Hot: Sarah Palin Lays Out Her Plans as V.P. and Creates a New Zinger Against Obama/Biden

I turned on the TV just as Sarah Palin was beginning to speak and then introduce John McCain in Cedar Rapids, Iowa today. To the best of my knowledge, this is her first roll-out of her new stump speech, and it’s chock full of her plans for action as a vice president as well as a few choice zingers against McCain/Palin’s opponents. It’s so good, I’m pulling it out of its spot below the fold:

“When it comes to reform, has he hever once said, ‘We did’ instead of ‘I will’?

I backtracked my DVR to be sure to catch every word of her speech. Here you go:

“John and I — we’re discussing some new responsibilities that I’m going to have as your vice president.

“First, I’ll help lead the mission of energy security. And here in Iowa, high gas prices — they’re making a full tank of gas seem like it’s a luxury nowadays. The cost of living is going up. The cost of groceries is going up. But the value of your paycheck is going down because of energy costs. People blame Washington on this one for doing next to nothing, and they’ve got that right. As governor, what I do now is oversee a very, very large portion of our domestic production of oil, coming from up there from Alaska. Recently, through negotiations, through compromise, and through a heck of a lot of competition being allowed, we got agreements to build a nearly 40 billion dollar natural gas pipeline to bring Alaska’s clean, green natural gas to you to very hungry markets down here.

“And, as your vice president, I’ll help John McCain expand our use of alternative fuels. And we’re going to drill now to make this nation energy independent.

“Folks, it is a matter of national security and future prosperity. We need American resources brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers, and we can do this.

“Second, I’ll help lead the mission of reforming government. And we’re going to make government more transparent and more accountable and more accessible for those who want to serve. We’re going to recruit the best people to run our agencies, regardless of party affiliation even, regardless if they have that Washington experience.

“We’re going to do a few new things also. For instance, as Alaska’s governor, I put the government’s checkbook on line, so that people could see where their money is going. We’re going to bring back transparency. [applause] We’ll bring that kind of transparency, that responsibility and accountability, back to D.C.

“And, third, I’ve told Senator McCain about a few things that I’ve learned as a governor and as a mom. Ever since I took the chief executive’s job up north, I’ve sought funding for students with special needs. And it’s an issue that has touched my heart beginning about 13 years ago with the addition to our extended family of a nephew with autism. And now we have been so blessed in our family with a special added perspective with the birth of our beautiful baby boy Trig about four months ago. We’ve joined so many American families that know that with some of life’s biggest joys sometimes come with some unique challenges.

“We’re going to make sure that government is on their side.

‘When it comes to the big issues in our campaign — back to our opponent — he likes to point the finger of blame.

“But has he ever really lifted a finger to help? Has he ever reached out a reformer’s hand to the other side of the aisle? Has he ever told his own party, ‘No!,’ so he could work well with others, to get others to say yes?

“When it comes to reform, has he hever once said, ‘We did’ instead of ‘I will’?

“John McCain and I — we are optimistic about solving the big problems. And why? It’s because we’ve gotten results. We have the track record, a consistent track record of being committed to reform and putting government on the side of the people. We’ve brought about change and reform.

“And joining the ticket with John McCain, I know that it is a great privilege. To serve beside him as vice president of the United States will be the highest but also the most humbling of honors.

“Our opponents have been going on lately about how they fight for you, they say. My running mate won’t say this on his own behalf so I’m going to say it for him. There’s only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you. …

He is the only one ready to serve us as our 44th president …