Sarah Palin is a political gift that keeps on giving.

That’s the view from David Plouffe, who managed the presidential campaign for Barack Obama. In a television interview on Sunday, Mr. Plouffe said Ms. Palin, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate, became a blessing for Democrats last year and could be again.

“I think we should thank John McCain for picking her in terms of how it helped us win in 2008,” Mr. Plouffe said. “But I think we should doubly thank him now.”

One year after Mr. Obama was elected the nation’s 44th president, Mr. Plouffe is out with his take of the improbable campaign with his book, “The Audacity to Win.” He offered a preview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” saying Mr. Obama had given thought to selecting Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate, but was worried about the role that former President Bill Clinton would play in such an arrangement.

“There was a mythology during the campaign that President Obama did not take Hillary Clinton very seriously as VP. The truth is he did,” Mr. Plouffe said. “The fact that he chose her as Secretary of State reflects on how strongly he believes in her leadership quality and her skill.”

One of the most surprising moments of the race, he said, came when Senator John McCain announced that Ms. Palin was joining his ticket.

Today, he said, she remains a force among Republicans that has made the party inhospitable to moderates. (The latest example, he said, came in a New York Congressional race, where Ms. Palin endorsed a Conservative Party candidate over the Republican nominee, leading the Republican to drop out.)

“She’s kind of playing the role of pied-piper in the Republican Party,” Mr. Plouffe said, “which is something I’m quite comfortable with.”

In his 352-page book, Mr. Plouffe divulges few major secrets or previously unknown facts about the campaign. He did not join the Obama administration, but remains a close personal adviser and friend to the president. Last week, he flew aboard Air Force One with Mr. Obama to give him a copy of the book.

In his television interview on Sunday, Mr. Plouffe said implementing the kind of change that Mr. Obama campaigned on was difficult. But he warned against reading too much into the weakened standing of Democrats as the mid-term election year approaches.

“Everyone in Washington wants to predict what’s going to happen next fall. This thing’s got about 20 lifetimes,” Mr. Plouffe said. “I think the long-term political picture is this: You’ve got a Republican Party with historically low favorable ratings – moderates and centrists leaving the party.”

The book, for which Mr. Plouffe received a seven-figure advance, goes on sale Tuesday.