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ABC News Edited Out Key Parts of Sarah Palin Interview
Newsbusters ^ | 09/13/08 | P.J. Gladnick

Posted on 09/13/2008 5:08:24 AM PDT by coffee260

A transcript of the unedited interview of Sarah Palin by Charles Gibson clearly shows that ABC News edited out crucial portions of the interview that showed Palin as knowledgeable or presented her answers out of context. This unedited transcript of the first of the Gibson interviews with Palin is available on radio host Mark Levin's website. The sections edited out by ABC News are in bold. The first edit shows Palin responding about meeting with foreign leaders but this was actually in response to a question Gibson asked several questions earlier:

GIBSON: Have you ever met a foreign head of state?

PALIN: There in the state of Alaska, our international trade activities bring in many leaders of other countries.

GIBSON: And all governors deal with trade delegations.

PALIN: Right.

GIBSON: Who act at the behest of their governments.

PALIN: Right, right.

GIBSON: I’m talking about somebody who’s a head of state, who can negotiate for that country. Ever met one?

PALIN: I have not and I think if you go back in history and if you ask that question of many vice presidents, they may have the same answer that I just gave you. But, Charlie, again, we’ve got to remember what the desire is in this nation at this time. It is for no more politics as usual and somebody’s big, fat resume maybe that shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment, where, yes, they’ve had opportunities to meet heads of state … these last couple of weeks … it has been overwhelming to me that confirmation of the message that Americans are getting sick and tired of that self-dealing and kind of that closed door, good old boy network that has been the Washington elite.
 

Next we see that Palin was not nearly as hostile towards Russia as was presented in the edited interview:

GIBSON: Let me ask you about some specific national security situations.

PALIN: Sure.

GIBSON: Let’s start, because we are near Russia, let’s start with Russia and Georgia.

The administration has said we’ve got to maintain the territorial integrity of Georgia. Do you believe the United States should try to restore Georgian sovereignty over South Ossetia and Abkhazia?

PALIN: First off, we’re going to continue good relations with Saakashvili there. I was able to speak with him the other day and giving him my commitment, as John McCain’s running mate, that we will be committed to Georgia. And we’ve got to keep an eye on Russia. For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable and we have to keep…

GIBSON: You believe unprovoked.

PALIN: I do believe unprovoked and we have got to keep our eyes on Russia, under the leadership there. I think it was unfortunate. That manifestation that we saw with that invasion of Georgia shows us some steps backwards that Russia has recently taken away from the race toward a more democratic nation with democratic ideals. That’s why we have to keep an eye on Russia.

And, Charlie, you’re in Alaska. We have that very narrow maritime border between the United States, and the 49th state, Alaska, and Russia. They are our next door neighbors.We need to have a good relationship with them. They’re very, very important to us and they are our next door neighbor.

GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

PALIN: They’re our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.

GIBSON: What insight does that give you into what they’re doing in Georgia?

PALIN: Well, I’m giving you that perspective of how small our world is and how important it is that we work with our allies to keep good relation with all of these countries, especially Russia. We will not repeat a Cold War. We must have good relationship with our allies, pressuring, also, helping us to remind Russia that it’s in their benefit, also, a mutually beneficial relationship for us all to be getting along.

We also see from Palin's following remark, which was also edited out, that she is far from some sort of latter day Cold Warrior which the edited interview made her seem to be:

We cannot repeat the Cold War. We are thankful that, under Reagan, we won the Cold War, without a shot fired, also. We’ve learned lessons from that in our relationship with Russia, previously the Soviet Union.

We will not repeat a Cold War. We must have good relationship with our allies, pressuring, also, helping us to remind Russia that it’s in their benefit, also, a mutually beneficial relationship for us all to be getting along.

Palin's extended remarks about defending our NATO allies were edited out to make it seem that she was ready to go to war with Russia. 

GIBSON: And under the NATO treaty, wouldn’t we then have to go to war if Russia went into Georgia?

PALIN: Perhaps so. I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you’re going to be expected to be called upon and help.

