This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," January 17, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: And tonight on "Hannity," my exclusive interview with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Now, this is the Governor's very first television appearance since the horrific shooting in Tucson that took the lives of six Americans and wounded more than a dozen others. She's here to respond to the political finger pointing that took place in the aftermath of that tragedy and much, much more.

And joining me tonight from Wasia, Alaska, is Fox news contributor Governor Sarah Palin. Governor, welcome back.

SARAH PALIN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks, Sean. Thank you for the opportunity.

HANNITY: Let's go back to the very beginning, nine days ago, when the shooting occurred. Where were you and what were you thinking at the time?

PALIN: I was in my home, here in Wasilla, and, of course, my first thought, when I heard of the shooting, was -- and knowing that there were deaths -- was how absolutely atrocious this was and how evil a person would have to be to kill an innocent.

• Full Coverage of Arizona Shooting

And, then, as things unfolded and heard, Sean, about the death of an innocent child, a nine-year-old child, I thought nothing could be as horrendous as that. And, you know, that is the main thing that we need to remember here, even as we proceed in our discussion, Sean, is that there are families mourning and we mourn with those who mourn, we grieve with those who grieve. And may our prayers cover these families. And may, somehow, as we read in the Book of Jeremiah, God touch these families and envelope them in the peace that only he can provide. May he turn their mourning somehow, supernaturally, into joy.

HANNITY: Governor, I Googled your name and I put in the words, Sarah Palin Tucson shooting. And it came up nearly 10,000 times in 10,000 instances where you connected to this. When did you first realize you were being connected to this tragedy?

PALIN: Well, right away, unfortunately, and not just me. And this isn't about me. And my response, four days after this horrendous event, and in my response I talked about defending those who were innocent, had nothing to do with the shooting. And my defense wasn't self defense, it was defending those who were falsely accused.

I found out right away, because when I started to tuning in to hear, well, who did this? And names were not given, but I read my name in the reports. And then, I read Rush Limbaugh and, then, soon your name, Sean, and Mark Levin, and soon, Tea Party patriots, and soon, the entire state of Arizona was being falsely accused of somehow being accessories to this horrendous, horrendous crime.

That is why I was puzzled, at first, as to why, before facts were even gathered -- why it would be that the mainstream media would start accusing and using such a tragedy for what appeared to be, right off the bat, some political gain.

HANNITY: Yes, I didn't particularly like my profession, what I do for a living, being called a merchant of hate by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. I didn't like it at all, and I responded. And I'm going to get to your choice in responding and all that in just a second.

A lot of these initial stories, Governor, had to do with this map that your PAC had put up during the last campaign, and the fact that Congresswoman Giffords was one of the people on, quote, "the target list," in the crosshairs that were there. What could you tell us about this map? And I'll get into more questions after that.

PALIN: Well, that map wasn't an original graphic. In fact, for many, many years, maps in political races have been used to target certain districts that people would feel that they can get into those districts and find someone whom they believe would represent the constituents' will better than incumbent. And that is what this map represented that we used on my PAC. And the graphic that we used was crosshairs targeting the different districts. And, again, that's not original. In fact, Democrats have been using it for years. In fact, Bob Beckel, I believe that he had bragged on your show, Sean, that he is the one who invented these crosshairs or these targets.

So, you know, that came up right away, that, oh, it must be a cause of this horrendous evil act of this shooter, that perhaps he saw that map and that incited him towards violence, which, of course, is ridiculous. Again, it's not an original use of an icon or a graphic.

HANNITY: Did you or your PAC have this taken off the Website immediately after the shooting? Because that's been bantered about.

PALIN: You know, I believe that someone in the PAC, in fact, the contract graphic artist, did take it down. And I don't think that that was inappropriate. If it was going to cause much heartburn and even more controversy, I didn't have a problem with it being taken down.

But screenshots, of course, have been taken of that. And I don't know if the Democrats have taken down theirs in these ensuing days, but, again, knowing that that had absolutely nothing to do with an apolitical or perhaps even left-leaning criminal who killed these innocents and injured so many, I didn't have a problem with it being taken down if, in fact, it actually has been taken down.

