Sarah Palin says 'we need to keep drilling'

In a brief streetside interview with ABC News, Palin explains why she believes it's crucial to avoid any drilling delays. In the 41-second video clip she also invokes a lingering refrain that helped clench her abbreviated term as Alaska's governor -- a call to be tough on big oil. And she warns that government agencies "better be doing their job," rigorously overseeing the industry and not just taking oil companies at their word that everything is a-OK.

Even though she's left the Last Frontier for greener political pastures, Palin's finger-pointing fingerprint remains here in Alaska, the oil-rich state she shed from her daily chores when she quit her gig as governor. This summer, final reports are due from an inquiry she ordered analyzing Alaska's North Slope oil industry, including gaps in regulatory oversight and the condition of current infrastructure. Spills from BP facilities in 2006 prompted the reviews.

Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com.