to national security. So this is a very, very important piece of the picture, and I think she brings great value there, making that point that it is a small swath of land, and it really will not impact the wildlife, as of course is the concern, because we've got caribou and bears and moose there, and the upset or the worry is that it's going to impact the breeding of the wildlife. She feels very strongly that that is not the case, and I think that that knowledge of energy is going to be very important for the McCain ticket.

MR. BROKAW: Beyond energy, how conversant is she with the other big economic issues of the day, especially the liquidity crisis that this country is facing, home foreclosures?

MS. BARTIROMO: Well, she felt, actually, that the Republican Party has a--has a advantage when it comes to the credit card issue, when it comes to credit. She felt that Joe Biden dropped the ball on that. She talked to me a little about that in the interview. She also talked about healthcare. She had real opinions in terms of what should be done with regard to economic growth overall. And the truth is, Tom, is that energy is a big party of that. I mean, that really is one of the, one of the biggest issues we face.

On the, on the banking sector upset, he's going to need more credibility, obviously, McCain, on that issue. I don't think that she's necessarily well-versed in, in, in the liquidity crunch, but, but I think that, that she came across so strong with regard to economic matters as they relate to energy and as they relate to overall economic growth that I think it was a very savvy pick, actually. She's very accessible, very personable, as, as you've said. You know, when I was walking around, we went to the highest point in Anchorage and we walked around a field so she could show me really where the main areas were for, for drilling and you had to see her with some of the people on the ground. She, she went over to people. I mean, clearly a reporter is, is there with her, so she has an agenda there, but she was very comfortable going and, and, and welcomed by the people and, and even the people on the ground, when I was traveling there throughout Alaska. You know, one person said to me, I said, "So how's the governor doing?" to the driver of the, of the car and people on the plane and in the airport. And they said, "You know, we, we really, we love her. The first thing that she did when she got in office is she gave up the plane, the private plane, and she gave up the chefs." And she said, "Look, I don't need any of this. I want to focus on economics. I want to focus on what Alaska can do for the rest of the country."

And remember, if we were to see drilling, not only in that ANWR area, but on the coast in the North Slope, that's also a lot of job creation because there are ripple effects to drilling and she talked a lot about that as well, how we could see tremendous job creation as a result of activity in that part of the country. So clearly that is her sweet spot and that's what she is going to be focused on. I think you make a good point about the liquidity crunch, but I also have to be impressed with her knowledge on this issue of energy, one of the biggest that we face.

MR. BROKAW: All right. Thanks very much, Maria Bartiromo of CNBC, whose interview with the governor, by the way, is in BusinessWeek magazine.

Until the moment that she was chosen, however, there was some question about would John McCain reach all the way to the North Slope for his vice presidential candidate? That included Sarah Palin herself. This is the interview that she gave to a reporter on July 31st of this year. That's just six weeks ago. Let's listen to this for a moment.

(Videotape, July 31, 2008)

GOV. PALIN: But as for that VP talk all the time, I tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the VP does every day? I'm used to being very productive and working real hard and in administration. We want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW: You don't think, David Gregory, we're going to see that on some Democratic ad, do you?

MR. DAVID GREGORY: I think there just might be a chance, just like that there, there is that historical tape from John McCain as well, questioning the value of the vice presidency. I just want to make one point here about the potential outreach to independent voters, who with this pick have the opportunity, if they're Republican leaning, to vote for history without voting for Barack Obama. And I think that's significant. I think the oil issue is one that's gotten some traction for John McCain among independent voters. So, you know, Mike brings up the point, are there new voters that are available through this? I do think independents are possible here and it goes back to this change argument. On my way over here this morning, there's a billboard and it's got McCain hugging Bush and it says, "Is this what change looks like?" After hearing Obama's speech in Denver, I think it became very clear to the McCain campaign that if they don't get into the debate about who can bring you change, that they could lose and lose badly. They may have an advantage on national security, they have got to level out this change argument.

MR. BROKAW: How unsettled were the Republicans by Obama's speech on Thursday night in Denver?

MR. MURPHY: I think pretty unsettled. Kind of the officer class of the Republican Party took it very, very seriously and said that was a very--and I believed it, too--a smart speech that put him into all kinds of places he needs to be to win the election, a lot of senators messaging. So I think that the Republican Party, I think that the McCain campaign wanted a change-up. The question is that I keep coming back with, you know, I don't believe the puma theory. I don't believe that pro-choice Democratic Primary voters are going to switch parties to the Republican to vote for a pro-life running mate who's a Christian conservative. I just can't see it. So in the kind of blue-collar cultural conservative places, I think it will help McCain, but I think he's got most of that vote. A lot of it's a cultural protest vote to Obama and his liberalism.

The question is in the white, independent kind of wine and cheesier world, will she help or will she be a problem? And I, I agree with, with David, on part of it I can see her helping. Other parts, I--Oakland County, Michigan's the perfect example. I saw a poll in July where McCain was losing it by 11 points. Can't win Michigan with those numbers. He's got to bring Oakland County back. In the blue collar areas she'll help. In the more upscale, independent areas, her social positions are going to be a big problem, she's not going to help. So it's a balance and we're going, we're going to have to see how she plays. And if she, with her charisma and her corruption fighting can move the focus off I think her social positions. If the Obama campaign can trap her there, I think she's going to be an anchor. If she can be a reformer with McCain and get that stuff out of the main picture, she could help.

MR. BROKAW: She does have a very winning way about her, Doris, and--does that make it pretty tricky for Joe Biden when he debates her in a debate that will get a lot of attention anchored by Gwen Ifill, I think in St. Louis?

MS. KEARNS GOODWIN: Oh, no question. I mean, when I did sit with her over lunch and I was speaking at a, at a state legislator conference in Anchorage, she's absolutely charming, she's warm, she was well read, she was fun. And Biden has to worry about what Mr. Bush Sr. had to worry about when he debated Ferraro, that you cannot be condescending, you have to be careful and yet you want to unleash your counterpunch, as he would. I suspect he'll be preparing that for a long period of time. You know, and I think we make too much of the debate itself. Everybody keeps saying as long as she performs OK in the debate and she doesn't screw up, it's OK. It's what happens every day between now and then; some event occurs in Russia, can they ask her, "What do you think?"

MR. MURPHY: Yeah...(unintelligible).

MR. GREGORY: Well, can I just say, I think there's also an overstatement of the importance of social issues like abortion in this debate. This is a woman who's got five children and is the governor of Alaska. I think she's figured out the work-life balance that a lot of women struggle with.

MS. KEARNS GOODWIN: That's right.

MR. GREGORY: She went into labor and got on an airplane to go back to Alaska. That's pretty cool. I think there's a lot of people, men and women, who are going to look at this story and say, "This is a compelling person. I want to take a new look at this ticket."

MS. KEARNS GOODWIN: Yeah.

MR. MURPHY: And she has the benefit of low expectations, which in politics...

MS. MITCHELL: And in terms of the abortion issue, it has so fired up the base. The evangelical base, the, you know, the foundation of what John McCain needs, the people who came out in Ohio and elected George, you know, George Walker Bush, this is the, the key group that now is so energized. They were sitting on their hands, they were not excited about the other alternatives. They would have completely rebelled with Joe Lieberman. They tested that. They test marketed that and it was going to blow up the convention. The chairman of the Republican Party was told by state chairmen that there was going to be a floor fight right here to oppose Joe Lieberman if that were the pick. So that was when they retreated. And what surprised some of his closest advisers is that John McCain was so wedded to throwing that long ball that he went for Palin, surprising his closest intimates.

MS. KEARNS GOODWIN: Right.

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