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Alaska governor and former GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is in Georgia today, where she is appearing at four events in an effort to get out the Republican base in support of Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

Georgia voters will go to the polls tomorrow for a runoff election between Chambliss and Democratic rival Jim Martin, a vote that could help decide whether Democrats achieve a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. (Democrats now effectively hold 58 seats; if Martin and Minnesota Democrat Al Franken find their way to victory, they will have the necessary 60.)

Palin has already appeared in Augusta this morning, where she was greeted by several thousand supporters, according to the Associated Press, which notes that "Vendors sold bright pink 'Palin 2012' T-shirts and 'Palin for President: You Go Girl' buttons. She was greeted like a rock star with chants of 'Sa-rah!'"

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The Georgia senate runoff has featured appearances by political heavyweights from both sides of the aisle (even President-elect Obama cut a radio ad for Democrat Jim Martin). Now, the big GOP gun is coming out as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is set to join incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss for a series of rallies across the state next Monday, a day before the runoff election.

That Palin will be in the state so close to the vote is a statement about her new role in the party. Because runoff elections tends to be “base” elections, Chambliss is looking to energize conservatives in the state for the runoff and Palin’s presence is more evidence of her appeal to them. Other potential 2012 presidential candidates like Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani either have or plan to appear for Chambliss but Palin appears to be getting the job as the closer.

The race could give Democrats a 60-seat majority in the Senate depending on what happens in the Minnesota recount and saving the seat would be a rare victory for the GOP in the current environment. Palin could certainly get some credit as well. But Democrats retain hopes for taking the seat, as the Politico reports.

The campaign might be over but the television ads go on. Our Country Deserves Better, a conservative political action committee, will begin running ads in Alaska and on national television this week honoring Gov. Sarah Palin. Timed for Thanksgiving, the ads (there are two 60-second versions and two 30-second ones) features the PAC’s officials thanking Palin for her candidacy.

“Governor Palin inspired millions of Americans by fighting for common sense conservative principles in a positive and uplifting manner,” said Sal Russo, chief strategist of the PAC in a release announcing the ads. “I worked with President Ronald Reagan since his first days in the California Governor’s Office, and I can tell you that I see so many similarities between President Reagan and Governor Palin. Palin inspires such passion among Americans because she speaks to them in a straightforward and sincere way without the parsed statements and duplicity of typical Washington insiders and bureaucrats.”

You can see all the versions here or watch the 60-second Thanksgiving version below:

With the GOP washout and 2008 drawing to a close, the beginning of the 2012 presidential chatter was inevitable. Of course, it was Alaska Governor Sarah Palin who dominated it in the days following the election, with a series of national interviews and a heavily covered trip to the Republican Governor’s Association meeting in Miami last week.

But some other potential contenders are hardly wasting time and the Senate runoff in Georgia is shaping up as a showcase for them. Mike Huckabee, who won more delegates in the Republican primaries than anyone besides John McCain, stumped for Senator Saxby Chambliss over the weekend and used the opportunity to talk about his support for the Fair Tax.

Today, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney announced that he will head to the state this Friday and that his Political Action Committee is donating $5,000 to help Chambliss keep his seat. Romney will appear at political rallies and at fundraisers. “This is a critical election whose outcome will be important to maintaining a balance of power in the Senate,” Romney said in a statement. “It is critical that Republicans safely retain the ability to filibuster in order to prevent the worst abuses of single party rule.”

And not all the action is in Alaska or Georgia. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will be in the state of Iowa this Saturday to speak at an event for the Iowa Family Policy Center. Iowa, of course, is the traditional kickoff state for the presidential primary season.

Election Day may have come and gone, but three Senate races are still being fought, and fought hard. If all three go the Democrats' way – an unlikely outcome, but certainly not an impossible one – it would give the party 60 seats in the Senate, a crucial number since it would mean Democrats have attained a filibuster-proof majority.

(One cautionary note for hopeful liberals: Even if Democrats reach the 60 seat threshold, their majority would include independent senator and John McCain backer Joe Lieberman, who has broken with his party on national security issues, as well as other relatively conservative Democrats who might not always vote with their party.)

Here's the latest on the three races.

Alaska:

For a while, it looked like 84-year-old Republican Ted Stevens had overcome his felony conviction to be reelected for an eigth term. But early and absentee ballots, which are still being counted, have now given a slim lead to Stevens' Democratic rival, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, who says he is "cautiously optimistic" that he will prevail. (The latest count, as of late Wednesday: 132,196 to 131,382. A Stevens pollster reportedly suggested Thursday that Begich will prevail.)

