Palin Coming

Palin Back: So, this makes things a little more interesting. Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, are scheduled to come to Pella Tuesday for the premiere of the pro-Palin movie. Palin hasn't been in Iowa since she headlined the Republican Party of Iowa's Ronald Reagan Day Dinner last September. (updated: Oops. Sorry, I forgot about her book tour last November that brought her to West Des Moines) This will only fuel speculation about a presidential run, although I don't know of any attempts by Palin to form an infrastructure to compete in the Iowa Caucuses next February. Palin did not bid on a spot for the Iowa Straw Poll in August either.

Let's see what she has to say Tuesday, providing she talks to the media.

Here's the release about her appearance:

GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN TO ATTEND PREMIERE OF THE UNDEFEATED AT PELLA OPERA HOUSE IN PELLA, IOWA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (June 25, 2011)– Victory Film Group (www.victoryfilmgroup.com) and ARC Entertainment announced today that Governor Sarah Palin and her husband Todd will attend the premiere of The Undefeated at the historic Pella Opera House on Tuesday June 28 at 5pm Central Time in Pella, Iowa. Immediately after the showing, Victory Film Group and ARC Entertainment will host a traditional Iowa cookout to thank the Pella Opera House and the people of Pella.

In accepting the invitation to attend the premiere, Sarah Palin stated, “We are very excited to visit historic Pella and its opera house and look forward to seeing the finished film for the first time with fellow Americans from the heartland.”

Responding to the Palin’s announcement that they will attend the Iowa premiere, Larry Peterson, Chairman of the Board of the Pella Opera House said, “We look forward to hosting Governor Palin and her husband, Todd, at our beloved opera house as we welcome them to our community.”

“We are incredibly excited about Governor Palin and her husband Todd’s attendance at a location that speaks to the basic core values of The Undefeated,” said Stephen K. Bannon, the writer and director of the film.

"We are delighted that Governor Palin and her husband Todd have accepted our invitation to join us at the Iowa premiere of what we believe is a truly moving and extraordinary film,” said Trevor Drinkwater, CEO of ARC Entertainment, the film’s worldwide distributor.

The film begins its national rollout exclusively in AMC Theatres in 10 cities the week of July 15th. The film will debut in Dallas, Denver, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Atlanta, Orange County, Phoenix, Houston, Indianapolis, and Kansas City, with plans to take it nationwide in additional markets thereafter.

The Undefeated features leading prominent political commentators Mark Levin, Tammy Bruce and Andrew Breitbart as well as conservative activists Kate Obenshein, Sonnie Johnson and Jamie Radtke. Additionally, the film features interviews with Alaskan civil servants, elected officials and advisors who were involved in Alaskan politics during Governor Palin’s tenure.

The Undefeated, which was written and directed by Stephen K. Bannon and produced by Bannon and Victory Film Group co-founder Glenn Bracken Evans and Dan Fleuette, chronicles Sarah Palin’s rise from obscurity to national prominence.

Palin to Iowa, Maybe

Palin, Palin, Palin: Is Sarah Palin news? I'm not trying to be a smart a$% here. I'm being serious. We have been speculating for months, actually years now, whether she will run for president. She might be building a house in Arizona. A presidential launching palace? The national media are all over this bus tour she has begun this week. As per usual, there is little to no access for reporters to Palin, outside of Fox, of course, the source of one of her paychecks.

Pawlenty, Paul, Cain, Gingrich, Johnson have all announced they were running for president. Santorum, Bachmann and Romney will likely add their names to the list in the next few weeks, as well. Huntsman and Perry might, too. So where is Palin in all of this? Good question. Fox took Gingrich and Santorum off the air as contributors because of their interest in running for president. Yet, Palin remains on the air, despite this latest bus tour. Palin told CNN Monday that her bus tour might come to Iowa "at some point". And let's not forget the Palin movie coming to the state next month.

If she comes, then, I guess we should cover her. And I'm not saying she is not newsworthy at all. After all, she was the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee. But all of this breathless national coverage, though, on her every move, tweet and Facebook post? It all just seems to be a bit much. We have plenty of other declared and nearly-declared candidates on the Republican side. We need to start vetting them. What do they believe? What are their ideas? How will they solve the country's problems? Are they more than just red-meat soundbites? And, of course, I'm not forgetting the president. Since it doesn't appear he will have a Democratic primary opponent, then that changed pre-primary coverage. But we still need to know what he will do in the future. What about the debt? Unemployment? Declining schools? Entitlement programs?

What would Palin do if we quit covering her. For now. If even Fox doesn't think she is serious enough yet for a presidential run (since she is still a paid contributor on the air for the network), then why should we?

Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin is quitting as Alaska's governor today. So, now what? Will she write a book, make a lot of money giving speeches and then run for president in 2012? Will one of the more than a dozen accusations of ethics violations finally do her in? Will she just get out of politics for good? Is there some other option for her future?

Here was her last tweet to followers on Twitter Sunday night:

AKGovSarahPalin Last state twitter. Thank you Alaska! I love you. God bless Alaska. God bless the U.S.A.