But NATO, I think, should include Ukraine, definitely, at this point and I think that we need to — especially with new leadership coming in on January 20, being sworn on, on either ticket, we have got to make sure that we strengthen our allies, our ties with each one of those NATO members.

We have got to make sure that that is the group that can be counted upon to defend one another in a very dangerous world today.

GIBSON: And you think it would be worth it to the United States, Georgia is worth it to the United States to go to war if Russia were to invade.

PALIN: What I think is that smaller democratic countries that are invaded by a larger power is something for us to be vigilant against. We have got to be cognizant of what the consequences are if a larger power is able to take over smaller democratic countries.

And we have got to be vigilant. We have got to show the support, in this case, for Georgia. The support that we can show is economic sanctions perhaps against Russia, if this is what it leads to.

It doesn’t have to lead to war and it doesn’t have to lead, as I said, to a Cold War, but economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure, again, counting on our allies to help us do that in this mission of keeping our eye on Russia and Putin and some of his desire to control and to control much more than smaller democratic countries.

His mission, if it is to control energy supplies, also, coming from and through Russia, that’s a dangerous position for our world to be in, if we were to allow that to happen.

That answer presented Palin as a bit too knowledgeable for the purposes of ABC News and was, of course, edited out. Palin's answers about a nuclear Iran were carefully edited to the point where she was even edited out in mid-sentence to make it seem that Palin favored unilateral action against that country:

GIBSON: Let me turn to Iran. Do you consider a nuclear Iran to be an existential threat to Israel?

PALIN: I believe that under the leadership of Ahmadinejad, nuclear weapons in the hands of his government are extremely dangerous to everyone on this globe, yes.

GIBSON: So what should we do about a nuclear Iran? John McCain said the only thing worse than a war with Iran would be a nuclear Iran. John Abizaid said we may have to live with a nuclear Iran. Who’s right?

PALIN: No, no. I agree with John McCain that nuclear weapons in the hands of those who would seek to destroy our allies, in this case, we’re talking about Israel, we’re talking about Ahmadinejad’s comment about Israel being the “stinking corpse, should be wiped off the face of the earth,” that’s atrocious. That’s unacceptable.

GIBSON: So what do you do about a nuclear Iran?

PALIN: We have got to make sure that these weapons of mass destruction, that nuclear weapons are not given to those hands of Ahmadinejad, not that he would use them, but that he would allow terrorists to be able to use them. So we have got to put the pressure on Iran and we have got to count on our allies to help us, diplomatic pressure.

GIBSON: But, Governor, we’ve threatened greater sanctions against Iran for a long time. It hasn’t done any good. It hasn’t stemmed their nuclear program.

PALIN: We need to pursue those and we need to implement those. We cannot back off. We cannot just concede that, oh, gee, maybe they’re going to have nuclear weapons, what can we do about it. No way, not Americans. We do not have to stand for that.

Laughably, a remark by Gibson that indicated he agreed with Palin was edited out:

PALIN: But the reference there is a repeat of Abraham Lincoln’s words when he said — first, he suggested never presume to know what God’s will is, and I would never presume to know God’s will or to speak God’s words.

But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that’s a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God’s side.

That’s what that comment was all about, Charlie. And I do believe, though, that this war against extreme Islamic terrorists is the right thing. It’s an unfortunate thing, because war is hell and I hate war, and, Charlie, today is the day that I send my first born, my son, my teenage son overseas with his Stryker brigade, 4,000 other wonderful American men and women, to fight for our country, for democracy, for our freedoms.

Charlie, those are freedoms that too many of us just take for granted. I hate war and I want to see war ended. We end war when we see victory, and we do see victory in sight in Iraq.

GIBSON: I take your point about Lincoln’s words, but you went on and said, “There is a plan and it is God’s plan.”

Gibson took her point about Lincoln's words but we wouldn't know that by watching the interview since it was left on the cutting room floor. I urge everybody to see just how the unedited version of the first interview compared to what we saw on television  by checking out the full transcript. It is a fascinating look into media manipulation via skillful editing.


