The Trail

STILL IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Palin Planning to Speak At Governors' Meeting

For anyone who thought Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin might hole up in her home state after losing last week, think again.

Palin announced yesterday that she will be front and center at the Republican Governors Association annual meeting in Miami this week, delivering remarks about "Looking Toward the Future" and holding a news conference.

And the former Republican vice presidential nominee began a new round of national interviews last night, defending herself anew on Fox News Channel against a torrent of leaks from advisers to Sen. John McCain. NBC's Matt Lauer flew to Anchorage to record an interview that is scheduled to air today and tomorrow.

Asked on Fox's "On the Record" about clothes purchased for her by the Republican National Committee, Palin responded, "I did not order the clothes. Did not ask for the clothes. I would have been happy to have worn my own clothes from Day One."

Palin repeatedly made clear that she felt unable to defend herself against attacks and inaccurate reporting. And she said she did not regret going "off-script once in a while," saying, "Geez, if this is all going to be so scripted and kind of like a movie screen and we have to follow verbatim everything that somebody writes for you, I don't want any part of that. That's not who I am, and that's not who John McCain is either."

She said she "would have preferred more opportunity to speak to the media more often, because there were a lot of things that I think I could have, should have said that could have, would have helped John McCain."

The Governors Association appearance would put her at the center of a debate within the Republican Party about where it goes from here. Conservatives are blaming McCain and Palin for turning away from ideological principles that have sustained Republicans since Ronald Reagan's victory in 1980. But moderates point to McCain's decision to embrace base voters, and the massive loss of independents and Hispanics, as evidence that the GOP needs to return to the center to win elections.

Palin could be a lightning rod for all of that discussion. She electrified base voters, going by surveys and her heavily attended campaign events, but polls also showed that she turned moderates away. How she positions herself in the coming weeks and months could decide whether she becomes a national voice in the party or the leader of a conservative faction.

-- Michael D. Shear