Couric said that Palin may have gotten tripped up because she was not
prepared to answer more general questions during their interview following her
visit to the UN.

“I started by asking her who most impressed her as Vice
President and why, what was the best and worst things Dick Cheney had done as
Vice President, why was Roe v. Wade an ill-conceived or a bad Supreme Court
decision,” Couric told Letterman. “And I think she really hadn’t anticipated
those kinds of questions, so I think it might’ve thrown her off a bit. And then
we got into foreign policy — because, after all, she was at the UN meeting with
world leaders — and clearly she was struggling with some of those answers.”

While Couric did note that, in Palin’s defense, they were not easy
questions to answer, Letterman reminded her that the “What newspapers and
magazines do you read?” question was an easy one that Palin blew. Couric
explained how it came about and said that she disagrees with the way Palin is
characterizing the question in post-election interviews.

“We we doing
one of these walk-and-talks, it was a casual part of the interview, and I just
said, ‘I’m curious, what do you read? What has helped you shape your worldview?
What do you read to stay informed?’” Couric explained.

“A good question
but an easy question,” Letterman said.

“It was just really something I
was curious about,” Couric said, “and I’m not sure whether she was afraid to
offend certain people, if she would offend conservatives by saying she read the
New York Times….Even in the post-election interviews, Dave, that she’s done,
nobody’s really asked her, ‘Why didn’t you answer that question?’ She claims
that I said, ‘What do you read up there in Alaska?’ as if people in Alaska don’t
read or don’t have access to reading materials. I never said that. I’m aware
people in Alaska have access.”