I was driven to give the best possible performance I could based on the material that was given to me and that material was documentary footage of the President speaking to people.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I savored my time on top of the podium by watching the American flag rise up out of the crowd as the anthem played, thinking about how every single second of training I've done was for this minute and how many people played a role in my achievement.
For a documentary filmmaker, I do very well.
As press secretary, I spent countless hours defending the administration from the podium in the White House briefing room.
The good and wonderful thing about my whole career is that I've always felt that the audience, if I do it well, will track wherever I go, whether it's President or a lawyer or bad guy or good. All I have to do is execute the material enough where they buy into it. I've had the great luxury of the audiences accepting that.
Let me tell you this, if I had wanted to have a library of audio and videotapes of Bill Clinton, I could have had that. And after I was accused of being a liar, I wished that I had of.
I didn't do this for the President. When I had this opportunity, not only was it work, but it was something that I could do, as an actor, for the victims and their families. Something I could give back.
I think the greatest thing about making a documentary is your ability to just follow the story and the subject.
While I've never 'phoned in' a performance, I think I have given some performances where I could have been a bit braver.
From being a little girl in the projects, going through all of the mess that I was going through, to ending up at the Inauguration for the first African-American president, I'm speechless right now because I never thought I'd - I never ever - I couldn't even see that far. Even when I ended up in the music business, I couldn't see that.
I was very inspired by the videos of the crowds at the Palin rallies.