In my interview with Governor Palin yesterday evening, we touched briefly on some current events, including President Obama's trip to Asia and the place of the tea-party movement in the Republican party. Some highlights:
1) I asked Palin about the anti-tax-and-spending tea parties. "I love the tea party movement," she said. "It's beautiful, it's healthy. It's part of that good healthy competition that's needed in a political party." She contrasted the somewhat tumultuous state of the GOP to what's going on in the Democratic party today. "It seems like the Democratic party is filled with more sheep-like individuals, who go along and get along," she said.
I brought up the Senate primary fight in Florida between Governor Charlie Crist and former state house speaker Marco Rubio. Palin isn't ready to make an endorsement. She told me she's just starting to look at the candidates "and see what their positions are." Palin added that she is eager to meet Rubio. She worked with Crist at the Republican Governors Association and thought highly of him. "I hear good things about Rubio, too, though," she added. No question, if Palin decides to endorse a candidate in this race, her influence will be powerful.
2) Would Palin bow or curtsy to the emperor of Japan? "No," she said. She went on to say that Obama's recent bow to the emperor was "symbolic" of the new administration's "apologetic mode of operation." "I'm not comfortable with it, and I don't think most Americans are as well," Palin said.
In other Asia news, Palin expressed a willingness to meet with the Dalai Lama, and said that she was happy to hear that Obama brought up the "abuse of human rights in China" during his visit. But she also said that Obama needs to focus on "getting our house in order." "There are so many things that need to be taken care of domestically," Palin said. The president, in her opinion, ought to "buckle down on the huge challenges facing our country."
3) I was surprised to learn that Palin, who is using social media to speak directly to her supporters, is the only member of the Palin family on Facebook. "Ironically, I banned the kids from using it," she said.
Associate editor Matthew Continetti is the author of The Persecution of Sarah Palin.
