KING: Signing Arizona's tough new immigration law put Governor Jan Brewer on the nation's political radar, and it hasn't hurt her effort too win a full term in the governor's office. Recent polls show Governor Brewer comfortably ahead, but with only five days until the election surprises keep cropping up, both in the courts and in the news media.

Governor Brewer joins us now to go "one-on-One". And Governor I want to start with the recent headline in "The Arizona Republic" that takes us back in time to 1988 in an incident you were involved in, in which officers say you failed field sobriety tests, but you were not charged. I want to read from "The Arizona Republic" report.

"Brewer was released because according to the arresting officers, she was protected from arrest by her status as a lawmaker in session. Brewer did not ask for immunity and did not mention that she was a senator, according to reports." You were a state senator at the time. Governor, what happened?

GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: Well, I had gone out to dinner with some legislators and had dinner and had a couple of glasses of wine and was driving home on I-17, which is a freeway here in Phoenix, and there was a construction zone and we were traveling at very slow speed and I rear-ended the car that was in front of me. And the Department of Public Safety was called.

And they determined, by their investigation, if you will, that they were going to detain me. I believe I was not impaired and it was the decision of their supervisors that I wasn't, I imagine, and they released me. So that was the end of the story. The bottom line is -- is that indeed, I never claimed that I was a state senator, nor did I -- or do I believe that elected officials should have legislative immunity.

So that was not anything that I brought up, and I certainly tried to the best of my ability, and I think the report will say, that I was very cooperative and polite. And -- but it's silly season and I guess these things are of interest 22 years later.

KING: It was 22 years ago. Do you clearly remember the incident? Because you just said you had a couple of glasses of wine. In some of the reporting on this incident --

(CROSSTALK)

KING: -- it says at the scene you said you had a glass of scotch at the scene, and at the police station you said you might have had two scotches. Was it scotch? Was it wine?

BREWER: Well, you know I have never drank scotch in my life. You know, generally, if I decide to have a cocktail or something, it's usually Merlot wine. But you know, I don't think that's -- it doesn't matter what I was drinking. You know I had a couple of drinks and it was reported and, you know, it was an unfortunate situation.

KING: I assume when you say silly season, you assume there's some other motivation that this is in the headlines now.

BREWER: Well, it's interesting that so much stuff just sort of rises to the top, for whatever the reasons. But, yeah, it is the silly season. I think people are kind of digging and trying to discredit different candidates, not only here in Arizona, but certainly across America. But we'll get through it. The people of Arizona know who --

KING: Do you think --

BREWER: Do I think it's my opponent that's digging? Well, one could assume that.

KING: Well, I don't want -- we don't like to assume in my business. Tough any evidence that this is the result of opposition research by Mr. Goddard?

BREWER: I don't.

KING: Some of your observers and critics in the state of Arizona say they see one person in Governor Jan Brewer and a deferent person in candidate Jan Brewer. Specifically, on the case of the Obama administration's stimulus program. On your campaign website, you write, Arizona can't afford Obama. And you go on to say, "Never before has government spent so much and intervened so directly in credit allocation to spur growth. Yet the results have been mediocre at best." Yet if you go to the official state website, you have a stimulus map up there and if you click on it, you go to the federal website and it shows al these successful federal stimulus projects around the state of Arizona. Are you trying to have it both ways?

BREWER: I certainly wasn't going to refuse the stimulus dollars and let it go back to some other state. We did the best we could with it, and in some instances, it has been helpful, and I'm, you know, going to use it in order to have our tax dollars stay here in Arizona. But we cannot continue down the path of the Obama administration in the spending.

KING: As you know, though, many --

(CROSSTALK)

KING: Many say you're not the only Republican, some members of Congress who voted against it, then go to the ribbon cutting ceremonies. There are a lot of people who say there's been some hypocrisy on the Republican side. People who say, oh, my god, this is the most horrible thing ever, but then actually help balance their budget or improve their roads by using that very same money.

BREWER: Well, I think, philosophically, we don't agree in which the manner of the federal government continues to print money and spend money and take our children's future into their hands today. We're going to be in debt forever, but we're certainly not going to cut out of our nose to spite our face and not accept those dollars.

KING: I want to take you back to what you have called the longest 16 seconds of your life. This was a moment in your one and only debate with your opponent, Terry Goddard. In your opening statement, where you locked up a little bit and seemed to get a little lost. I want to play this for our viewers.

BREWER: We have cut the budget, we have balanced the budget, and we are moving forward. We have done everything that we could possibly do. We have, um -- did what was right for Arizona.

KING: Now, Governor, again, you called that the longest 16 seconds of your life there, but after the debate, significantly --

BREWER: And that's debatable too. Some people -- go ahead.

KING: You refused to do any additional debates with your opponent, Mr. Goddard. Don't the people of Arizona in such important times, whether it's you or Mr. Goddard, will face a big budget shortfall. You have the immigration debate in your state, so many other important issues in t the state. Don't the people of Arizona deserve more conversations between the governor and her opponent?

BREWER: You know, actually, the people of Arizona, they know my opponent and they know Jan Brewer. We both have served in public office for, you know, 25, 28 years. They know what my opponent stands for, they know what Jan Brewer stands for. Bottom line is that the debate was demanded and was done because of the clean election system here in Arizona, and indeed, it was the longest 10 or 16 seconds of my life, a brain freeze, for whatever the reason. But we had determined early on in the campaign that we would do the one debate with Terry Goddard that was required through clean elections and then we weren't going to debate anymore. I was not going to give Mr. Goddard an opportunity to redefine himself.

KING: Governor Jan Brewer is the Republican governor of Arizona, running for re-elections five days from today. Governor, thanks for your time.

BREWER: Thank you, John.