Palin: Won't be partisan as governor

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Sarah Palin, resuming her job as Alaska governor after her unsuccessful bid to become U.S. vice president, says she'll keep her bipartisan approach.

Palin said despite her ultra-partisan attacks on Democratic U.S. President-elect Barack Obama during her White House run with Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and possible ambitions for future national roles, she won't govern Alaska differently, The New York Times reported Saturday.

"My actions will continue to be first and foremost in good service to the state of Alaska," she told the Times, adding, "If anybody wants to try to criticize and say 'Oh, all of a sudden she's an obsessive partisan,' they're wrong."

Palin said she'll seek support from both sides of the aisle to address an expected state budget shortfall caused by the declining price of oil, from which Alaska receives 85 percent of its tax revenues.

"Now we kick in that fiscal conservativeness that needs to be engaged and we progress this state with $57-a-barrel oil," she said.

Others in Alaska say they aren't sure what to expect of Palin, whose first two years in office were marked by a de-emphasis on socially conservative causes and efforts to work with Democratic legislators.