On GOP ticket, no 'white flag of surrender'

Sarah Palin said yesterday that she's still optimistic that she and John McCain will win on Tuesday, but raised eyebrows by hinting that she might try to be at the top of the Republican ticket in four years if they lose.

"I'm not doing this for naught," the Republican vice presidential candidate said, adding that she would not "wave a white flag of surrender against some of the political shots that we've taken."

In excerpts released by ABC News last evening of an interview that will air today on "Good Morning America," Palin also said that she's "thinking that it's going to go our way on Tuesday, Nov. 4. I truly believe that the wisdom of the people will be revealed on that day."

Still, even contemplating a loss and her own political future is not typical of vice presidential nominees. With Palin sometimes straying off message, unnamed McCain advisers have been quoted in recent days calling her a "diva" and a "whack job."

McCain, however, said last night that the reports of dissension between his camp and Palin's are "nonsense."

"We get along fine," he said on CNN's "Larry King Live." "Sarah's a maverick. I'm a maverick. No one expected us to agree on everything. . . . But we share the same values, the same principles, the same goals for this country."

Since McCain made her his running mate two months ago, Palin has become a favorite of conservative Republicans, but polls show she has turned independents and moderates away from McCain.

In the CNN interview, McCain also said that he didn't realize that she would be so "controversial." "But, I got to tell you, every time I'm around her, I'm uplifted," he added. "I haven't seen a candidate ignite people the way that Sarah Palin has."

King presented a scenario in which McCain was president, but was flying over the Pacific Ocean when the United States was attacked. "How much confidence do you have in vice president Palin?" King asked.

"Total," McCain replied.

"She has the instincts, she shares my world view. . . . Look, I would remind you that there was an obscure governor from Arkansas that not too many years ago . . . gained the presidency. And he had no national security experience," he said, referring to Bill Clinton.

"She not only would take over. She would inspire Americans. That's what I think she would do," McCain said. "She would unite the country in a time of crisis."