If Stevens ultimately wins the race, he still faces the possibility of expulsion from the Senate due to his conviction. If that happens, there will be a special election in Alaska to replace the longtime Senator, and all eyes will be on former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a potential candidate.

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Alaska Governor Sarah Palin isn’t keeping a low profile in the days following the defeat in the presidential election. Palin is out giving a series of interviews to try and get her side of the story out on some of those reports leaking out of the McCain-Palin campaign at the end. After a series of stories suggesting that, among other things, Palin was unsure whether Africa is a country or a continent, she fired back at some of those items that had to have come from the GOP campaign. “That is cruel and mean-spirited, it's immature, it's unprofessional, and those guys are jerks,” she shot back yesterday and she’s scheduled for more interviews in the coming days.

Now it seems Palin will be making a return trip to the “Lower 48” sooner rather than later. She will make an appearance at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Miami where she will appear on a panel discussion titled, “Looking Toward the Future,” CBS News’ chief political consultant Marc Ambinder reports. Palin will also have media availability, which is certain to attract plenty of attention.

Meanwhile, Palin spent last weekend going through her family’s clothes to try to determine what belongs to the RNC, which spent some $150,000 on outfitting the Palins for the campaign trail. “She was just frantically ... trying to sort stuff out," Palin’s father, Chuck Heath told the AP. “That's the problem, you know, the kids lose underwear, and everything has to be accounted for. Nothing goes right back to normal," he added.

To the victors go the spoils (or in this case an overflowing in-box that requires immediate attention). To the conquered goes the job of picking up the pieces. And for the Republican Party, there are a whole lot of slivers left from their shattered majority.

The splits within the party had grown so large by the end of the presidential campaign that it was hardly newsworthy anymore to report on the numbers of moderate Republicans who were openly endorsing the Democratic candidate. Conservatives, who more or less completed their takeover of the GOP during the 1990s found their numbers dwindling on Election Day and face an uncertain future, to put it lightly.

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Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin was prank called today by a comedy duo from Quebec, who convinced the Alaska governor that she was speaking to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Palin seemed unsuspicious during the call, which lasted about six minutes. When told she was being pranked, Palin took the news well, asking what radio station she was on before suddenly getting off the line.

You can listen to the call here or by clicking on the YouTube video below.

Palin’s press secretary Tracey Schmitt issued this statement to CBS News' Scott Conroy, who is traveling with the Palin campaign:

“Governor Palin received a phone call on Saturday from a French Canadian talk show host claiming to be French President Nicholas Sarkozy. Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy, and other celebrities in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie.”

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John McCain and the rest of the Republican Party are in dire need of some good news as campaign 2008 enters its final week. They aren’t getting any.

The guilty verdict handed down in the trial of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens yesterday was just the latest blow to a party reeling from a political environment that threatens to bring deep and lasting damage in just seven days.

Stevens, who faced a tight re-election fight even had he been acquitted on corruption charges, is now clearly on the verge of defeat that could get Democrats one step closer to winning a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority. That feat would leave the GOP with very little power with which to oppose legislation, judicial nominations or the Democratic agenda from sweeping through Congress.

Discord in the McCain campaign continues to leak into the press. Anonymous finger-pointing between Sarah Palin’s camp and McCain advisers may be taking place at lower levels of the campaign but it’s had a polarizing effect on a party that needs every last bit of energy directed towards turning out their voters on Election Day.

Already playing defense in must-win states like Florida and Ohio and GOP strongholds like Indiana, Colorado and Virginia, the RNC yesterday went up on the air in Montana – yes, Montana. A poll last week found Barack Obama with a slim lead in the Western state and Republicans must be seeing something that concerns them enough to divert precious resources into a state that should have been locked up before the race began.

Is there anything out there that constitutes good news for the McCain campaign?

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Despite the presence of the first Alaskan on a major national party ticket, Alaska's largest newspaper endorsed Barack Obama today.

The Anchorage Daily News editorial board acknowledges that Sarah Palin's selection as John McCain's running mate was a momentous event for the state and writes that "Many Alaskans are proud to see their governor, and their state, so prominent on the national stage."

But the editorial continues:

Gov. Palin's nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency -- but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.

After enumerating other reasons the paper's board backs Obama over McCain, the editorial returns to the subject of the state's governor with a particularly biting critique, saying she is not ready for the presidency and calling her "too risky" as a vice president:

Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made it clear she's a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure politicians and political professionals across the country have taken note. Her future, in Alaska and on the national stage, seems certain to be played out in the limelight.

Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

Read the full endorsement here.

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