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One day after she claimed victory in the nation's last unresolved Senate race, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska reiterated Thursday that she does not support Sarah Palin as the Republican presidential nominee in 2012.

Murkowski was defeated in this year's primary by fellow Republican Joe Miller but apparently won a long shot write-in bid for the Senate seat she currently holds, finally claiming victory more than two weeks after the Nov. 2 elections. Palin, a former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate, had backed Miller.

Palin told Barbara Walters on Wednesday she could beat President Barack Obama if she was the GOP nominee in 2012.

"She is clearly setting her sights on that higher office," Murkowski said on CNN's "American Morning" program.

"I have in the past said that Sarah Palin would not be my candidate," Murkowski added, declining to name anyone she would support.

"I'm still looking to see who will emerge in the Republican field of candidates. And I think that remains to be seen."

Murkowski also reflected on her relationship with the Republican Party, which opposed her candidacy after her defeat in the August primary.

"I was not my party's nominee," she said. "I went outside the box."

But Murkowski made it clear she remains a Republican and will continue to conference with GOP senators.

Still, Murkowski said, she was elected by a coalition of Alaskans, and "it will be all Alaskans that I will be representing."

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She's coming off a successful midterm election season, is on the heels of releasing a second book, and about to star in an adventure-packed reality television show, but Sarah Palin's poll numbers are going in the wrong direction.

A new survey by Gallup suggests more than half of all Americans (52 percent) now hold a negative view of the former Alaska governor, the highest unfavorable rating Palin has ever registered in the organization's polling. Her 40 percent favorable rating meanwhile ties her lowest score in Gallup history, registered in the fall of 2009 shortly after she quit her post as governor.

Palin also registered a 40 percent favorable rating in CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll conducted just before the midterm elections. According to the CNN survey, 49 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of Palin.

The Gallup poll indicates that Palin seems to have lost her biggest chunk of support among independent voters – the voting bloc that was crucial in handing Republicans control of the House on Election Day. Her favorability among those voters has dropped 8 points since the summer, according to the poll, from 43 percent to 35 percent.

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I think the reason is that hate is the only tangible emotion they are capable of feeling towards the other side, so they assume we must hate her, since she is certainly a common topic of discussion, left or right.

They don't seem to get that at this point, the left is kinda happy to have Sarah around

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A good point. Kinda like how they like to refer to Obama as the Messiah, implying that's how Dems see him - forgetting that they're the side far more prone to attaching religion to politics.

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I suppose the left "hates" Palin about the same way the right "hates" Hillary and Pelosi.

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Most people don't televise their funny to the world.

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According to the poll, two out of three voters overall say they believe Palin's endorsements are motivated by the desire to stay "in the public eye," while just 18 percent believe she's acting out of the desire to "elect conservative candidates." Among conservatives alone, a majority — 53 percent — think she's doing it for the attention, while 29 percent say she's trying to help GOP candidates.

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A new 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll released Monday found that despite her star status, 59% of Americans don't think Palin would be a hit in the White House.

Even among Republicans, just 40% said the former vice presidential candidate would make an effective President.

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More than half the nation - 55% - see Sarah Palin unfavorably, and 71% believe the "Going Rogue" author is not qualified to be President, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll Thursday.

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Joseph Rago and Bret Stephens took the direct line of attack, with Rago answering a question about Palin being the brightest, most exciting Republican politician of her time: “Sure, but what does that say about the Republican Party?” Stephens’ response to the same question? “The freshest, maybe. The brightest, I’m not so sure.” He continued by claiming that he got from Palin “the distinct sense that if you ask her a follow-up question she would have no idea how to answer it.”

Collin Levy sprung to her defense, and in doing so possibly did the most damage of all: “They like her because she seems like a minor-leaguer,” she noted, referring to the hand-note incident at CPAC the Tea Party convention last week. And, concluding the discussion with a comment on Palin’s potential leadership: “She doesn’t need to be a leader. She just has to be something of a party mascot.”

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