Washington, D.C. ? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has put the “brutal” 2008 campaign behind her and has the next presidential race in her sights, with a flurry of national television interviews and a high-profile appearance at the Republican Governors Association meeting this week.

Palin’s stepping-out has been a marked departure for a vice presidential candidate who was held to tightly controlled appearances for much of the fall campaign. She’s indirectly but unmistakably put her name in play as a potential presidential candidate, saying she’ll “plow through that door” if it’s God’s will and conditions are right.

Palin has spoken forcefully since the election to deny any responsibility for her ticket’s loss. She has blamed the policies of President Bush, the handicap of representing the incumbent party and the nation’s financial crisis for the GOP defeat.

“I think the economic collapse had a heckuva lot more to do with the campaign’s collapse than me personally,” the governor said in an interview broadcast Tuesday on NBC’s “Today” show.

Palin said she resents rumors she said were spread about her and her family during the race. “I did not know that it would be as brutal a ride as it turned out to be,” she said.