First, I don’t read Palin’s comment the way that Wolf Blitzer and others seem to be. I hear her insisting that she’s focused on this election, and that she still believes her ticket can win. When pressed, she says that if things don’t go their way, she’s not going to be discouraged and give up on national politics. Finally, she adds that win or lose, she believes this fight isn’t for nothing. I don’t believe that adds up to talking about her own political future, except in the most harmless terms.

Second, I don’t see the national Republican Party moving strongly to the right in the next four years. (That’s different than McCain being able to turn his back on Palin, which fortunately won’t be a problem when he loses and loses his political relevance.)

Win or lose (almost certainly lose), there will be much soul-searching among Republicans, and the forces that urge more focus on the social-conservative wing of the party will be laughed out of the room. The lesson for Republicans from this election will have to be that they’re losing moderate voters, and conservative appeals to social issues and national security didn’t work. I think even the social conservatives will see the merits in this analysis, even if they don’t like toning down their approach. Otherwise, we’ll see decades of Democratic leadership and Republican irrelevance in this country.

It is apparent that she is clearly not ready for the national stage, but she will no doubt use her experience in this campaign as a stepping stone for additional “opportunities” on the national stage in the future.