Palin Can't Name Supreme Court Case She Disagrees With Other Than Roe (VIDEO)

For days, word has been spreading that CBS Evening News was sitting on an embarrassing clip of Sarah Palin not being able to name a Supreme Court case other than Roe v. Wade. On Wednesday night, it was aired. And it could be just as devastating as imagined.

Interviewed by Katie Couric for the station's vice presidential question series, the Alaska Governor does, indeed, draw a blank. The topic was a bit more complex than simply naming another case. Asked which decisions, other that Roe, she disagreed with, her responses went as follows:

PALIN: Well, let's see. There's --of course --in the great history of America rulings there have been rulings, there's never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are -- those issues, again, like Roe v Wade where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know -- going through the history of America, there would be others but--"

COURIC: Can you think of any?

PALIN: Well, I could think of -- of any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level. Maybe I would take issue with. But you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a Vice President, if I'm so privileged to serve, wouldn't be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today.

WATCH: (Palin starts 2 minutes in, after Biden)

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Several days ago, the McCain campaign leaked word to Jonathan Martin of Politico that this segment was going to become public, topping off a series of shaky segments that the Republican vice presidential nominee had taped with Couric. And while Palin's answer certainly doesn't help her standing among voters already worried about her capacity to take over the job at a moment's notice, it's hard to imagine that the bar can move much lower than it already is.

The expectations are at a minimum for the vice presidential debate on Thursday night. Palin should be able to do better in Missouri than she has done on CBS.

UPDATE: Several readers have pointed out an equally telling statement Palin made during Wednesday night's Couric interview. Asked specifically if she believed the Constitution afforded a right to privacy, the Alaska Governor responded in the affirmative, even after reminded that it was the legal basis for Roe.

COURIC (to Palin): Do you think there's an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution?

PALIN: I do. Yeah, I do.

COURIC: The cornerstone of Roe v Wade.

PALIN: I do. And I believe that --individual states can handle what the people within the different constituencies in the 50 states would like to see their will ushered in in an issue like that.

COMPLETE VP DEBATE COVERAGE: BIDEN PALIN VIDEO, HIGHLIGHTS

Comments

[FLMomof2]

04:47 PM on 10/03/2008

LOL... anyone notice the "deer in headlights" look on Palin's face when asked to name a Supreme Court case she disagreed with? And up, isn't the whole reason things go to Supreme Court is because they've already gone to state supreme courts and were appealed?? DUH Palin!!

[meshach]

08:31 PM on 10/02/2008

The lady Palin isn't quick on her feet when it comes to specifics or in matters of which she is unfamiliar. Best she deals on issues in her own backyard. She's simply unqualified for national and international politics.
Why did McCain chose her instead of the host of qualified GOP women including but not limited to, Geraldine Ferraro, Christy Todd Whitman -- and the GOP men he totally ignored -- simply because those choices are taller and more poitically astute than he. McCain isn't threatened by the less formidable Palin. They are probably on the same level, flubbing along with drab repetitions, just hoping no one finds out the truth -- that is -- that they are so incredibly dumb. But smart-stupid can be dangerous --

[FatherWolf]

07:58 PM on 10/02/2008

I think that she went into complete non-content mode for the CBS interviews.

She said she hadn't met any foreign leaders -- neglecting to mention that she had met the President of Iceland.

She couldn't name any Supreme Court decisions she disagreed with - neglecting to mention her criticism of their ruling in Baker v. Exxon just this last summer.

She couldn't name any newspapers she reads - neglecting to mention even her hometown papers.

Maybe she's forgotten her old life back in Alaska. Maybe she just hears Wah Wah Wah Wah and responds Wah Wah Wah Wah.

[insanityfollows]

05:40 PM on 10/02/2008

What a twit. Twit, twit, twit. My new favorite word.

[Horsemeat]

05:36 PM on 10/02/2008

I think she will fair much better tonight after being coached so much--which is unfortunate because these clips need to be seen by EVERYONE.

[NeldaDee]

05:27 PM on 10/02/2008

I am LITERALLY about to pass out. I am actually trying to figure out a way to move my family out of the country if McCain is elected. I have never been so disgusted in my entire life. I think I'm going to be physically sick... This simply cannot be.

[snippetz]

06:49 PM on 10/02/2008

The other night I was actually asking my husband what he thought of us going to Canada. I heard they like Obama up there. Heck, people from other countries like Obama better than McCain....=/ Great Britain loves ObAMA!!!
Hrmmm, maybe I should move to Great Britain, I have a friend there and she said, "people aren't as delusional here as they are in the U.S." --lol.

[insanityfollows]

03:53 AM on 10/03/2008

Apparently, a lot of us are having the conversation about moving to Canada. If McCain is elected, I will have lost all faith in the American people, but literally for the sake of my family's survival, I may have no choice but to move to Canada. Great Britain and Oz are up there on the list too, for sure. I'm just so concerned.

