Pat Dollard

Tweet

Excerpted from
Real Clear Politics:

Less than a month after she appeared poised to shake up the Republican presidential campaign, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has once again receded from the 2012 limelight.

When Palin launched her “One Nation” bus tour on Memorial Day amid a swirl of media attention and excitement from her fervent fan base, many political observers who had once dismissed her were reminded of the jolt that her candidacy could provide to what has thus far been a relatively sleepy GOP nominating fight.

As Palin toured historical sites along the East Coast, she was clearly reveling in the tangible excitement she’d ginned up: She even eagerly answered questions — from the denizens of the “lamestream” media — ranging from matters of political process to an array of issues facing the nation.

In an apparent repudiation to those who dismissed her trip as a mere publicity stunt, Palin’s openness with reporters about her intentions to visit Iowa and South Carolina — in addition to her highly scrutinized stop in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire — lent credence to her repeated assertions that she was indeed seriously considering a White House bid.

Though Palin and her staff never announced a timeline for the remaining legs of her trip, aides had drafted preliminary itineraries that would have taken her through the Midwest and Southeast at some point this month. But those travel blueprints are now in limbo, RCP has learned, as Palin and her family have reverted to the friendly confines of summertime Alaska, where the skies are currently alight for over 19 hours a day and the Bristol Bay salmon fishing season is nearing its peak.

As Palin enjoys her sojourn to the 49th state, she has not reconnected with key early-state figures like Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and she may have jeopardized whatever political momentum she gained from her recent reemergence in the 2012 discussion. Her political action committee’s website still greets visitors with a stale banner, announcing the nationwide bus tour beginning “[t]his Sunday, May 29th.”

More than a few of Palin’s core supporters have grown impatient and confused about her strategy, venting their frustration on Internet fan sites.

Read the whole thing at Real Clear Politics

Although Palin announced a break on June 1 to ABC, no one expected it to last at least another three weeks, with no sign yet of resumption.

ABC News, June 1:

Palin confirmed that she’s going to Boston after New York and that after the northeast, she’ll go back to Alaska before re-launching the tour – called the “One Nation Tour,” after all – on the West Coast.

She told ABC News about her plans after she leaves the northeast:

“Go back to Alaska – in fact today, Willow [the middle Palin daughter] already had to get back to work so she had to leave – go back to Alaska, come back on the trail again, and take the tour west as the summer progresses.”