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Even as ABC continued its interview with Sarah Palin (Thursday's segments are here and here), its rivals were covering Charles Gibson's newsmaking. CBS Sunday morning host Bob Schieffer of Face the Nation predicted that the Gibson interview would not be enough: "She is going to have to answer more questions," he argued, pointing out that nine of the 43 Presidents in the history of the United States have been elevated from the office of Vice President rather than being elected at the top of the ticket. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell (no link) saw John McCain's campaign "aggressively defending Palin. Their radar is on looking for any slight or gender bias…Palin is second on the ticket but the McCain campaign appears OK with letting her top the attention for now."
Most of Gibson's interview probed, mostly unsuccessfully, for ways in which a McCain-Palin change-based administration would depart from the economic policies pursued by George Bush. Palin listed the cornerstones of their platform: "Reduce taxes; control spending; reform the oversight and the overseeing agencies." Gibson commented: "I do not think anybody in the Bush Administration would disagree." He pressed her on which spending would be controled: "We are going to find efficiencies in every department."
Later Gibson inquired of the mother of five, including an infant with Down syndrome, whether it is "a sexist question" to inquire whether she can handle family chores and Vice Presidential ones simultaneously. "All of my life I am part of that generation where that question is kind of irrelevant," Palin answered, before implying that, yes, it was sexist to raise it: "I feel it is the same way the other governors have done it when they had a baby in office or raised a family. Granted, they are men, but I do it in the same way they do it."
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