Sarah Palin 2012

Shortly after Republicans swept last November to a historic victory in which Sarah Palin was credited with playing a central role, the former Alaska governor pulled aside her close aide, Rebecca Mansour, to discuss a hush-hush assignment: Reach out to conservative filmmaker Stephen K. Bannon with a request. Ask him if he would make a series of videos extolling Palin's governorship and laying to rest lingering questions about her controversial decision to resign from office with a year-and-a-half left in her first term. It was this abdication, Palin knew, that had made her damaged goods in the eyes of some Republicans who once were eager to get behind her potential 2012 presidential campaign. The response was more positive than Palin could have hoped for. He'd make a feature-length movie, Bannon told Mansour, and he insisted upon taking complete control and financing it himself -- to the tune of $1 million. The fruits of that initial conversation are now complete. The result is a two-hour-long, sweeping epic, a rough cut of which Bannon screened privately for Sarah and Todd Palin last Wednesday in Arizona

Here is what Ross said on why we support Gov. Palin: -On the role of government, she says, "Less is more" -On the debt and deficit, she says, "Reign in spending" -On foreign relations, she says, "Stand with Israel" -On national security, she says, "Secure our borders" -On Obamacare, she says, "Repeal and replace" -On terrorism, she says, "We win, and they lose" -On the economy, she says, "Lower taxes" -On our military, she says, "If you love your freedom, thank a vet" -On American exceptionalism, she says, "That's nothing to apologize for" -On education, she says, "Allow school choice" -On abortion, she says, "Choose life" -And on energy, she says, "Drill, baby, drill."

Palin may have purchased a house in Scotsdale, Arizona.

After months of stewing and despite widespread encouragement from many within his party, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels sent out an e-mail to supporters early Sunday saying he had decided against jumping into the 2012 presidential race.

Maybe. On Fox News Sunday this morning, however, Cain imitated Sarah Palin's blank stare when Chris Wallace asked him about the right of return. "The right of return?" he said. After Wallace explained the Palestinian demand to return to the homes they were "thrown out of" [sic!] in 1948, Cain said that would be negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinians. "I don't think Israel has any problem with Palestinians' returning," he said. Even though Cain had told Wallace just a few moments before that he would offer the Palestinians "nothing," because he is not convinced they are committed to peace and democracy, his cluelessness on the right of return suggests that Cain is more blowhard than gadfly.

With Mike Huckabee out of the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, three well-known politicians, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, and Newt Gingrich, emerge as leaders in Republicans' preferences. Republicans, however, have less intensely positive feelings about these three than they did about Huckabee. Two less well-known potential candidates, Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain, generate high levels of enthusiasm among Republicans who recognize them. ... Republicans' nomination preferences at this point largely appear to reflect name identification. ... Romney and Palin are essentially tied; Gingrich does slightly less well even though he and Romney have nearly identical name identification. Ron Paul and Bachmann are the only other potential candidates with name recognition above 50%....

"I want a government that is much more humble about it's ability to tell you what to do whether it's people on either side of the ideological spectrum," Gingrich said on Limbaugh's radio show. "And by the way it was not a reference to Paul Ryan, there was no reference to Paul Ryan in the answer." Gingrich apologized to Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, on Tuesday and said he regretted calling the Wisconsin Republican's Medicare plan "right-wing social engineering." But when asked Thursday by Limbaugh why he apologized to Ryan if he was not referring to his plan, Gingrich said, "It was interpreted in a way which was causing trouble, which he doesn't need or deserve and it was causing the House Republicans trouble."

Patrick Layton "Pat" Paulsen (July 6, 1927 — April 24, 1997) was an American comedian and satirist notable for his roles on several of the Smothers Brothers TV shows, and for his campaigns for President of the United States in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992, and 1996, which had primarily comedic rather than political objectives, although his campaigns generated some protest votes for him. [In honor of Newt Gingrich's presidential bid, RIP]

Twenty percent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters say they'd support the former Massachusetts governor, while 18 percent say they'd support the former Alaska governor. Newt Gingrich comes in third place with 11 percent.

The former Alaska governor's political action committee, 2012 Can't Come Fast Enough, has reportedly sent out a mailing to South Carolina Republicans. "Taking back control of the House last year was only the first step," Ms. Palin writes in the mailer first reported by The Fix. "Now you and I must fix our eyes on 2012. Our goal is to take back the White House and the Senate." The move is the first indication that Ms. Palin remains interested in seeking the Republican presidential nomination. [First indication... heh!]

Bachmann's penchant for earmarks dates back to her days in the Minnesota state Senate. Despite her reputation as a fiscal conservative, from 2001-2006, then-state Senator Bachmann proposed more than $60 million in earmarks... when Republicans sought an earmark moratorium, Bachmann pushed to exclude transportation projects from the ban.... Bachmann may also be plagued by her involvement in a controversial pardon. In 2007, Bachmann wrote a letter requesting a presidential pardon for a convicted drug-smuggler and money-launderer named Frank Vennes. ...

On his radio program Monday morning, former Education Secretary Bill Bennett, who knows Gingrich well but is also close to Ryan, reacted angrily to Gingrich's remarks. Referring to Ryan's Medicare plan as "right-wing social engineering" is, Bennett said, "an unforgivable mistake, in my judgment." Bennett went on to say that Gingrich "has taken himself out of serious consideration for the [2012] race." [Full disclosure: I appear on, and sometimes serve as guest host of, the Bennett program.] Gingrich's remarks rankled for three reasons. One, they hurt the Republican plan. Two, they were particularly disdainful; Gingrich didn't just said that he disagreed with Ryan, he referred to Ryan's plan as "right-wing social engineering." And three, they contradicted what Gingrich himself has said about Ryan's budget. To make that last point, Bennett played a clip of an interview he conducted with Gingrich on April 5, barely more than a month ago. At that time, Gingrich was full of praise for the Ryan budget. "Paul Ryan has stepped up to the plate," Gingrich said. "This is a very, very serious budget and I think rivals with [what] John Kasich did as budget chairman in getting to a balanced budget in the 1990s, just for the scale and courage involved…" "Paul Ryan is going to define modern conservatism at a serious level," Gingrich continued on April 5. "You can quibble over details but the general shape of what he's doing will define 2012 for Republicans."

After a low-key announcement on television, Republican congressman Ron Paul of Texas was drowned out by cheers and applause as he kicked off his third presidential campaign yesterday in the state with the earliest primary.

DC Troll on HillBuzz: ...Bottom line — Sarah controls this election decision — her process and her timing — so all please stop falling for the trap by the those above — as Sarah has said repeatedly it is WAAAY toooo early to jump in — the rule have changed folks!