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

[morefromLA]

Don't these people ever consider the consequences of their comments? (Don't answer that.) Now both ABC and CBS are free to release all the unedited (censored) materials from her interviews (you know, the ones where she talks about her views on the proper way to store nuclear waste, should Russia remain in the G8, why she rejects the Dred Scott decision, etc.).

[DonDavis]

Confidential Source Reports Dan Quayle Prepping Palin for Debate
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=3679

[ALMjr]

She seems to be for that "Sentence to nowhere" every time a question comes up!

[imusintheevening]

Pathetic.

It was a softball question to get her to say something about the Valdez punitive award slashing by the court a couple months ago which pitted Alaskan Fishermen against Exxon in a 18 year fight over the damage done to the fishery and livelihoods.

As Governor, she should already be on record with her views, and most Governors would side with their constituents over a Texas based company.

[berrycooda]

SO WHAT !!! Maybe she was smart enough to play dumb so Couric couldn't tear apart any answer
she would give.

Talk about trying to trip somebody up....Wait for the debates...­then pick apart the answers.
If she messes up, then everybody can be a critic.

Maybe Biden can tell her that he likes Kuciniche's wife better than her.

[BlueMominaRedState]

Oh I see.....as­king a candidate for VP about SCOTUS decisions is a "gotcha" question. Because we certainly wouldn't want a VP who can answer questions about important judicial issues and decisions. Right?

[Dissident Dexter]

WOW, REALLY? How could anyone tear her apart on an answer? SHE NEVER GIVES ONE.

"Smart enough to play dumb"??? "Trying to trip somebody up"???? are you F-ING SERIOUS?

I'm surprised that you actually remember to breathe. Enjoy your Kool-ade!

[BlueMominaRedState]

Wouldn't a "pro life" person know Casey? Bolton? Both Carharts?

She's a phoney plug in for the "christian" conservative base. They are being played even worse than the GOP in general. Fortunately for Palin their IQ's tend to match hers, so they won't catch on.

The rest of us, though, we know a lipstick wearing pig in a poke ;)

[muypolitico]

I wish I were telepathic to read Couric's thoughts as she heard G.I. Barbie gibber. However, I would not use my telepathy on Palin. I would be affraid to sucked in by the vacuum.

[Wigelah]

Sarah is really lucky to have Sean Hannity to not censor her.

[sydneyismyalias]

You mean there was more to that job umbrella, health care, bailout speech? CBS censored her? C'mon, let Palin speak, uninterrupted, uncensored - FREE PALIN! I demand to hear all of her genius, how she will tie Iraq to 9/11 again, naming supreme court cases (I know they edited that, Palin knows more than Roe V. Wade I know she does).
Saw a clip of McCain talking about Obama again wanting to teach sex ed to grade school kids last night on MSNBC. I guess McCain is hoping that dumb Americans outnumber intelligent American's again for the second election in a row.

[johnnygoodwud]

she's an expert of 'beauty queen talk' saying an awful lot about absolutely nothing

[fireW]

The typical tired nonsense from the right. When caught drowning in one's own sea of ignorance, blame the media. Why should we expect anything other than pathetic hackneyed excuses to explain their incompetence and ridiculous rhetoric?

[wackoworld]

I linked this You Tube Video earlier,entitled " Governor Sarah Palin's reaction to Exxon Valdez decision" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H-26MOxH34
Apparrently the "huge disappointment" she tells the reporter she felt after the Exxon Valdez SC decision this year is not the same as same as disagreeing with a SC decision. No matter how much experience she and McCain say she has, she can't remember it or relate it to anything.

[Hare]

Good talker, knows how to beat around the Bush! Nothing of substance just B S ing the answer, sounds like when I didn't study my SS lesson and had to pretend I read the chapter. Mr. Leroy must have seen through it, he kept flunking me.

[ron071]

Hare has it just about right. Palin is, put most simply, a FRAUD, and she knows it. It also seems that most of the voting public is now also aware of the scam by McSame in selecting an incompetent fraud as a vp candidate. Sorry and sad state of affairs, but the public is wise to it.

[morefromLA]

Mr. Leroy practicing the same kind of censorship Sarah's talking about. She feels your pain.

[SaltySaltillo]

Well maybe the American people don't realize the gaffe, but conservative intellectuals ought to be puking right about now - she not only muddled the question of a right to privacy in the Constitution, but also confused the constitutional question with a federalist question: Roe v. Wade was NOT about giving the federal government the right to regulate abortion, it was about protecting a allegedly constitutional right from state action; that is not the same as saying the federal government doesn't have jurisdiction and therefore an issue falls under the regulatory power of the state.
But the American people are just dumb enough, probably, not to understand the gravity of Eliza Doolittle's political brainfart.

[bumom]

The one recurring phrase in these posts has been, "But I'm not running for VP!" Finally, something we can all be thankful for! It is very telling when people "pile on", especially in the relative anonymity of the internet. Obviously, Ms. Palin is a very accomplished woman, though not everyone is going to like her politics. Referring to her as a nitwit, etc. is the sort of thing that small minds do to feel superior. At least Ms. Palin is doing what she feels is right to affect her world. Are you? Oh, yeah, you're not running for VP.

[Keatingfive]

Not only is Sarah Palin a nitwit but so are you for supporting this fool. Go to a conservative site if you don't enjoy the post. OFF YOU GO!!!!!

[ralph10]

Hugh Hefner is a very accomplished man but it doesn't mean he's good VP material.

[special muppet]

She strikes me as being a very ambitious woman, not an accomplished or talented one. While I fundamentally disagree with her politics, what annoys me more his her clam to be fit to govern the country while knowing so little about it. We just had 8 years of someone just like her in the White House and it was a complete disaster. George Bush is only now, in the final days of his presidency, "getting it". The country can't afford this kind of 'leadership' again. I don't think she's stupid but I think she is far from ready to be running in this election.