WASHINGTON - Is Sarah Palin going through a catharsis, some sort of political rehabilitation or is she now a permanent fixture on the national political scene?
 
The former Republican vice presidential hopeful returned home after the election to her job as Alaska governor where she promptly held a news conference and conducted several television interviews. She’s lined up for NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday.
 
In addition, later this week she will head to sunny Miami to attend the Republican Governors Association annual conference where she will again meet with reporters on Thursday.
 
She is to speak during a session entitled “Looking Toward the Future.”  That wouldn’t have anything to do with 2012 would it?  Nevermind that last week she avoided talking about her political future.

Also on the panel was another name that bubbled up for the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomination, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is expected to be a national player as the Republican Party regroups after losing the White House.

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Rick Wilking (Palin on election night)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Republican presidential candidate John McCain had kind words for two of his possible vice presidential picks in recent days but dropped nothing more than hints about his eventual choice.

With the Republican convention starting next Monday, McCain is expected to name his running mate in the coming days — possibly at a rally in the swing state of Ohio on Friday, his 72nd birthday.

At a fundraising event in San Diego on Tuesday evening, he praised Mitt Romney , once a bitter rival for the Republican nomination who has now become a strong advocate for McCain on cable news shows.

“He does better on television for me than he did for himself,” McCain joked, reviving a line he has used before to acknowledge Romney’s efforts.

On NBC’s Tonight show on Monday, he lauded Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty when host Jay Leno mentioned him.

“He’s a great young man,” McCain said. “He’s a great governor of his state, and he’s done a great job, and he was reelected in 2006. It was a tough year for Republicans.”

Leno suggested Pawlenty could get “eaten alive” in a vice presidential debate with Sen. Joe Biden, the foreign policy heavyweight chosen by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as his running mate.

McCain did not agree and joked that the real difficulty would be Biden’s propensity for verbosity.

“The problem for any of them might be getting a word in edgewise,” he said. 

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.