Dependable Renegade

Just how much could the Alaska governor make from putting pen to paper? About $7 million, according to some estimates.

At the World Economic Forum's 24th India Economic Summit in New Delhi, India, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said of reports that President-elect Obama is considering Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, as Secretary of State, "I believe it would be an outstanding appointment. If it is true, it shows a number of things, including great courage on the part of the President-Elect. To appoint a very strong personality into a prominent cabinet position requires a great deal of courage."

Kissinger said that "Obama was my second choice in the election. But at the same time, I want to stress that this is the moment for non-partisanship in America. There are a number of challenges that must be dealt with...I believe that the United States faces a moment of enormous complexity, but also a moment of extraordinary opportunity."

Pushed by President Bush, who convened the gathering at the suggestion of President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to free markets and trade.

But the statement also laid blame for the crisis at the doorstep of the United States, saying governments “in some advanced countries†had taken inadequate steps to prevent a buildup of risk.

The conference is also a showcase for up-and-coming Republican governors who might want a crack at the Oval Office themselves, including Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, Florida's Charlie Crist and Louisiana's Bobby Jindal. And none of them was putting up Palin lawn signs.

When Pawlenty said, "'Drill, baby, drill!' by itself is not an energy policy" - referring to the chant that became a staple of Palin's rallies - the target of his tweak was clear.

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When asked if Palin was the best choice McCain could have made for a running mate, no one jumped to answer.

"It would be my honor to assist and support our new president and the new administration," said Palin, whom Sen. John McCain chose as his running mate in August. "

I speak for other Republicans and Republican governors, also," she said.

"They would be willing also to seize this opportunity that we have to progress this nation together, in a united front."

But asked moments later about some of the tough rhetoric she hurled from the stump, she said she was "still concerned" about Obama's ties to former Weather Underground member-turned-Chicago college professor William Ayers. Video Watch Palin discuss how she could help Obama »

"If anybody still wants to talk about it, I will," she said. "Because this is an unrepentant domestic terrorist who had campaigned to blow up, to destroy our Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol.

``To some, it said, well, `Bush thinks the war in Iraq is over,' when I didn't think that,'' he said in a CNN interview today. ``It conveyed the wrong message.''

"Putting my life in my creator's hands -- this is what I always do," she said. "I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door ... And if there is an open door in '12 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door."