HANNITY: Governor, you mentioned earlier the DLC has used this. Bob Beckel did say this; Pat Caddell, a Democrat, over the years has said this -- this is a DLC map we are looking at in the screen here, a bull's-eye map targeting districts, and it says it right there, targeting strategy. All these war analogies. Clinton's had a war room. It's very common in politics. Why do you think you were singled out and the left singled you out in this, Governor?

PALIN: I know that it isn't about me personally, but it is about the message that I am not hesitant at all to spread across this country. And that is that our country is on the wrong track. We've got to get put back on the right track, and we have to elect those officials who can adopt and enact policy to allow us to be prosperous and healthy and safe again. And I know that a lot of those on the left hate my message, and they will do all they can to stop me because they don't like the message.

But, again, we know that it's not just me. It's all who seem to embrace the time-tested truthS that helped build our country. They do not like to hear that message. And, as many of them have promised to do, they'll do what they can to destroy the message and the messenger.

HANNITY: Yes, during the campaign, we had Joe Manchin, now Senator Manchin, and he took a rifle and he fired a bullet right through the cap-and-tax bill. He said, in retrospect, he probably wouldn't do it again. In light of this criticism, fair or unfair, in light of the events, do you think targeting maps, bull's-eyes, et cetera, that they should no longer be used in these campaigns, Governor?

PALIN: You know, I think it's going to be very tough, and I think even futile, really, to really start censoring everyone's speech and everyone's icons that perhaps they have used traditionally for decades in political races and political talk. And, as I say, I believe that some of that will be futile.

We hear now of this desire, this demand, for civility in discussion when it comes to political debate. And certainly I agree with the idea of being civil. By definition civil means being well- mannered. Yes, we should be respectful, we should be civil, but we should not use an event like that in Arizona to stifle debate, and that time- honored and cherished tradition that we have in America being able to respectfully petition our government and protest peacefully and respectfully in order to effect the change that we would like to see in our government.

HANNITY: What do you think to pundits -- and I know so much has been said, as I mentioned, when we Googled you, it's, you know, 10,000 articles related to the Tucson shooting. And I've got to imagine that bothers you. It's -- I guess the question that I am asking here, some have suggested, well, this -- that's the end of Sarah Palin's political career. Sarah Palin has become radioactive, is a term someone used, for example. Do you -- do you -- does this impact you or your political future in any way, Governor? Or change you?

PALIN: Well, on this day, celebrating the legacy and the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., we would be well to remember one of his famous quotes. He had reminded listeners that a lie cannot live. And I believe that not in every situation, it's just going to be providence that sheds light on what the truth is. We have to do our part, also.

So, in a situation like we have just faced in these last eight days of being falsely accused of being accessory to murder, I and others need to make sure that we, too, are shedding truth -- shedding light on truth so that a lie cannot continue to live. Because if a lie does live, then, of course, your career is over, your reputation is thrashed and you will be ineffective in what it is that you are trying to do.

So, I will continue to speak out. They're not going to shut me up. They're not going to shut you up or Rush or Mark Levin or Tea Party patriots or those who, as I say, respectfully and patriotically petition their government for change. They can't make us sit down and shut up. And if they ever were to succeed in doing that, then our republic will be destroyed. Not necessarily me being sat down and shut up, but having the voice of respectful dissent being shut up. That would destroy our republic.

HANNITY: All right, Governor, we have a lot more to get to, including what you thought of President Obama's speech. Also, some of the threats that have been levied against you over the years.

We'll show you some of that videotape and -- and much, much more, as we continue our exclusive interview with Sarah Palin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM MARCH 26, 2010 IN TUCSON, ARIZONA)

PALIN: We know violence isn't the answer. When we take up our arms, we're talking about our vote. We're talking about being involved in a contested primary like this and picking the right candidate, too, John McCain. We thank you for that.

But this B.S. coming from the lame stream media lately about this...

(APPLAUSE)

PALIN: -- about us inciting violence...

(APPLAUSE)

PALIN: Don't let -- don't let the conversation be diverted. Don't let a distraction like that get you off track. Keep fighting hard for these candidates, who are all about the common sense conservative solutions that we need.