Hotline After Dark -- Silent And Clear

FNC's Sean Hannity sat down with Sarah Palin in Cleveland, OH, for her first cable interview. Part one aired on "Hannity & Colmes."

Hannity: "Senator [Barack] Obama yesterday was attacking Senator [John] 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. ... The economy is a mess. And there have been abuses on Wall Street. And that adversely affects main street and it's that commitment that John McCain is articulating today, getting in there, reforming the way that Wall Street has been allowed to work."

Palin, asked if it was right to bail out AIG: "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. But, first and foremost, taxpayers cannot be looked to as the bailout, as the solution to the problems on Wall Street."

After the jump, Palin on Tina Fey's performance, McCain/Obama reveal personal flaws on CBS and Donald Trump makes an endorsement.

(KATHERINE LEHR)

Hannity: "You want to reform government. ... Many people have gone to Washington and they've made these promises, especially when it comes to cutting spending, and it doesn't happen. ... Look how partisan it is in Washington right now. How do you get that accomplished?"

Palin: "Real reform is tough and you do ruffle feathers along the way. But, John McCain has that streak of independence in him that I think is very, very important in America today, in our leadership. I have that within me, also. And that's 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."

Palin, asked if she has spoken with McCain about her specific role in the McCain admin.: "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. ... Another thing that we'll talk about also is a role that I will play that is very near and dear to my heart, and that's helping families with special needs children and being able to strengthen our National institute of Health, also, and find cures for presently incurable diseases. But, first and foremost, an energy independent nation, we must get there."

Palin, asked if McCain is softening his position about not drilling in ANWR: "I'm very, very encouraged, as we all understand that John McCain knows more so than any other leader in our nation today that for national security reasons we must be an energy-independent nation. We must start taking the steps to get there. That's why he has embraced offshore drilling. That's why he has embraced the idea of the alternative fuels also. And I will keep working on him with ANWR. ... The nice thing about him, too, is he is not asking me or anybody else to check our opinions at the door. He wants that healthy deliberation and debate with him."

Hannity: "And you've talked about that, too?"

Palin: "Yes, we sure have. ... It's been refreshing."

Palin, asked if she watched Tina Fey's impression of her on NBC's "SNL": "I watched with the volume all the way down. ... I thought it was hilarious. Again, I didn't hear what she said, but the visual was spot on. ... They've been saying that [we look alike] for years up in Alaska. So I dressed up as Tina Fey for Halloween" (FNC, 9/17).

See today's Hotline for more of the interview.

FNC also reported that someone hacked into Palin's personal e-mail account and has posted her e-mails online.

Politico's Martin: "It was at her Yahoo.com account, actually, which was a separate account from her state e-mail account. ... There is right now an investigation being led by the Secret Service and the FBI we know tonight, but we're not sure who's actually behind this. ... The [e-mails] that I saw were fairly unsubstantial. It was a lot of personal content. But this is why I think politically it could matter. She has used a personal account -- we believe that account -- to conduct some state business. ... If there is more material on there of a political nature and that comes out here in the days ahead, that could pose a challenge for the McCain-Palin campaign" ("On the Record," FNC, 9/17).

LIKE PAPER IN FIRE

Meanwhile, McCain and Obama answered the same set of questions about homeland security and personal flaws on "Evening News."

CBS' Katie Couric: "Why do you think there has not been another terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11? And as president, how would you prevent that from happening again?"

McCain: "I think we ought to give credit to the administration, to the president and to the dedicated people who have worked, from the level of our intelligence agencies around the world to the local police and firemen, first responders, who have done such a magnificent job. I also, in a little straight talk, think there's always an element of luck involved. I thank God every day, and so do all of us Americans. I think that we ought to have a closer relationship probably between Republican and Democrat on this. ... I would work more closely with the leaders of Congress. I know them well. But I also think that we should unleash more of America's technology."

Obama: "I think that the initial invasion into Afghanistan disrupted al-Qaeda, and it was the right thing to do. I mean, we had to knock out those safe havens. And that, I think, weakened them. We did some work in strengthening our homeland security apparatus here. ... Now my hope, obviously, is that we continue to prevent them from being able to move at all out of those safe havens, but our intelligence indicates that the danger, the likelihood of a potential attack is significantly higher now. And that has been an enormous mistake that I intend to correct when I'm president of the United States."

Couric: "What one personal flaw do you think might hinder your ability to be president?"

Obama: "I don't think there's a flaw that would hinder my ability to function as president. I think that all of us have things we need to improve. I said during the primary that my management of paper can sometimes be a problem."

McCain: "You know, I'm not an objective observer. I would ... make sure that I don't make any decisions that are not fully informed by every source of information that's credible I could possibly get. When I see and read history, I see sometimes that presidents make judgments that they only consulted a small circle of people, and sometimes those were only those who agreed with that president. I've got to make sure that I reach out to Democrats, to Republicans, to people who have opposing views" (CBS, 9/17).

JUMP FOR OUR LOVE

The economy and its impact on the election continued to be the hot topic of the night:

GOP strategist Mike Murphy, on the phrase "economic crisis": "What the McCain people want to do is put a big red circle around the word crisis and play to his gray hair, his experience. The Obama people want to put a big circle around the word economic, talk about middle class squeeze, what it means to working families, try to argue that McCain is out of touch, doesn't understand those things. It is almost going to be McCain's toughness versus Barack Obama's empathy. It's like a jump in basketball. They're trying to get control of the debate and frame it their way. It is only the beginning. This will go on for a while. ... We've had 10 or 12 days of it. It's only the beginning right now" ("Race for the WH," MSNBC, 9/17).

Politico's Allen: "The economy's the number one issue on voters' minds, and yet neither one of them has cornered it. Neither one of them clearly owns this issue. So this is sort of a jump ball. If one of them would come out and say something clear and convincing, not be defeatist but talk to the American people about accountability, some smart regulation, they might be able to win the election just off that" ("On the Record," FNC, 9/17).

CNN's Borger: "The problem is that neither of these candidates are known for their economic expertise. And if they were to tell you the truth about what's going on, they would also have to tell you that a lot of the promises they are making in this campaign, of all of those tax cuts, and universal health care, and everything else may right now be going down the drain, because we are not going to be able to afford it" ("AC 360," 9/17).

Washington Post's Robinson, on McCain: "He has been a deregulator ... for his entire career. This is what he has favored and I think it's going to be difficult for him to make everyone forget that. ... It's so counter to everything we have ever heard from John McCain. It's not really plausible at this point."

More Robinson: "I suspect that in his heart of hearts, McCain is where he has always been. You know, I don't think he is fundamentally changed his philosophy in the course of the a couple days. He's certainly changed what he believes he needs to say as a candidate for president. But, you know, I suspect that basically, he would like to continue deregulating the economy and let it take care of itself" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 9/17).

THE TRUMP BUMP?

And during an appearance on "LKL," Donald Trump endorsed McCain.

Trump, on who would handle the economic crisis better: "I know John McCain, and John McCain's a great guy, a tremendous guy. I've known him for a long time. And I'm with him, and I'm with him based on the fact that I have great knowledge of John McCain"

CNN's Larry King: "Have you formally endorsed the ticket?"

Trump: "No, but I'm endorsing McCain. ... I've known him, I like him, I respect him."

L. King: "So you're endorsing him?"

Trump: "He's a smart guy and I think he's going to be a great president."

L. King: "So you're endorsing him?"

Trump: "Sure, I'll endorse him on your show, why not?" (CNN, 9/17).