I’m a big Sarah Palin fan, but the Katie Couric interview did not go well, and I can’t blame Couric. The Gibson interview went well, and Sarah looked off balance at the “Bush Doctrine” question, but as nobody knows what the heck that is, and Gibson apparently got it wrong, that was not a big deal.

The Couric interview left Palin looking though like she had trouble thinking quick on her feet. This is a real problem come debate time if she does not figure out how to answer questions better. She visibly lacked confidence when asked about Rick Davis.

Yes, Davis has ties to Freddie Mac, but instead of debating Couric whether those are two years old, (they’re not and it appeared she did not know the details on this), she should have talked about Jim Johnson and how much worse this line of attack is on Obama’s ties to lobbyists.

Saying the country could head towards a Depression if no action is taken is not consistent with McCain saying the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

Saying she and McCain are still figuring out where they stand on any issue is a definite no no. When asked a follow up about the pros and cons, she needs to be able to discuss. She just looked unprepared.

Saying she would bring the answer to Couric on what McCain’s track record is on deregulation was not a good answer. Yes, the question was pointedly about McCain’s track record on deregulation. Yes, Couric took away the example of McCain pointing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were headed towards crisis back in 2005. But, she could have pointed out how that showed better judgment and understanding of the economy than Barack Obama. The issue was not deregulation, it was who is better for the economy. Couric knows the public mood favors deregulation right now, and that’s not winning ground. And it was a fair question.

In the end, this was not Sarah Palin’s best foot forward. But the press have seen this now, and they will try to recreate this. They will come at her again and again until she can demonstrate she can focus her answers on how she defines the issues. She can do better. We’ve seen how amazing she was at the convention. But its as if she’s too honest for her own good that she seems unwilling to not give a direct answer to the question.

If nothing else, if she draws a blank, she needs to say, “Look, the real issue here is X, Americans care about X, and here’s why McCain has it right and Obama has it wrong.”