Gov. Palin meets the press in Juneau

Gov. Sarah Palin talked to members of the press in Juneau today. The governor commented on the rejection of her second nominee for a vacant seat by State Senate Democrats and discussed other topics as well.

Palin expressed a willingness to compromise on two important issues. She’s said she might agree to accept federal stimulus funds if the legislature would use some of it to replace state spending:

"We can back out state dollars and replace them with stimulus dollars…I’ll feel better about it because then those dollars won’t just be additional dollars they’ll be replacement dollars."

On another issue, Gov. Palin had previously said that she was not interested in compromising on a measure requiring parents to give permission before their daughters under the age of 17 could get an abortion. Now, with the legislature due to adjourn in just nine days, the governor indicated that she would accept a bill that would only require parents to be notified about a teenager’s plan to have an abortion.

Gov. Palin was also asked about Levi Johnston's claim made on CBS's "Early Show" that he moved into the Palin's house a few weeks before his former fiancee Bristol Palin gave birth to their son Tripp:

"I know the truth about my family. I know details about whether Levi Johnston was allowed to live with my teenage daughter or not. By the way, it would be over my dead body that a kid would live with my teenage daughter."

The governor continues to prove that she is a mainstream conservative pragmatist in the mold of Ronald Reagan and Fred Thompson. She refuses to allow her political enemies on The Left to define her as an extreme right-wing ideologue.

Update: Alaska public radio station KTOO has audio of the press conference.

- JP