A verbicide caught in mid-slaughter

Give her the easiest interviewer/collaborator on the planet, stuff her with talking points like Dick Cavett's Strasbourg goose, and Our Lady of Wasilla still sounds like a cross between Gertrude Stein and Yoda.

Real Clear Politics has the transcript of Part I of the Hannity-Palin "interview"and it is worth reading to see what a word salad Mrs. Palin's thoughts are in the least pressured of campaign settings. But here, some highlights:

HANNITY: Senator Obama yesterday was attacking Senator McCain for saying that the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

Do you believe that the fundamentals of our economy are strong?

PALIN: Well, it was an unfair attack on the verbiage that Senator McCain chose to use. The fundamentals that he was having to explain afterwards, he means our workforce. He means the ingenuity of the American people and, of course, that is strong and that is the foundation of our economy.

So that was an unfair attack there, again, based on verbiage that John McCain used.

WALDO: "Verbiage: n. Needless accumulation of words, verbosity.[F (obs. verbier chatter f. verbe word].

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HANNITY: ...Through reform?

PALIN: Through reform, absolutely. Look at the oversight that has been lack, I believe. Here it's a 1930s type of regulatory regime overseeing some of these corporations. And we've got to get a more coordinated and much more stringent oversight regime.

HANNITY: You know, both you and Senator McCain supported the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. You both opposed the bailout or government intervention as it relates to Lehman or Merrill but now we read this morning that AIG is going to get some type of government bailout.


Was that the right call?

PALIN: Well, you know, first, Fannie and Freddie, different because quasi-government agencies there where government had to step in because the adverse impacts all across our nation, especially with home owners, is just too impacting. We had to step in there.

I do not like the idea, though, of taxpayers being used to bail out these corporations. Today, with AIG, important call there, though, because of the construction bonds and the insurance carrier duties of AIG.

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HANNITY: Should there be an investigation in terms of the relationship between the political donations and then, of course, the bankruptcy that ensued and the impact on the economy?

PALIN: ...The cronyism that has been allowed to be accepted and then leads us to a position like we are today with so much collapse on Wall Street. That's the reform that we have got to get in there and make sure that this happens. We have got to put government and these regulatory agencies back on the side of the people.

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PALIN: ...And that's John -- why John McCain tapped me to be a team of mavericks, of independents coming in there without the allegiances to that cronyism, to that good old boy system.

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HANNITY: And then you -- you also gave recently a check -- an extra check for $1,200?

PALIN: I did because the price of a barrel of oil is so high right now that state coffers are growing but the family's checkbook is being disseminated because of the high cost of energy.

WALDO: Disseminate: v.t. scatter about, sow in various places (esp. fig. of doctrines, sedition, disease, etc); disseminated SCLEROSIS...

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PALIN: ...And there is such stark contrast between Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. And happy to talk about those contrasts because this is what it's all about. People are interested in what the issues are that are affecting their daily lives, Americans are.

WALDO: As Wise Yoda often says, "Do or do not... there is no try."

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HANNITY: Governor, have you spoken with Senator McCain about your specific role in the McCain administration?


PALIN: Sure have and very excited about the role that I will play as his partner. And I will focus on energy independence and reform overall of Washington and tax cuts for Americans and reigning in spending. The.

HANNITY: These are specific roles that you have already talked about that you will.

PALIN: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

HANNITY: That you would take on as vice president.

PALIN: Right. So I'd like to talk about each one of them. And I wish we had hours to talk about each one of these also.

HANNITY: I have nothing to do.

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PALIN: ...But, first and foremost, an energy independent nation, we must get there, Sean. It is a matter of national security and of our future prosperity being able to quit relying on foreign sources of energy to feed our hungry markets.

When we have the American supplies, we have the American ingenuity, and we have the American workers to produce these supplies of energy.

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PALIN: ...ANWR is a 20 million-acre plot of land and it's a 20 million acre plot of land. It's about the size of LAX. That platform of land that we would need to explore.

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WALDO: As Gertrude Stein put it, "Do you know because I tell you so, or do you know, do you know."