Palin says Romney and Ryan should 'go rogue'

Former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin said this year's GOP ticket should take after her and "go rogue," in a statement to The Weekly Standard Saturday.

"With so much at stake in this election, both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan should 'go rogue' and not hold back from telling the American people the true state of our economy and national security," Palin said. "They need to continue to find ways to break through the filter of the liberal media to communicate their message of reform."

Palin, the former governor of Alaska and Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) running mate during the 2008 campaign, also criticized President Barack Obama for allegedly brushing off the topic of the national debt during a recent interview with David Letterman.

In the interview, Letterman asked Obama what the debt was at the time he took office in January 2009, asking, "Was it $10 trillion?" Obama responded that he did not know what the precise number was, but did not dispute Letterman's estimate.

"Even my 10-year-old daughter knows that it's $16 trillion, and unlike Obama, she's not responsible for adding trillions to it," Palin said. "Obama casually told America that we don't have to worry about our debt in the 'short term.' Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan need to ask him how long that 'short term' will last."

Palin's use of "$16 trillion" is similar to Republican claims that Obama added more to the national debt than all 43 of his predecessors put together, an argument Politifact rated "mostly false" in April.