As the McCain/Palin ticket continued to trail in national polls, and with rumors of infighting within the McCain campaign reported, many conservative Republicans began to look to Palin as a new party leader, even one that should some day run for president. The New York Times reported:

(Palin’s) prospects, in or out of government, are the subject of intensive conversations among conservative leaders, including the group that will meet next Wednesday in rural Virginia to weigh social, foreign policy and economic issues, as well as the political landscape and the next presidential election.

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Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, a conservative group, called it a “top order of business” to determine Ms. Palin’s future role. “Conservatives have been looking for leadership, and she has proven that she can electrify the grass roots like few people have in the last 20 years,” Mr. Bozell said. “No matter what she decides to do, there will be a small mother lode of financial support behind her.”

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… Some elements of the Republican base are already looking ahead to the day, whenever it comes, that Ms. Palin is at the top of the ticket.

“I would hope she would consider running for president,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, which raises money for candidates who oppose abortion.

CNN reported:

Election Day is still days away, but Republicans are already caught up in a heated debate about Sarah Palin’s future role in the party should the GOP ticket fail to win the White House.

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It’s a debate, somewhat ugly at times, that is beginning to play out in public view as Republicans brace themselves for the possibility of losing the White House and a significant number of seats in Congress come Election Day. And that may leave the party in shambles with drastically reduced influence in Washington.

Should that happen, political observers say, the party will face its biggest identity crisis in more than a generation, and Palin may well be caught squarely in the middle of it.

“A civil war that is simmering will break out into the open if McCain loses, and the party will have to decide what they want to be in the post-Reagan world,” said Gloria Borger, a senior political analyst for CNN.

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Should Palin ultimately decide to launch her own presidential bid, she will face a massive headwind from an influential group of conservatives who believe the Alaska governor represents the very reasons why the Republican Party finds itself in retreat.

“Reagan had an immense faith in the power of ideas. But there has been a counter, more populist tradition, which is not only to scorn liberal ideas but to scorn ideas entirely. And I’m afraid that Sarah Palin has those prejudices,” said (David) Brooks, a conservative columnist for the New York Times.

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But even as one corner of the party predicts dire consequences if Palin becomes the Republican standard-bearer, another is strongly behind her.

“I hope and expect that she stays involved nationally, and she can play pretty much whatever role she wants to. She’s got momentum now, and I’d be surprised if she didn’t play a leadership role in the party,” Richard Viguerie, a prominent cultural conservative and chairman of conservativehq.com, told CNN.

The Australian paper The Age reported that after the election, Palin’s return to Alaska was greeted with chants of “2012:”

Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin has returned to her home state of Alaska, where she was greeted by dozens of supporters encouraging her to run for president in four years.

The crowd chanted “2012! 2012!” as Palin disembarked from her plane at the Anchorage airport.

Asked by reporters if she might run for president, Palin said: “We’ll see what happens then.”