Palin: ‘It Would Be Absurd Not to Consider’ Presidential Run

There are few single statements that have the power to evoke terror and delight in the same breath, but surely this is one of them: On “Fox News Sunday,” the channel’s own political commentator and tea-party headliner Sarah Palin opined “that it would be absurd not to consider” a run for the White House in 2012.

Palin made these positive noises about seeking the presidency after delivering the keynote speech Saturday at the first national Tea Party Convention in Nashville. Whether she would run as a Republican or in some corollary fashion as a tea-party candidate is unclear at this point, although Palin seemed to promote the idea of some kind of GOP-TP merger in the future. –KA

The Wall Street Journal:

The former Alaska governor has embraced the Tea Party in public remarks, and she is stepping up her participation in the movement, with Saturday’s speech and appearances at Tea Party rallies in Nevada and Massachusetts in the next two months.

Ms. Palin urged the broader movement and the party establishment to work together to elect conservatives. “The Republican Party would be really smart to try and absorb as much of the Tea Party movement as possible,” she said. A spokesman for the Republican National Committee agreed. “Chairman [Michael] Steele believes that when engaging grassroots the more, the merrier,” said Doug Heye.

Some supporters at the convention took the same view. “I suspect the Tea Party strategy is to commandeer the Republican machine,” said Roger Webb, a 65-year-old freelance photojournalist.

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