Sarah Palin Tells Oprah Levi Johnston Is Still "Part of the Family"

USMagazine, Thursday, November 12, 2009, 10:21am (PST)

Oprah Winfrey puts Sarah Palin in the hot seat on her Nov. 16 show, addressing everything from Levi Johnston to the former GOP vice-presidential contender's disastrous interview with Katie Couric.

According to excerpts obtained by Usmagazine.com, Winfrey asks Palin if Johnston, 19, will be invited to Thanksgiving dinner.

"You know, that's a great question," Palin replies. "And it's lovely to think that he would ever even consider such a thing. Because, of course, you want -- he is a part of the family and you want to bring him in the fold and kind of under your wing. And he needs that, too, Oprah. I think he needs to know that he is loved and he has the most beautiful child and this can all work out for good. It really can."

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Of Johnston badmouthing the family to press, the former Alaska Gov. says: "We don't have to keep going down this road of controversy and drama all the time. We're not really into the drama. We don't really like that. We're more productive. We have other things to concentrate on ..."

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Palin did not want to talk about her notoriously awkward interview with Couric.

"Must we?" she asks Winfrey.

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During Palin's 2008 chat with Couric, Couric asked Palin to explain why Alaska's proximity to Russia gives her foreign policy experience. When Couric asked Palin what newspapers and magazines she reads regularly, an uncomfortable Palin replied: "Um, all of them, any of them."

Palin tells Winfrey she didn't think the sit-down wasn't a seminal defining moment for her.

"And neither did the campaign," she adds. "In fact, that is why segment 2 and 3 and 4 and maybe 5 were scheduled. The campaign said, 'Right on. Good. You're showing your independence. This is what America needs to see and it was a good interview.' And, of course, I'm thinking, 'If you thought that was a good interview, I don't know what a bad interview is,' because I knew it was a bad interview."