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: Alaska
KEYWORDS: 2008; abc; abcnews; bias; charliegibson; chucklestheclown; democrats; dncmediamachine; dnctv; elections; enemedia; gibson; gibsonpalin; inquisition; interrogation; interview; marklevin; mccainpalin; mediabias; mediagestapo; msm; obamedia; palin; propagandawingofdnc; sarahpalin
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To: coffee260

Wow. BTTT


81 posted on 09/13/2008 6:04:36 AM PDT by snowrip (Liberal? YOU ARE A SOCIALIST WITH NO RATIONAL ARGUMENT.)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

“Sarah should only agree to LIVE INTERVIEWS from now on. I hope she considers an interview with Britt Hume.”

The McCain Campaign vastly uderestimted the vileness and lengths the libs would go to.

This is unbelievable.

But they were stupid enough to grant an interview that wasn’t live and had potential to be edited.

They need to get this entire transcript out to the media in big way.


82 posted on 09/13/2008 6:06:12 AM PDT by rbmillerjr (Message to radical jihadis. "...step in my hood, it's understood ------ it's open season" Stuck Mojo)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

You are right that Sarah should be interviewed by Brit Hume AND SO SHOULD OBAMA......
Except the courageous “community organizer” that will face down Putin and Amahdinejad doesn’t have the guts to do such an interview.

FOX should also do a show/analysis of Sarah’s unedited answers as opposed to the hatchet job of ABC...CALL IT “SARAH UNPLUGGED”...the unedited version of a true American woman....


83 posted on 09/13/2008 6:06:21 AM PDT by UltraKonservativen (( YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID!!!))
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To: ml/nj

Help me please , I must have missed ABC announcing when they will be traveling to Chicago, now that they have given the VICE PRESIDENTIAL candidate an Anal Exam ,I thought for sure they will now show The Democratic nominee for PRESIDENT better known as Jesus Christ, in the UTOPIA created on the South side of Chicago by him and his friends Ayers and Rezco with the 10s of millions of dollars of taxpayers money. I am sure the multitudes now living in conditions equalling Beverly Hills, would meet the Messiah with equal Joy as did those in Alaska ,who met Sarah Palin at the airport.
Then we could see for ourselves that we all have been wrong about Obama. I cant wait for CHARLIE to look over the transformed landscape with awe and proclaim who needs the Majestic Vistas of Alaska when we have found heaven on earth on the South side of Chicago Thanks to William Ayers Tony Rezco and The Messiah Barack Obama


84 posted on 09/13/2008 6:07:10 AM PDT by ballplayer
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To: samtheman
"I was disappointed (and remain disappointed) that McCain didn’t make more of fried-chicken-Obama refusing to meet him in townhall debates."

He did when he was on "the Spiew". Plus he challenged Obama to debate him live on "The View". I guess we'll just have to wait and see if Obama agrees. probably not.

85 posted on 09/13/2008 6:07:30 AM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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To: Seattle Conservative

thank you


86 posted on 09/13/2008 6:07:47 AM PDT by palomonte (see the light or feel the heat)
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To: se_ohio_young_conservative

I noticed the editing, but didn’t give me much pause. I figured they were editing out dead time, not wholesale chunks of her interview.

Shows how little I know. Sheesh. What a bunch of arrogant a-holes.


87 posted on 09/13/2008 6:08:00 AM PDT by rlmorel (Who is Saul Alinsky and why is Barack Obama is a disciple of his methods?)
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To: rbmillerjr

Even with the edit. Sarah came across as strong and solid on the issues.


88 posted on 09/13/2008 6:08:13 AM PDT by se_ohio_young_conservative (Reagan conservatism is back ! .. Thank God for Sarah.)
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To: Nathan Zachary

I missed that. I’m glad to hear it. Thanks for letting me know. Is there a posted video somewhere?


89 posted on 09/13/2008 6:08:27 AM PDT by samtheman
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To: Titus-Maximus
What gets me is that it wasn't even a very good job of editing. They didn't even try. My wife and I noted the “choppiness” while we watched it Thursday night.
90 posted on 09/13/2008 6:09:57 AM PDT by VRWCtaz (McCain/Palin '08!!!)
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To: coffee260

Maybe a few rounds of email simply asking Charlie how he likes being known as the Dan Rather of ABC.


