\nBarack Obama, the former GOP vice-presidential candidate told Matt Lauer on Tuesday’s Today show, “did a great job to articulate his ability to usher in change.”
\nDespite this, Palin initially thought last week’s Presidential election results “would be closer,” were it not for the fact there was an “anti-incumbency sentiment across the country” and “we had the R [for Republican] next to our names.”
\nEven so, as late as election night she thought she and John McCain would be the victors. “I didn’t know,” she said. “I had great faith.”
\nEqually surprising, she said, is the barrage of recent criticism that has come her way from unnamed sources within the McCain campaign, in which she has been labeled both a “rogue” and a “diva.”
\n“All anonymous sources,” she said, also diffusing the argument that she overspent on her wardrobe \u2013 a path Palin has been down before. Monday night she told FOX News, “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.”
\n‘Great Relationship’
\nShe confirmed to Lauer, however, that she had prepared a speech on election night but was not permitted to deliver it. She said that her words spoke of John McCain as a great American hero.
\nAs for any purported tension between Palin and her running mate, as was also reported in the final days of the campaign, Palin countered, “We have a great relationship \u2026 had from Day One.”
\nAsked who might have circulated rumors of a rift between the two, Palin replied, “I honestly do not know, because it’s not true, Matt. I have nothing but admiration for him and his family.”
\nEven as the campaign wore on, she said, “Never once was there an inkling of tension.” Her relationship with McCain, she said, is “warm, friendly and professional.”
\nPalin’s husband, “First Dude” Todd Palin, told Lauer that should there be any future campaigns in his wife’s future, he would be along for the ride.
\nRegarding the effect this last campaign had on her family \u2013 included the rumor that her mom-to-be daughter Bristol was being forced to marry boyfriend Levi Johnston under pressure from party handlers \u2013 Palin said, “Lots of rumors, lots of speculation. When those darts and arrows started flying, I knew we were on the right path.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"