The teenage Sarah Palin fan who Norah O’Donnell asked (or, grilled) about bailouts on Wednesday has responded in a lengthy blog after her story was picked up all over TV and the web.

During a live hit on MSNBC from a book signing line for “Going Rogue,” O’Donnell asked a girl to read her t-shirt, which was a joke about bailouts, before following up with a question. “Did you know that Sarah Palin supported the bailout?” she said, and read from her notes to get the exact language. She summed up the report saying of the supporters, “They can’t be specific in some cases about the issues, but they feel a connection.”

Depending on your point of view, what happened here was either “Badgers Teenage Girl About Sarah Palin” or “Stumps Palin Supporter“. But now, the girl who was asked the question is responding on her blog (perfectly titled “Red White and Conservative”), and “Jackie” sheds some light on how everything went down:

She told us she’d be walking up to us. You know like she just stumbled upon us. The shot began… I kept telling myself answer her question well, don’t freak out. Well, I thought she’d ask me the same question. She asked the man beside me (who by the way is NOT my dad) the same question she had before we went on air. Myself on the other hand, not the same story. She had me read my shirt and then proceeded to ask me “Did you know Sarah Palin supported the bailout” to be 100% honest I was like, are you kidding me? She is trying to use my shirt against me. I was so shocked by the craftiness she had that I was truly stumped.

O’Donnell responded on Twitter to some “lies” out there:

Hey want to respond re lies out there … 1) Palin fan was not 13. She’d voted in 2008 2) The man was not her father ..

3) I walked the line and asked who wanted to talk on camera. They volunteered.

But Jackie disputes a key point. “Norah also claims I told her I voted (on her twitter),” she writes. “That is not true. She never asked my age or if I voted. I’m 17 I couldn’t have voted…and I don’t live in an ACORN district so I didn’t have a chance to even register illegally.” (Nice ACORN shot in there…)

No matter your political beliefs, this feels like a borderline-ambush interview. With the widely-held view of MSNBC as a liberal network (based on its prime time programming), this tone and style seeping into news coverage mirrors what many on the left claim Fox News is guilty of. This will provide more fodder to those who feel MSNBC is unfair to conservatives – and in a week where we’ve seen more Sarah Palin coverage than possibly even Barack Obama coverage last year this time, this short exchange will be part of the overall takeaway.

Here’s the MSNBC segment:

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But every few weeks one of the 435 other congressmen and congresswomen bubble up and into the media spotlight – and now it’s Rep. Anh Joseph Cao‘s turn.

Recently, it has helped to be loud and disruptive, like Joe Wilson and his “you lie” comment or Alan Grayson and various hyperbolic statements. Also there’s Michele Bachmann, whose “Super Bowl of Freedom” has helped increase her spotlight.

But Rep. Cao made his waves by casting an important vote – as the only Republican to vote ‘yay’ on the health care bill Saturday night.

Part of the reason the vote is so significant is it allows Democrats to say there was bipartisanship involved, and it means the GOP leaders like Eric Cantor can’t claim a 100% whip-ping of his party. But also, there’s what RNC Chairman Michael Steele said on ABCNews.com’s Top Line last week:

Candidates who live in moderate to slightly liberal districts have got to walk a little bit carefully here, because you do not want to put yourself in a position where you’re crossing that line on conservative principles, fiscal principles, because we’ll come after you.

In a CNN interview yesterday (below), Cao laughed off the quote, reminding Steele how the GOP celebrated his victory just last year in a traditionally Democratic district. He said Steele “has the right to come after those members who do not conform to party lines, but I would hope that he would work with us in order to adjust to the needs of the district and to hold a seat that the Republican Party would need.”

The reason behind Cao’s yes-vote came after two key events occurred: first, the Stupak amendment was added, banning government funding of abortion (Cao is pro-life). Secondly, Pres. Obama made his pitch to Cao, and he promised help with recovery from Katrina. Conservatives seem to have mixed feelings on Cao’s vote. Quin Hillyer of The American Spectator writes, “Conservatives need to take a deep breath, relax, and stop bashing Joseph Cao,” because, “Cao did not hold out for just some ridiculous pork project favored by big-money lobbyists; he instead asked for help with local issues caused by THE GREATEST NATURAL CATASTROPHE THAT EVER HIT THIS NATION.”

Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin asks, “Can’t the GOP do better?” She notes Cao voted yes simply for a commitment from Pres. Obama: “You know what that’s worth: Nothing.”

Cao had a short interview this morning on Fox & Friends and will likely be seen elsewhere on the dial as the day and week progresses. Will he keep the backing of his GOP buddies or get Scozzafava’ed next year? Welcome to the spotlight, Joseph Cao…

Here’s the CNN interview:

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