Palin: An inept, divisive, dishonest president exposed
Former Alaska governor takes on newly-surfaced videos showing another side of Obama, his lackluster performance in the first debate and more
This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," October 4, 2012. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Now to that controversial 2007 video of President Obama. In the complete, unedited video, then presidential candidate Obama veers off from his prepared remarks and accuses the U.S. government of short-changing Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THEN-SEN. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's happening down in New Orleans? Where's your dollar? Where's your Stafford Act money? Makes no sense! Tells me the bullet hasn't been taken out.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Tells me that somehow, the people down in New Orleans they don't care about as much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: And now former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin posting her response on Facebook to that video. "Many of you have seen the 2007 speech in which then Senator Obama suggested that because of racism, the federal government didn't waive the Stafford Act to assist New Orleans after Katrina. What you may not know is that 10 days before Senator Obama gave this speech, the federal government did, in fact, waive the Stafford Act for New Orleans. And to add insult to injury, Barack Obama was one of 14 senators who actually voted against the bill that included the provision to give supplemental emergency assistance to New Orleans. In other words, he was being dishonest and divisive, which is behavior we've sadly seen far too often from him in the last four years."
And former governor Sarah Palin joins us. Good evening, Governor. And I'm curious that -- I know that he voted against the Stafford Act. But I'm curious, is that, one of the -- that was part of a bill that had to do with funding Iraq, and that's why he voted -- he was opposing the Iraq war.
Does that have any impact on your thoughts about this?
SARAH PALIN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR/FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR (Via Telephone): Yes, it sure does. It makes me disrespect President Obama, then candidate Obama, even more because he believed on principle that in order to de-fund our troops, the provision within that legislation included not releasing those Katrina relief funds. It's a whole ball of wax. It's appalling, truly. In order to defund our troops, he took that stand of voting against it?
Then his speech, Greta, it was in order to race bait. He played chameleon again and engaged in deception when he again said what he thought people wanted to hear because Barack Obama seems to have no core convictions that match what America needs today to restore our exceptionalism. And part of that exceptionalism is equal opportunity for all for success.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, let me turn your attention to last night's debate. I assume you watched it. Do you have a sort of an impression of it, or thought about it?
PALIN: Oh, well, Romney, obviously, won. So I was very encouraged, very excited about the next debate then. Hopefully, Governor Romney will really be able to hammer home his -- his plan for sudden and relentless reform of the federal government to shrink it and make it really as irrelevant as possible in our lives.
Governor Romney -- I look forward to him recognizing and articulating the fact that government doesn't have a revenue problem, it's got a spending problem and what he wants to do about that. He won last night and the momentum's on his side.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you think -- what do you think happened last night? Because, you know, a lot of people thought that -- and certainly, even President Obama's, you know, strongest supporters, is that, you know, he -- you know, he just -- he wasn't on his game at all. Was it that he wasn't prepared, or that he simply doesn't have the arguments, or that he wasn't interested or just a bad night? What's your thought?
PALIN: He can't defend his record. He can't defend the failed policies that have been implemented that have added so greatly to our debt, the deficit spending, the broken promises, unemployment numbers, the allies on the international stage who are now confused and more distrustful of America, all the problems that have been created in the last four years, his failed policies leading to those problems.
He couldn't defend them. So he was kind of lost in having any strong core conviction about why it is that he should be reelected. So you couple that with the fact that he didn't have a teleprompter in front of him and he didn't have the filter of the liberal media protecting him and kind of coddling him and ushering him through a debate, a venue that he is so used to. So the candidness, the reality that really hit home for all those millions of viewers was very healthy for democracy.
VAN SUSTEREN: I can't imagine, though, even his most -- I mean, even the people who were most critical of him who are also his most passionate supporters -- I can't imagine, even though they thought he did a lousy job at the -- at the -- at the debate -- that's my word, lousy, not theirs, although they certainly had harsh words for him.
You know, they're still going to vote for him. And so I -- I think the question is, like, you know, how do you measure whether or not it had an impact on the undecideds, how many undecideds were watching, and also whether or not it peeled -- sort of those on the margin were peeled off in favor of Governor Romney. How do you measure that?
PALIN: That's a great question. And you know, that's what we'll find out in the next 30-some days, is will more American voters finally open their eyes, those independents, those who have wanted to give Barack Obama the benefit of the doubt because they, too, have been deceived, I believe, by a complicit media allowing Barack Obama to not be held accountable for his failed policies and a lack of plan, lack of a budget.
And we'll see in these next 30-some days if more and more Americans are waking up to reality and realizing, Greta, that we do have a choice. We have a good choice in candidates, in which direction America will go.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, you're the only one I know -- I guess you are the only one who debated in a vice presidential debate Vice President Joe Biden. Do you have any sort of suggestions or hints or thoughts for Congressman Paul Ryan?
PALIN: Paul Ryan needs to take the gloves off, too, and really hammer home some details about Joe Biden's record, you know, 30-some years of opposing America's energy independence opportunities that we've had.
Joe Biden 30-some years ago voted against the Transalaska Oil Pipeline, and from henceforth, from back then, has never supported steps to allow America to be energy-independent.
So if Paul Ryan can detail about what it is that he and Governor Romney propose to do to allow our private sector to go and thrive and create jobs, including steps towards energy independence, the audience will appreciate that.
And then after the debate, Paul Ryan just needs to watch his back. That's my advice, because you know, if things don't go his way, people will be looking for a scapegoat. And I hope that people have learned over the last four years that that doesn't do anybody any good, is to throw candidates under the bus when they did their best, they stood on their record and their principles and their convictions. And when that inside baseball crap starts getting played out, that's horrible for the political system.
VAN SUSTEREN: Governor, thank you.
PALIN: Thank you so much.
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