Miami — In an interview after her speech at the Republican Governors’ Association meetings here today, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin criticized the Bush administration for exacerbating voter “distrust” by shifting money from the $700 billion bailout from buying bad bank assets to purchasing additional stock in banks. In response to the proposed changes, announced yesterday by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Palin expressed frustration on behalf of a weary electorate and offered a stern warning. “No more surprises,” she said. “I think the surprises make the electorate distrust elected officials and their ability to appoint people who are to be looking out for the public’s interest.” The brief interview took place in a meeting room at the Miami Intercontinental Hotel. I asked her the question today because when Wolf Blitzer asked her a similar question yesterday, she struggled to give him an answer. She initially told him that “there is going to come a point here where absolutely the federal government must play an appropriate role in shoring up some of these industries that are hurting and will ultimately hurt our entire economy and the world’s economy if there aren’t some better decisions being made.” But then she spoke of the need for “personal responsibility” and worried about setting a bad precedent. Blitzer pressed her:
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