Palin on Egypt: Obama’s 3 a.m. call ‘went right to the answering machine’

Sarah Palin is criticizing the president’s handling of the crisis in Egypt, saying that “3 a.m. White House phone call” was one that “went right to the answering machine.”

Palin, speaking with the Christian Broadcasting Network in an interview, accused the administration of not keeping the public properly informed of the tense situation in Egypt.

{mosads}”I’m not real enthused about what it is that that’s being done on a national level and from D.C. in regards to understanding all the situation there in Egypt,” she said. “We need strength and sound mind there in the White House. We need to know what it is that America stands for so we know who it is that America will stand with. And we do not have all that information yet.”

She suggested that Americans are not getting the full story on the turmoil.

“We want to be able to trust those who are screaming for democracy there in Egypt, that it is a true sincere desire for freedoms and the challenge that we have though, is how do we verify what we are being told, what it is that the American public are being fed via media, via the protestors, via the government there in Egypt in order for us to really have some sound information to make wise decisions,” she said.

The departure of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is “a given,” according to Palin, and now the question becomes who will replace him. Americans should not stand for any influence by the Muslim Brotherhood or other “radical Islamists,” she said.

“We need to find out who was behind all of the turmoil and the revolt and the protests so that good decisions can be made in terms of who we will stand by and support,” she said.

The interview also touched on her potential plans to run for president. If she plans to run in 2012, Palin does not plan to win over her critics.

“I would continue on the same course of not really caring what other people say about me,” she said. “I do believe…that there are more commonsense conservative Americans on our side on the issues that we stand for than there are those who oppose the idea of individualism and God given liberty and opportunity to work hard and to progress according to our own work ethic and our own merits.”

She also said her decision not to attend next week’s Conservative Political Action Conference, which is attracting a slew of conservative leaders, including several positioning themselves for 2012 bids, was strictly due to a tight schedule, not due to ideological differences.

“It really is a matter of time for me,” she said. Palin declined another invite to the event in 2010, instead sending along a taped message.