Sarah Palin attempted to rally Republican governors today during the group’s conference in Miami.

Though they suffered severe defeats this year, said the Governor of Alaska, the Grand Old Party must resist the urge to go negative. Instead, they must take time to reflect, refocus and look toward the future, insisted Palin, whom many see as a contender for the Republican presidential nominee in 2012.

“We’re in the minority, but let’s not be negative,” the Alaskan governor urged during her speech to the Republican Governors Association. “Losing the election does not mean losing our way.”

Despite this plea, Palin did take a swipe at President-elect Obama, a Democrat. Governors, she said, make "tough decisions to best serve the people who hire us. And we are held accountable every day. The buck stops on our desk. We are not just one of many voting yea or nay or present. No. There is no present button in our office, is there? We have to make the tough decisions."

The line about voting "present" was lifted from an attack line that the McCain campaign - and Hillary Clinton’s during the primaries - used repeatedly on the trail. It’s the second time Palin’s attacked Obama in the past 24 hours - during an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer yesterday, Palin revived the politician’s association with "domestic terrorist" William Ayers.

The RGA conference has been getting unprecedented attention this year, largely thanks to Palin, who, for better or worse, has become a Republican super star. Now that she’s free of campaign handlers, Palin’s been giving media interviews left, right and center. While some would expect the Governor to be down after last week’s loss, she’s been putting on a proud, happy face. “For me, it was the honor of a lifetime to fight for what we believe in at the side of John S. McCain,” Palin said.

Aware that media attention over her potential 2012 presidential run, Palin’s used today’s appearance to focus on the upcoming governors’ races of 2010. "The future for us is not the 2012 presidential race. It’s next year and our next budget, and the next reforms in our states and in 2010 we’re going to have 36 governors positions open across the U.S. That’s what we’re focused on." Palin also urged her party peers not to let "obsessive, extreme partisanship" get in the way of "doing what’s right." The past, she insisted, is the past.

Other Republican officials on Thursday stayed far away from prognosticating on Palin’s future, instead saying the party is full of bright leaders – including Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.

For her part, Palin seems to be keeping all of her future political options open. She said Wednesday she would consider serving in the Senate if God gave her the opportunity and Alaskans wanted her to take the job. Alaska’s senior senator, Republican Ted Stevens, fell behind his Democratic challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Behgich, as the count resumed in his re-election bid. Tens of thousands of ballots have yet to be counted.

Meanwhile, Politico’s Brian Goldsmith finds many things wrong with Palin – not least of which is the negative effect she had on many voters.

“What matters is her real and measurable effect on the broader American public. And if Sarah Palin were a cereal, she’d be rushed off the shelf,” Goldsmith writes.