Is Palin Now Leaning Toward a 2012 Run?

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Sarah Palin‘s political action committee recently sent 400,000 new mailers bearing the message “2012 Can’t Come Fast Enough,” raising questions that the tea party favorite could be mulling a presidential bid after all.

As the Washington Post reported, the Sarah PAC mailers were sent out nationwide, including to potential donors in crucial GOP primary states, and were intended to drum up contributions to Palin’s PAC. In the mailer, Palin writes, “Taking back control of the House last year was only the first step. Now you and I must fix our eyes on 2012. Our goal is to take back the White House and the Senate.” At the end of last year, Sarah PAC had $1.3 million in bank, according to federal election filings.

Here’s the Post‘s takeaway on the vaguely worded mailer:

Polls of late have shown Palin to be slipping somewhat in popularity among Republicans, and she has faded from the national spotlight in recent months.

Still, if she were to get in the presidential race, it would shake up a field that has just started to settle down. That’s especially true in the wake of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s decision not to run in 2012, a move that will almost certainly free up a considerable number of social conservative voters.

[…]

Even if Palin doesn’t ultimately run, her continued fundraising for the PAC suggests she is planning to play an active role in the 2012 election.

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