91 posted on 09/13/2008 6:11:40 AM PDT by donnab (some people use change to promote their careers...others use their careers to promote change.)
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To: rbmillerjr
The McCain Campaign vastly uderestimted the vileness and lengths the libs would go to. This is unbelievable. But they were stupid enough to grant an interview that wasn’t live and had potential to be edited.

Hopefully this will be the last of TAPED McCain/Palin interviews with the mainstream media.

92 posted on 09/13/2008 6:14:00 AM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: coffee260

Thanks very much for that Link to Charlie...I put it to good use ;-)


93 posted on 09/13/2008 6:15:04 AM PDT by Halgr (Once a Marine, always a Marine - Semper Fi)
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To: coffee260
I urge you to send Charles Gibson your thoughts.

You can BET Charlie won't read my comment about the missing parts. No four letter words, but complaints of bias should be sent by every FReeper.

94 posted on 09/13/2008 6:15:31 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952 (Sarah Palin is NOT worried about anything being above her pay grade!)
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To: coffee260; All
Great thread, coffee 260.

THIS really stuck out at me:

"...PALIN: We have got to make sure that these weapons of mass destruction, that nuclear weapons are not given to those hands of Ahmadinejad, not that he would use them, but that he would allow terrorists to be able to use them. So we have got to put the pressure on Iran and we have got to count on our allies to help us, diplomatic pressure.

GIBSON: But, Governor, we’ve threatened greater sanctions against Iran for a long time. It hasn’t done any good. It hasn’t stemmed their nuclear program.

PALIN: We need to pursue those and we need to implement those. We cannot back off. We cannot just concede that, oh, gee, maybe they’re going to have nuclear weapons, what can we do about it. No way, not Americans. We do not have to stand for that...."

I bolded and underlined the portion of Gibson's last statement. These despicable people are shameless. They are the same people who endlessly, tirelessly and uselessly propose sanctions instead of military action. THE VERY SAME PEOPLE. Ugh. They simply make me sick. THIS is why I do not watch television.

95 posted on 09/13/2008 6:15:39 AM PDT by rlmorel (Who is Saul Alinsky and why is Barack Obama is a disciple of his methods?)
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To: UltraKonservativen
FOX should also do a show/analysis of Sarah’s unedited answers as opposed to the hatchet job of ABC...CALL IT “SARAH UNPLUGGED”...the unedited version of a true American woman....

McCain should demand that ABC release the entire interview.

96 posted on 09/13/2008 6:16:15 AM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: coffee260

I watched the original interview.........this is something quite different.

Sarah did even better than I thought she did.

Sent charlie my comments......kept hitting that 500 character limit and had to edit.....I think I got my point across.


97 posted on 09/13/2008 6:16:26 AM PDT by tioga (God have mercy on Galveston and all those in Ike's path.)
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To: coffee260

Looks like Gibson decided to take the same career path as Dan Rather. Hopefully he pays the same price for his journalistic malpractice, he certainly deserves it.

Pray for W, Mccuda and Our Freedom Fighters


98 posted on 09/13/2008 6:17:17 AM PDT by bray (Drill Congress!!)
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To: coffee260
I sent the following:

"Next time you do a hatchet job on a candidate (and those candidates are always Republican), you might try a smoother transition between the cut and pasted sections. Just a little hint.

Here's another hint -- remember that a transcript is sometimes available online within hours, and the public, already distrustful of you guys, will find said transcript and go over it with a microscope.

Gee, Charlie, were you trying for Dan Rather's "fake but accurate" effect?"

99 posted on 09/13/2008 6:18:06 AM PDT by Tuscaloosa Goldfinch (My new favorite quote "You can't organize clutter.")
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To: coffee260

Charlie Gibson and ABCNews have given new meaning to the term “EXACT WORDS”.


100 posted on 09/13/2008 6:18:53 AM PDT by new cruelty (I don't want my daughters punished with obama.)
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