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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 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:

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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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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The Troopergate saga continues.

Though GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has already been found to have abused power in firing Alaska's public safety commissioner, Palin is giving a deposition on the matter today.

As the Associated Press notes, the deposition marks the first time the Alaska governor has addressed the controversy at length or under oath.

The deposition is the result of a second investigation into the Troopergate affair. This time around, the probe is being run by an independent investigator. Palin herself requested the new probe, having deemed the legislature's initial investigation, which she had welcomed at its outset, to be politically motivated.

Palin's husband, Todd, will also be giving a (separate) deposition today.

"She's been looking forward to this day," Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said, according to the AP. "She would like to tell her story and she'd like people to know the truth."

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Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin has been criticized for her response Monday to a question from a third grader concerning the role of the vice president.

"A vice president has a really great job because not only are they there to support the president's agenda, they're there like the team member, the teammate to the president," Palin said. “But also, they're in charge of the United States Senate, so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom. And it's a great job and I look forward to having that job.”

Palin's claim that the vice president is "in charge of" the Senate has garnered the most ire, with critics casting it as reflecting a fundamental misunderstanding of the vice presidential role.

Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, told Horserace that the only power specifically outlined in the Constitution for a vice president is to preside over the Senate and have a vote in case of a tie.

No further formal policy making roles were specified, Shapiro said, because when the Constitution was drafted, the vice president was the runner up for the presidency, and was expected to come from a different faction or party.

The vice president's role, CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen told Horserace over email, "might be relevant depending upon what the balance in the Senate is after the election."

"Some veeps, like LBJ, had extraordinary influence in the Senate because of their long time there," he added. "Palin, of course, doesn’t have that advantage."

But Shapiro is willing to give Palin the benefit of the doubt for saying the vice president is "in charge of" the Senate, suggesting she is using "her usual homespun language" to describe what could ultimately be a powerful position, as it has been for Dick Cheney.

"Governor Palin was responding to a third grader's inquiry," Maria Comella, Palin's spokeswoman, said about the response. "She was explaining in terms a third-grader could understand that the vice-president is also president of the U.S. Senate."

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John McCain’s campaign has confirmed that vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will appear on “Saturday Night Live” tomorrow night. Palin has been parodied frequently on the show since her selection to the ticket by Tina Fey, who bears a remarkable resemblance to the Alaska governor. No word yet on what Palin may do on the show but most political junkies will be expecting something involving both women. Another note: The guest host of this weekend’s show is actor Josh Brolin, star of Oliver Stone’s new movie, “W.”