Cold realities await Palin in Alaska

Governor Sarah Palin, heralded by some conservatives as the future of the Republican Party, faces cold political realities when she returns to work running the US state of Alaska.

Within days of the McCain-Palin ticket's defeat earlier this month, the unsuccessful Republican vice presidential nominee capped her tumultuous two months on the campaign trail with a whirlwind series of national media interviews and an appearance at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Florida.

Now it's back to her day job at the state capital in Juneau.