Apparently, the worst is yet to come for Sarah Palin.  According to a number of sources, CBS will air the last part of its interview with her tonight.  It’s not good news for the McCain campaign

Of concern to McCain’s campaign, however, is a remaining and still-undisclosed clip from Palin’s interview with Couric last week that has the political world buzzing.  The Palin aide, after first noting how “infuriating” it was for CBS to purportedly leak word about the gaffe, revealed that it came in response to a question about Supreme Court decisions.

After noting Roe vs. Wade, Palin was apparently unable to discuss any major court cases.  There was no verbal fumbling with this particular question as there was with some others, the aide said, but rather silence.

Every school kid learns a few Supreme Court cases.  Roe v. Wade is one, but so are Marbury v. Madison, Dredd Scott, Plessy v. Ferguson,  Brown v. Board of Education, even Bush v. Gore.

She. Didn’t. Freaking. Know.

But just for a moment, let’s give the Sarahnator the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe she was sick the week her high school civics class covered the Supreme Court.  Maybe the Alaska Independence Party got a law passed prohibiting any mention of Supreme Court cases in Alaska’s school curriculum.  Maybe none of the six colleges she attended offered an American History class (or maybe she didn’t take any).

Even then, there’s a small problem:  Exxon v. Baker, from June of this year:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reduced what had once been a $5 billion punitive damages award against Exxon Mobil to about $500 million. The ruling essentially concluded a legal saga that started when the Exxon Valdez, a supertanker, struck a reef and spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into the Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989.

And it’s not like Sunshine Sarah didn’t know about it:

Public officials in Alaska are reacting strongly to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Wednesday to slash the $2.5 billion damage award to Alaska fishermen to $508 million, nearly 20 years after the Exxon Valdez disaster. . . .

Gov. Sarah Palin [said,]  “I am extremely disappointed with today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Palin said. “While the decision brings some degree of closure to Alaskans suffering from 19 years of litigation and delay, the court gutted the jury’s decision on punitive damages.”

Palin added, “It is tragic that so many Alaska fishermen and their families have had their lives put on hold waiting for this decision. My heart goes out to those affected, especially the families of the thousands of Alaskans who passed away while waiting for justice.”

Palin said the decision today undercut one of the principal legs of deterrence for those engaged in maritime shipping in Alaska waters. She called on state and federal agencies to be vigilant and firm in regulating such activities.

This was a huge deal in Alaska, generating bipartisan outrage.  Palin was right in the middle of it.  According to a friend who does public relations for progressive organizations, Palin appeared at several events to express her outrage over the decision.

Clearly she’s panicking.  She is so discombobulated, so completely freaked out that she can’t even remember the biggest Supreme Court case to hit Alaska in many years.  She isn’t stupid.  She’s cratering.

Either that, or Katie Couric scares the living crap out of her.  That doesn’t exactly reassure me that a President Palin could stare down Hu Jintao or Vladimir Putin.

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