Still rogue, Palin embraces media

Portsmouth, New Hampshire (CNN) - In the end, Sarah Palin made nice with what she likes to call the "lame-stream" media.

Reporters were kept in the dark about Palin's whereabouts during her "One Nation" bus tour and were forced to depend on sources or tips from park rangers to figure out which historical site the former Alaska governor might appear at next.

Her strategy is unlikely to change as the patriotism-themed tour makes its way through the Midwest, West and South later this month.

But once reporters tracked her down, Palin was eager to engage. At stop after stop after stop, she answered questions on everything from energy subsidies to the debt ceiling to her favorite brand of designer jeans.

At times, it seemed like Palin was going rogue all over again.

Though still under an exclusive contract with Fox News Channel, Palin was raring to mix it up with a political press corps that, in her eyes, has underestimated her ever since she was thrust into the national spotlight as John McCain's running mate in 2008.

Palin's refusal to inform the media of her itinerary grabbed headlines, but the storyline overshadowed the fact that the brigade of reporters chasing Palin were usually able to get a heads up on her next move and arrive prepared at the next stop.

The Palin team's stubborn and unconventional game plan also fed an inaccurate media narrative that the potential presidential candidate was actively ignoring the media.

Quite the opposite.