First, Palin responds very clearly to the whole Public Safety Officer controversy. She fired a political appointee. Political appointees serve at the pleasure of the executive. If the executive isn't happy with you, they can can you.
This issue was seen on the national stage with President Andrew Johnson's impeachment back in 1868. Congress has passed a law requiring its approval on any cabinet officials that the president fires. Johnson broke the law and was impeached, but not removed from office. Later, the Supreme Court found it to be an invalid law because it placed an unconstitutional check on the presidency.
I realize that Palin's controversy is happening on a state level, but the principles are the same.
Second, in regards to the duties of the vice president. She wasn't saying that she didn't know what the VP does. She was comparing the relative lack of official responsibilities of the VP (there are only 3 official duties) with her great responsibilities in running a state.
Notice what she said:
"I'm used to being very productive and working really hard every day...We want to make sure that the VP spot would be a fruitful type of position."The first person to hold the Vice President office, John Adams, famously said of the job that it was, "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."
The extra-Constitutional duties of the VP have been expanded greatly since Truman became president knowing nothing about Rooselvelt's war strategy or even the atomic bomb. That being said, the duties vary from administration to administration.
Palin is just expessing the fact that as a governor she is very busy and has a lot of responsibilties compared to the vice president job which has been known through most of its history as an "insignificant office."
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