Palin Interview with Indiana Reporter: Transcript (10-17-08)

"WTHR political reporter Kevin Rader had a sit-down interview with Gov. Sarah Palin after she arrived in Indiana for a rally in Noblesville Friday. The following is a transcript of his interview." Partial below:

WTHR: The last time Indiana did not go Republican in a presidential election was 1964. Do you think in these economic times, you're still gonna be able to hold this state?

Gov. Palin: I think that we will hold this state and I certainly hope so. Indiana has been a red state my entire life, since 1964 as a matter of fact, and we wanna keep it that way because the agenda that John McCain and I have for America I believe is the right agenda for our great nation at this time - to reduce taxes, to reign in government growth, get our nation firmly on a path towards energy independence, win the war, those things all packaged together, is the right agenda. It's where we should be headed right now. Our ticket represents that. We have that commitment - that commitment to reform government to allow all this to happen and I believe that Indiana voters will see that and at the end of the day November 4th it will be good.

WTHR: Your opponent's been here 46 times, partly because of the contested primary. But still, that's a lot.

Palin: Well, neither ticket will take anything for granted. Speaking for our own ticket, we will not take anything for granted. That, too, is why I am here. Wanting to speak with Indiana voters, letting them know that they count, they matter. We want to hear from them. Not just hear me speaking or hear a spokesperson for John McCain at a rally or anything else, but to hear from Indiana, what the concerns are, what the challenges are here, so we can do something about them.

WTHR: 79 percent in a recent poll that our station and The Indianapolis Star conducted said the nation is headed in the wrong direction. Change is the key issue in this debate. How do you, when your opponent has tried to paint you guys with the Bush brush, separate from that and tell us what you really want to do?

Palin: That strategy is wearing thin though, because American voters, they're smarter than that. They know John McCain is his own man and he has been the maverick of having to take on his own party and the Bush administration when need be, certainly taking shots from the other party too, and as he'll tell you, he's got the scars to prove it. He has been the maverick, never one just to go along to get along as opposed to Barack Obama - 96 percent of the time voting with his party leadership. That's not bucking the system in any way. So it's tough to know you can trust someone to change the system if they've never been willing to take on the system. McCain has.