Sarah Palin cancels her interview on 'Today'

An NBC News source told Entertainment Weekly that Sarah Palin, who was scheduled to have an interview with Matt Lauer on Today has decided to back out because of recent comments from MSNBC's Martin Bashir. They are hoping to get her to reschedule the interview.

Bashir called Palin a "world class idiot" on his show after the vice presidential candidate made a statement comparing the national debt to slavery.

He went on to say:

"It's hardly surprising that [Palin] should choose to mention slavery in a way that is abominable to anyone who knows anything about its barbaric history," he continued. "So here's an example." He quoted an account written by plantation overseer Thomas Thistlewood in 1756 that caught a slave named Darby eating sugarcane, he was "well flogged and picked." Then the overseer "made Hector, another slave, sh-- in his mouth."

Quite an intense choice of words and set context for the MSNBC host. He was obviously heated at the moment.

After the fact, as EW reported, he apologized for his harsh statements. "My words were wholly unacceptable," Bashir said. "They were neither accurate, nor fair. They were unworthy of anyone who would claim to have an interest in politics. And they have brought shame upon my friends and colleagues at this network, none of whom were responsible for the things that I said, and at a place where we try every day to elevate political discourse and to focus on issues that matter to all of us."

Palin's is currently promoting her book Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas.