The Screwups of Campaign '08

Presidential campaigns are so carefully stage-managed that few things are as entertaining as the mistakes politicians make on the trail. Throughout the 2008 race, check out TIME.com's ongoing chronicle of each candidate's gaffes, and then vote on just how big a screwup each one is

Mistakes Were Made

Palin's Roe v. Wade Confusion

Sarah Palin
Oct. 1, 2008

COURIC: "Do you think there's an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution?" PALIN: "I do. Yeah, I do." COURIC: "The cornerstone of Roe v Wade..." PALIN: "I do. And I believe that — individual states can handle what the people within the different constituencies in the 50 states would like to see their will ushered in in an issue like that."

—Palin, contradicting herself when discussing her stance on the controversial Roe v. Wade court case in an interview with Katie Couric on CBS' Evening News. Moments after reiterating her opposition to the court decision, Palin effectively endorsed the case's underpinning that legal conservatives have always rejected. Her suggestion that individual states should decide how to deal with a constitutional right also drew much criticism. Palin has since said she was "annoyed" with the way CBS News portrayed her interview with Couric and has blamed the filter of the mainstream media on her answers.


— Katie Rooney


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