ANCHORAGE - Can Sarah Palin go home again?
In the 68 days since Alaska's governor began her run for vice president, things have changed on the home front. Some of her former allies are fuming, and former enemies are lying in wait. Public perceptions of the governor have also changed. Has the governor changed as well?
Questions about Palin's future began to circulate at Alaska's Election Central on Tuesday night almost as soon as the national election results came in.
Palin is expected to arrive in Alaska sometime today in a campaign plane. Will she be the old Palin, a populist who worked with Democrats to achieve victories in the Legislature, or the sharp partisan from the national campaign?
At an Alaska Obama gathering Tuesday night, some celebrants said they were disappointed by the new Palin they saw in the campaign.
"All the alliances she used to get things done have been shattered," said Kate Troll, executive director of the Alaska Conservation Alliance. "She comes back to unknown territory."
But some Republican legislators who have backed Palin in the past said they thought she could resume her leadership style now that she was back to her old job. Her support was built around issues, not party loyalty, said Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer.
"If she takes the same course her next two years and picks issues with broad consensus, it won't change at all," Seaton said.
Feelings get raw in campaigns and then everyone gets back to work, said Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage, who directed the Legislature's Troopergate inquiry. He said he's more worried about Palin's future relations with the federal government, whose help is needed on loan guarantees and rights of way to get the gas pipeline built.
"I hope the new president has a magnanimous soul," French said.
http://www.adn.com/palin/story/579161.html
So...what do you think will determine her running in 2012?
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