[spartanmom]

05:06 PM on 10/02/2008

I want to see Sarah interviewed by Lyse Doucet of the BBC

[AtlantaNative]

04:28 PM on 10/02/2008

What pisses me off is the McCain campaign said they would not even consider overturning Roe v. Wade and in the last clip of Palin and Kaite Palin says as a Mayor and Governor and VP if she is so priveleged, she is in a position to change those things. Flip flop, tick top, your time is up GOP. bya bya!

[bladwig75]

05:31 PM on 10/02/2008

You need to read a bit more carefully before you post a comment, it says if she was elected she wouldN'T be in a position to change things which is the absolute truth. She says she would be in a position to uphold the law as it currently reads (the job of the executive branch).

You really need to brush up on your governmental structure knowledge.

[bladwig75]

05:32 PM on 10/02/2008

Don't get me wrong though, the above in no way means I do not think she is a complete R tard.

[pinkfloydfan]

03:35 PM on 10/02/2008

she is horrible.............& the thought of her being President scares the s#it out of me.........GOD SAVE AMERICA IF THAT HAPPENS

[ckt]

03:21 PM on 10/02/2008

Here's a refresher for you Sarah:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H-26MOxH34

Yeah, that's you. Um, what are you saying? Yep, the Supreme Court decision on the Exxon Valdez settlement...You don't agree with it? Well, I'll betcha' could use that for a Katie Couric interview

[ConcernedCanuck]

02:58 PM on 10/02/2008

Sorry but if I keep watching Palin clips at work I am going to get canned for GUTLAUGHING at my desk

Americans need to seriously consider the possibility of this bubblehead leading your nation.

[ckt]

04:43 PM on 10/02/2008

Yeah, what happened??? We were counting on all of you Canucks to keep her busy watching you so that she wouldn't bother us.

[Snow97]

02:26 PM on 10/02/2008

Not the Job of a VP to Be as Confused as the Average American

Paul Campos, writing for THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, sums up the puzzlement that many people have with those who continue to support Sarah Palin because she's supposedly "one of us":

"The paraody 'rockumentary' THIS IS SPINAL TAP features a scene in which a fictional rock band's manager defends a particularly idiotic decision by pointing out that he was merely following the instructions of Nigel Tufnel, the band's profoundly clueless lead guitarist. Lead singer David St. Hubbins replies, 'But you're not as confused as him, are you? I mean it's not your job to be as confused as Nigel.' The latest in a string of revelations about the depths of Sarah Palin's ignorance ... is a reminder that it's not the job of someone who could be a heartbeat away from the presidency to be as confused as the average American."

And, if you think I'm elitist, you're right. I hope people better than you -- and better than me -- are going to occupy the White House. They'll need to be the brightest, most energized, most even-keeled people in the world if they are to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Someone who thinks that vanilla questions like "What do you read?" and "What do you think about some of the laws that affect Americans?" are "gotcha!" questions is telling us -- crying out to us -- that she's in way over her head.

[DonDavis]

02:21 PM on 10/02/2008

Sarah Palin and Katie Couric to Switch Places
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=3682

[noonereally]

01:58 PM on 10/02/2008

I might very well have this wrong, but go with me on this for a sec. you want your doctor to have some medical knowledge, at the very least. you want your attorney to have some knowledge of the law. is it not the (sworn) duty of the President and VP to uphold the Constitution? Now do these SCOTUS decisions become a part of the Constitution? Shouldn't you know about the job you're applying for, that would be such a "privilege"?

[KGinSanFrancisco]

01:45 PM on 10/02/2008

She is pathetic.
from Taibbi, of Rolling Stone:
"Sarah Palin is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the modern United States. As a representative of our political system, she's a new low in reptilian villainy, the ultimate cynical masterwork of puppeteers like Karl Rove. But more than that, she is a horrifying symbol of how little we ask for in return for the total surrender of our political power. Not only is Sarah Palin a fraud, she's the tawdriest, most half-assed fraud imaginable, 20 floors below the lowest common denominator, a character too dumb even for daytime TV — and this country is going to eat her up, cheering her every step of the way. All because most Americans no longer have the energy to do anything but lie back and allow ourselves to be jacked off by the calculating thieves who run this grasping consumer paradise we call a nation."

[PartyPartyParty]

02:15 PM on 10/02/2008

I loved that piece. He really spells it all out. This country is full of people like Palin and my late grandmother: willfully ignorant and proud of it.

[spartanmom]

05:00 PM on 10/02/2008

My mother was willfully ignorant/blind, too.

The very, very Roman Catholic darling, still doesn't realize that every one of her seven daughters had sex before they were married but at 88 she is still with-it enough to know when someone is trying to con her.

[bumom]

02:32 PM on 10/02/2008

And just how does Rolling Stone and its readers fit into this "grasping consumer paradise?" Wasn't it Tipper Gore that went after the very industry glamorized by that publication because it was supposed to be ruining the country? Complex, isn't it?