Palin presses her case

Sarah Palin's PR offensive continued this morning, with a bottom-line message: The sweeping Republican loss last week isn't her fault.

Following on a lengthy interview Monday night on Fox News Channel, the GOP vice presidential nominee said on NBC's "Today" show that John McCain's defeat to Democrat Barack Obama was "not so much a surprise."

Palin blamed the result on the Republican ticket not winning the Hispanic vote, being outspent "so tremendously," and being unable to overcome "the anti-incumbency sentiment that was spread across the land."

Plus, she said, Obama "did a great job articulating his ability to usher in change. Our ticket represented too much of the status quo."

All her explanations are true, but she did not mention that McCain's poll ratings plummeted not only because of the financial crisis but because of doubts about her readiness to be vice president.

The Alaska governor is scheduled to be interviewed again on CNN on Wednesday, then give a high-profile speech at the Republican Governors Association meeting on Thursday.

Her running mate, meanwhile, is scheduled to make his first public appearance since election night in another gig today on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."