Palin on 9NEWS NBC, Colorado

[Update: I removed the video because it starts automatically and that's very annoying.]

Click here to watch the full interview

Palin's last answer (about VP duties) has been picked on. And I address it below. But there's nothing too embarrassing here. So few comments:

Palin says

[Barack Obama] wants to take more of [Joe's] money and give it to other people according to his [own] priorities. And Joe the plumber said 'mmm' that sounds a little bit like socialism to him.

Sure. But it just sounds like the basic theory of taxation to me. As soon as we give any money to the government in exchange for services we're looking at something that sounds a little bit like socialism. When will the knee-jerk reaction to this word stop? It's not the same as a dictatorship. It's not the same as a fascism. It just isn't.

Asked if clean coal exists Palin responds

Yeah absolutely. We need to develop that clean coal technology. I know that Joe Biden has told the voter that 'no there is no such thing. We don't support clean coal.' No. Call him on that. Absolutely. That technology needs to be found.

Biden's comment was

We're not supporting clean coal. Guess what? China is building two every week, two dirty coal plants. And it's polluting the United States, it's causing people to die. … China's gonna burn 300 years of bad coal unless we figure out how to clean their coal up, because it's gonna ruin your lungs, and there's nothing we can do about it.

Then Biden says of building coal plants Make 'em clean. The point he makes against clean coal is that the current technology is not to be trusted. The plants are not producing clean coal even if you want to call it that. But he obviously believes that clean coal can exist. We just don't have it in hand right now.

Palin believes that it exists even tho we have no technology to get it. On this issue the candidates can't help but be in about the same place on clean coal. Both would use it if a reliable technology was developed.

Answering a question from a student, Brandon, about the Vice President's role Palin says

They're in charge of the United States senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom and it's a great job and I look forward to having that job.

She needs to look at the job description. The VP is not in charge of the Senate. Article I section 3 of the constitution explains that the VP shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be evenly divided. You can't let the title President of the Senate go to your head. It doesn't mean much.