ALASKA - ALASKA Governor Sarah Palin spent part of the weekend going through her clothing to determine what belongs to the Republican Party after it spent US$150,000-plus (S$189,000) on a wardrobe for the vice presidential nominee, according to Palin's father.

Mrs Palin and John McCain's campaign faced a storm of criticism over the tens of thousands of dollars spent at such high-end stores as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus to dress the nominee.

Republican National Committee lawyers are still trying to determine exactly what clothing was bought for Mrs Palin, what was returned and what has become of the rest.

Mrs Palin's father, Mr Chuck Heath, said his daughter spent on Saturday trying to figure out what belongs to the RNC.

'She was just frantically ... trying to sort stuff out,' Mr Heath said.

'That's the problem, you know, the kids lose underwear, and everything has to be accounted for.'

'Nothing goes right back to normal,' he said.

Mr Heath dismissed the clothes controversy as 'ridiculous' and said his daughter told him the only clothing or accessories she personally had purchased in the last four months was a pair of shoes.

RNC lawyers have been discussing with Palin whether what's left of the clothing and accessories purchased for her on the campaign trail will go to charity, back to stores or be paid for by Mrs Palin, a McCain-Palin campaign official said on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the campaign hadn't authorised comment.

The McCain-Palin campaign said about a third of the clothing was returned immediately because it was the wrong size, or for other reasons. However, other purchases apparently were made after that, the campaign official said.

On Friday, Mrs Palin told reporters: 'Those are the RNC's clothes.'

'They're not my clothes. I never forced anybody to buy anything.'

In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Mrs Palin faulted the policies of the Bush administration for the defeat of the RepublicanOP ticket, and said, 'it's amazing that we did as well as we did.'

'I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a US$10 trillion debt in a Republican administration?'

'How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration? If we're talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing,' Mrs Palin said in a story published on Sunday.

Amid speculation in Alaska and nationwide about Palin's political future, the governor has scheduled a series of national interviews on Fox News Channel on Monday night, NBC's Today show on Tuesday and CNN on Wednesday. She also plans to attend the Republican Governors Association conference in Florida this week.

Mrs Palin has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012. She also could seek re-election in 2010 or challenge Senator Lisa Murkowski. Still uncertain is the fate of Senator Ted Stevens, who is leading in his bid for another term but could be ousted by the Senate for his conviction on seven felony counts of failing to report more than US$250,000 in gifts, mostly renovations on his home.

If Mr Stevens loses his seat, Mrs Palin could run for it in a special election.

In Wasilla, her hometown backers welcomed her, putting aside their disappointment over her unsuccessful bid.

Ms Jessica Steele can't wait to see what Mrs Sarah Palin does next - not with her political career, but with her hair.

'That's something I want to talk to her about: What's our vision for her hair?' says Ms Steele, proprietor of the Beehive Beauty Shop and keeper of the governor's up-do since 2002.

'I can't wait to see her and say, 'OK, I've got you alone for three hours. Just relax, and how are you, really?''

While Mrs Palin remains popular, the reality of defeat is evident.

Bags of fan mail, as many as 400 letters a day, partially fill a room at her parents' house. But parents no longer meet Secret Service agents when they pick up their children at Cottonwood Creek Elementary, where Mrs Palin's youngest daughter, Piper, is a student.

The reporters and camera crews are gone from the Palin home on Lake Lucille, once patrolled by Coast Guard boats. Now a thick sheet of ice covers the lake.

Four state troopers still guard the governor 24 hours a day, Mr Heath said - something Mrs Palin never had before.

And in a bit of familiarity, Mr Heath said he brought a pot of moose chilli to Palin's house this past weekend. -- AP