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OLBERMANN: To paraphrase the great American writer Dorothy Parker, at last night's vice
presidential debate, Governor Sarah Palin ran the gamut of political insight from A
to B. There's no reason to make you sit through the entire debate again. We've already showed
you her factual errors. We've already pointed out that the reason you're supposed to answer
the moderator's questions, and not the ones in your head, is because questions which come
at you in an order out of your control are the closest thing the viewer gets to see as
to how you would react to events which would come at you in an order out of your control.
So in our number one story on the Countdown, let's show you the debate as Governor Palin
wanted you to see it. Just in case the writers at "Saturday Night Live" are still polishing
up Tina Fey's sketch for tomorrow night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PALIN: Nice to meet you. Hey, can I call you Joe? Thank you. Thank you, Gwen. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
IFILL: Governor Palin.
PALIN: Thank you, Gwen. Go to a kid's soccer game on Saturday, I betcha you're going to
hear some fear - fear - fear - a fear - people in the Senate - Barack Obama and Senator O'biden
This team that is a team of mavericks - maverick from - he has been the maverick. What do you
expect, a team of mavericks. Also, John McCain's maverick position -
BIDEN: Maverick he is not. John McCain said at 9:00 in the morning that the fundamentals
of the economy were strong.
PALIN: That's what John McCain meant. I'm going to keep pushing him on Anwar though.
For my dad is was in the audience today, here's a shout-out to all those third graders at
Gladys Wood Elementary school.
Joe Six pack.
Hockey moms across the nation.
Darn right it was the predator lenders.
BIDEN: He did support deregulation - deregulate - deregulate - deregulation - deregulation
- more deregulation - deregulated - deregulation. Asked a guy named Joey Danker, I said, you
know what his answer was, quote, deregulation.
PALIN: Darn right.
BIDEN: If you notice, Gwen, the governor did not answer the question about deregulation.
PALIN: I may not answer the questions -
BIDEN: Where I come from it's called fairness. Simple fairness - it's fair.
PALIN: That's not patriotic.
IFILL: Governor, are you interested in defending Senator McCain's health care plan?
PALIN: I am because he's got a good health care plan that is detailed and I want to give
you a couple of details on that.
BIDEN: He replaces a 12,000 dollar plan with a 5,000 dollars check he's just given to the
insurance company. I call that the ultimate bridge to nowhere.
PALIN: You know what I had to do in the state of Alaska, from Wasilla, Main Street - how
long have you been at this, five weeks? I don't want to argue about the causes. Back
in the day, when men and women were free, people stop the greed and corruption - the
corruption and the greed - and my answer is the same as his and it is that I do not.
BIDEN: The policy of this administration has been an abject failure.
PALIN: Say it ain't so, Joe.
Enough is enough with your ticket on constantly looking backwards.
We need to look back even two years ago and we need to be appreciative of John McCain.
Two years ago, remember it was John McCain.
John McCain thankfully -
We have John McCain to thank.
Thanks to John McCain.
We also have John McCain to thank for -
I want to talk about, again, my record on energy versus your ticket's energy ticket
also.
BIDEN: Drill, drill, drill.
PALIN: Drill, baby, drill.
Clean, green natural gas, nuclear energy - the nuclear - nuclear armed - nuclear weapons
- nuclear weapons. Some of these dictators who hate America be allowed to acquire nuclear
weapons, period.
BIDEN: We will end this war.
PALIN: Your plan is a white flag of surrender.
BIDEN: John McCain has been dead wrong.
PALIN: Central war on terror is in Iraq.
BIDEN: Our commanding general in Afghanistan -
PALIN: McClellan.
BIDEN: Let me say this again now, our commanding general in Afghanistan -
PALIN: McClellan didn't say anything -
BIDEN: Abject failure.
PALIN: Oh, man, it's so obvious that I'm a Washington outsider.
BIDEN: Big mistake.
PALIN: That's another story.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OLBERMANN: Oh, great, you had to do that. Now we're going to hear from Rich Lowry again.
And it's nuclear, for the last time. Any similarities between the governor and one of those late
night con men or con woman motivational speakers is purely coincidental. That's Countdown for
this the 1,983rd day since the declaration of mission accomplished in Iraq. I'm Keith
Olbermann, good night and good luck.
Our MSNBC coverage continues now with the Rachel Maddow show, so everybody just sit
back on your couch, and please enjoy it. Good evening Rachel.
MADDOW: (Laughs) Thank you, Keith! That was the funniest Worst Persons in the World I've
ever seen in my life.
OLBERMANN: (Laughs) Thank you kindly.
MADDOW: I almost couldn't watch. Thank you.
OLBERMANN: Well, me too. Oh, you mean my version of it. I thought you meant - okay, I gotcha.
MADDOW: Yeah. (Laughs) Thank you, Keith. And thank you for staying with us for the next
hour....
