Rosie O'Donnell certainly is not one to shy away from expressing her disapproval with the Republican party -- specifically the past eight years of G.W. Bush. She recently joked that if Johnny Mac won, she would "be in the depression unit of the ICU." But has she changed her thinking? O'Donnell tells Extra she likes the Governor of Alaska, thinks she has "spunk" and that she would "like to have a beer with her...meet her kids."

Rosie -- no stranger to intense media attention -- says Palin "had an amazing life for herself and her family in Alaska... before you knew it, she was the most famous person in the country...".

If you jonesin' for a Rosie fix, your wait is over. O'Donnell returns to NBC in her own live primetime variety show "Rosie Live," airing November 26th on NBC.