Palin Forms PAC in Signal of 2012 Intentions

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has launched a political action committee, which is a sure sign of the former vice-presidential candidate's intentions for 2012. Susan Davis reports:

Need another indication that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is eyeing a 2012 bid? Today she launched a new political action committee, SarahPAC, to dole out political donations to Republican candidates.

“SarahPAC believes America’s best days are ahead. Our country, founded on conservative principles and the fight for freedom, must confront the challenges of the 21st century with integrity, innovation, and determination,” states the PAC’s Web site, which boasts that the governor of the oil-rich state is committed to “energy independence.”

More at the link.

The way things are turning out for Barack Obama's first hundred days, the 2012 GOP primaries may be even more heavily contested than anticipated. Some might think that a younger candidate like Palin ought to consider waiting until 2016, after perhaps a second Obama administration. But given the toughness among congressional Republicans right now in lining up against this week's stimulus package, perhaps we'll see President Obama's first term as a repeat of Bill Clinton's - a repudiation, in other words, which took a Herculean rescue effort on the part of the Clinton White House and the DNC to fend off a Republican upset in 1996. Had Bob Dole not been the GOP standard-bearer, who knows? Clinton never won a majority of the vote. A better candidate could have driven down the Democratic numbers.

I think Palin's right to stay in the game while the getting's hot.

There was all kinds of debate and dismissal of Palin after the Republican ticket was trounced in November. But she's the star, and it's her nomination to lose. She's apparently lining up a mutimillion-dollar book deal, and while she'll no doubt have her work cut out on the wonkier side of things, Palin's a natural superstar in the great communicator mold. In her introductory speech as John McCain's runing-mate, her address to the Repubican National Convention, her vice-presidential debate, and in her fabulous performance on Saturday Night Live, Palin showed the world a combination of poise, command, and true star power.

With Palin-apostles like Rush Limbaugh already setting the tone for "heartland conservatives" across the country, Palin'll be in even better positioned to capitalize on her stature as the odds on front-runner at this stage of the game.