“This is where the line has been drawn in the sand and I am proud to stand with you today in solidarity,” Palin told the crowd. “The 2012 election begins here.”
The current form guide suggests it's very unlikely Palin will be the candidate Republicans select to try and oust President Obama next year.
Instead, consider the peculiar case of might-be candidate Donald Trump.
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Trump is the real estate mogul now equally famous for his television program The Apprentice.
He has publicly expressed interest in running against Obama in 2012 but has taken some erratic and distracting standpoints that mark him as more cavalier than serious candidate.
Trump has indicated he may not run because The Apprentice is doing well on TV, which is fair enough but possibly not what many may want to hear who are looking for a leader with commitment.
Trump has also been vocal in his belief that President Obama was not born in the United States – and therefore ineligible for office.
“Let me tell you, I'm a really smart guy,” said Trump in an interview. “I was a really good student at the best school in the country. The reason I have a little doubt [about Obama's place of birth], just a little, is because he grew up and nobody knew him.
“If I got the nomination, if I decide to run, you may go back and interview people from my kindergarten. They'll remember me. Nobody comes forward. Nobody knows who he is until later in his life. It's very strange. The whole thing is very strange.”
[Trump is actually being disingenuous here – those who knew Obama during his childhood have actually spoken about him.]
For some pundits, Trump's stand on issues promoted by fringe groups undermines what could have been a serious tilt at the presidency. Trump could have played a card marking himself as a fiscal conservative and social moderate with executive experience promoting capitalism's finer points.
Instead, his claims to have sent investigators to Hawaii to search for Obama's birth certificate were widely reported but unchallenged, highlighting his definite gift of the gab but lack of substance.
Trump has nothing to lose in talking about a presidential bid. It's all great publicity. Heck, we're even writing about it here.
But further a further clue to his real motivation might be found elsewhere. Did someone say TV ratings boost?
“I might ask the two finalists [on The Apprentice] if I should run for president,” Trump said in one interview about his show's finale. “Of course, if they're intelligent they'll have to say yes, since I'm about to fire one of them.”
But Obama's team seems to relish the idea of Trump as an opponent.
“There is zero chance that Donald Trump would ever be hired by the American people to do this job,” said adviser David Plouffe.
