By Howard Schneider | Washington Post

To Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, last week’s election loss to the Democratic ticket boiled down to a trio of problems: money, the Hispanic vote and “that ‘R’ by our name.”

In an interview with NBC Today Show host Matt Lauer that aired today, Palin gave a her postgame analysis of why she and Republican presidential candidate John McCain did not do better against President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

“I thought it would be closer,” Palin told Lauer, continuing a series of national television interviews that aired beginning yesterday on Fox, NBC and CNN. “But then take a step back … it makes sense. We did not get the Hispanic vote, and that was very significant. And when you consider that we were outspent so tremendously, it make sense there also,” said Palin, who prepared a salmon-and-halibut casserole for the visiting television personality.

“And just that anti-incumbency sentiment that was spread across the land, and our ticket representing the incumbency. … It was really not so much a surprise after all that the margin was as great as it was.”

And what about Obama?

“He did a great job in articulating his ability to usher in change — the change that American voters have been seeking. And perhaps our ticket represented too much of the status quo.

“You know we got that ‘R’ by our name.”