Governor Palin of Alaska yesterday left open the option of waging war with Russia if it were to invade neighboring Georgia and the former Soviet republic were a NATO ally. “We will not repeat a Cold War,” Mrs. Palin said in her first television interview since becoming Senator McCain’s vice presidential running mate two weeks ago. Mrs. Palin told Charles Gibson of ABC News that she’d favor including Georgia and Ukraine, both former Soviet republics, in NATO despite opposition by Prime Minister Putin of Russia. Asked whether America would have to go to war with Russia if it invaded Georgia, and the country was part of NATO, Mrs. Palin said: “Perhaps so.” “I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you’re going to be expected to be called upon and help,” she said. Pressed on the question, Mrs. Palin responded: “What I think is that smaller democratic countries that are invaded by a larger power is something for us to be vigilant against. … We have got to show the support, in this case, for Georgia. The support that we can show is economic sanctions perhaps against Russia, if this is what it leads to.” On other matters, Mrs. Palin said she “didn’t hesitate” when Mr. McCain asked her to be his running mate, a surprise selection that shook up the presidential race. “I answered him ‘yes’ because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can’t blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we’re on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can’t blink. So I didn’t blink then, even when asked to run as his running mate,” said the 44-year-old Palin, who has been in office less than two years.

PALIN’S FATHER SAYS HE IS ‘NERVOUS’ ABOUT DAUGHTER’S BID

Governor Palin’s father, Chuck Heath, says he is “nervous” about his daughter’s vice presidential candidacy and that the attacks on her record and experience have been “very mean.” “It makes me nervous. I mean, she’s still my little girl,” Mr. Heath said on CNN. “They are getting mean — very mean.” Mrs. Palin has faced intense scrutiny and harsh criticism from some Democrats following her selection as Senator McCain’s running mate. Mr. Heath suggested his daughter’s critics were underestimating her strength. “You just wait,” he said. “She’s never let us down.”

OBAMA, MCCAIN SPLIT IN BATTLEGROUND STATE POLLS

Senator Obama retains modest leads in two battleground states that Senator McCain is hoping to turn red, while Mr. McCain is holding on to an edge in two states that his Democratic rival wants to turn blue, a group of polls released yesterday shows. The Democratic nominee has a six-point lead in New Hampshire and a four-point lead in Michigan, two states that Senator Kerry won in 2004, according to a CNN/Time Magazine poll. Mr. McCain, meanwhile, has a four-point advantage in Virginia and is up by five points in Missouri, the polls show. The surveys indicate that while Mr. McCain has closed Mr. Obama’s lead in national polls, the battle in the states remains highly fluid.

ILLINOIS GOVERNOR DEFENDS PALIN’S EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE

Governor Blagojevich of Illinois backs his home state Senator Obama, but he said yesterday that it is a mistake for fellow Democrats to discount Governor Palin’s experience as Alaska governor. The executive job of governor is like the presidency because the officeholder has to make decisions, Mr. Blagojevich said. Lawmakers do different things like “debate and … pass their bills back and forth,” he said. Mr. Obama, the Democratic nominee for president, was a state senator before being elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois. “But governors make decisions and I think it’s a tactical mistake for the Democrats to question Governor Palin’s experience when she’s been a governor of a state,” Mr. Blagojevich said on WGN-AM’s “Spike O’Dell Show.” Mrs. Palin has also been the mayor of a small town in Alaska. Her running mate, Senator McCain, has never served as a governor. He has spent two decades as a U.S. senator.