Palin derides anonymous critics on Fox as cowards

ANCHORAGE - Sarah Palin called her critics "cowardly" yesterday for anonymously ridiculing her and denied that she was unaware that Africa is a continent, not a country.

Anonymous Republican campaign sources cited in a Fox News report also said Palin could not name the three countries in the North American Free Trade Agreement - Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Palin, who returned to the Alaska governor's office from her two-month odyssey as the GOP vice presidential nominee, said that allegation isn't true. She recalled discussing Africa and NAFTA with aides who prepared her for the vice presidential debate, and said any "allegations based on questions or comments that I made" were "taken out of context."

She said of the criticism, "that's cruel." "It's mean-spirited. It's immature. It's unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away with it, taking things out of context and then tried to spread something on national news."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Shays says GOP must work on its outreach efforts
Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut, until he lost on Tuesday, held the distinction of being the last congressional Republican in New England.

Yesterday, he said that the path for the GOP to return from the wilderness in the region - as well as nationally - is not to become a more socially conservative party. Shays said on MSNBC that the party, while sticking by its fiscally conservative principles, needs to reach out to moderates and to ethnic minorities.

He also downplayed, in part, the depth of the loss, blaming the financial crisis. "He was doing fine until the economy started going under," Shays said of GOP presidential candidate John McCain. Shays also argued that his district, home to many financial services firms, was hit harder than any district in the country and called that a "big factor" in his loss.

Looking for a job after January, after 20 years in Congress, Shays did not deny interest when asked about a possible job in the Obama administration, possibly as director of the Peace Corps, which he served as a volunteer in Fiji during the 1960s.

FOON RHEE

Lieberman is approached about caucusing with GOP
The Joe Lieberman drama continues.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is talking to the independent senator from Connecticut about caucusing with the GOP.

Lieberman has been voting with Democrats, except on the Iraq war, but the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee angered Democrats by openly supporting Republican John McCain for president and speaking at the GOP convention.

On Thursday, Lieberman met with Senate majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who is considering removing Lieberman as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee as punishment.

But CNN reported that an aide to Lieberman said the senator made clear that was "not acceptable" to him, and reminded Reid that he was one of the senators who wrote the legislation creating the Homeland Security Department.

"Joe Lieberman has done something that I think was improper, wrong, and I'd like - if we weren't on television, I'd use a stronger word of describing what he did," Reid told CNN.

"But Joe Lieberman votes with me a lot more than a lot of my senators. He didn't support us on military stuff and he didn't support us on Iraq stuff. But you look at his record, it's pretty good."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

AND GLOBE STAFF

McCains thank supporters, urge them to help Obama
John and Cindy McCain sent a thank-you message to supporters yesterday that also encourages them to help President-elect Barack Obama.

"It is the end of a long journey and your support through the ups and downs has meant more to us than you may ever know," they wrote. "Although we were disappointed with the results, we must move beyond this campaign and work together to get our country moving again.

"It is our sincere hope that you will join us in putting our country first and continue to work to keep our nation safe, free, and prosperous," they added. "We urge you to join us in not just congratulating Senator Obama, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together as a nation. Whatever our differences may be, we are all fellow Americans."

GLOBE STAFF