Saturday, September 13, 2008

Palin: Okay! Okay! I Didn't Quite Say "Thanks, But No Thanks," Alright?

In the newest installment of Charlie Gibson's interview with Sarah Palin, airing tonight, she was pressed to explain her frequent claim that she said "thanks, but no thanks" to the Bridge to Nowhere," and appeared to concede that, well, she hadn't quite said that...

Palin doesn't contest Gibson's version of events: That she favored the bridge even when Congress pulled the plug on it and after it became apparent that the state would have to foot the bill for any new costs. The key moment comes where Palin, after getting pressed, seems to make a concession of sorts, saying she was "for infrastructure being built in the state."

Palin added that "it's not inappropriate for a mayor or for a governor" to try to get "a share of the federal budget for infrastructure."

Of course it isn't! As she says, of course a mayor or governor is going to want to tap the Federal budget for money for local infrastructure buildup, and of course members of Congress will try to get it done, too.

But that isn't the issue. It's very easy to get distracted here, but again, the rub is Palin's frequent claim that she said "thanks, but no thanks" to Federal help for the big local project. The problem is her and McCain's latter-day effort to portray her as having been some kind of Joan of Arc of pork-slayers.

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