What happened

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin defended herself against critics who accuse her of sinking John McCain's presidential bid. In an interview with FOX News' Greta Van Susteren, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate said that she will "plow through that door" if she has a chance for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. (FOX News online)

What the commentators said

"After her brutal transformation by the McCain campaign into a shopaholic, whack-job diva," said Maureen Dowd in The New York Times, "Palin is now trying to unmake that makeover." So she's throwing open her door to the national press, "letting them hang in her Wasilla kitchen as she makes moose chili and cake and baby formula and hefty servings of spin."

This "PR offensive" is important for Palin's future, said Foon Rhee in The Boston Globe online. She's trying to get across the bottom-line message that "the sweeping Republican loss last week isn't her fault," before her GOP rivals pin the defeat on her.

Palin is sure making up for lost time, said Jay McDonough in Examiner.com. While she was "riding shotgun" for McCain, her boss largely kept her from talking to the press, but now she "can't get enough of the media." With legions of supporters hoping she'll run in 2012, "I reckon we should get used to seeing a lot more of Sarah Palin."

Palin might not have been ready for prime time this year, said Mona Charen in Townhall.com. But don't believe all the nasty "backbiting" by McCain aides who are calling her dumb. She'll be a contender if she "spends the next couple of years using her obvious smarts to bone up on national and international issues."