The end state we should desire is "deadlocked" - Romney short of 1142, Gingrich + Santorum + Paul > 1141 but unable to do a deal because they don't have enough overlap to pull it off.
The convention is really the place where the nominee should be chosen - primaries, the way they have developed, are stupid and should have much less influence then they do currently.
There are 3 ways for a deadlocked convention to end - a compromise among active nominees (usual), a stampede (Wilkie 1940), and a dark horse/favorite son.
After a long silence, Our Lady of Wasilla has started to show a little ankle in the past few weeks.
Does it mean something? Who knows?
Maybe.
I think Our Lady of Wasilla’s plan has been:
Avoid getting sullied in the primaries. She didn’t want to have to go through the scrutiny from her own party and defend herself against it. Once the primaries are over, she’s still clean with no broken teeth or scars.
Be ready at the phone, having already gotten the right feelers in place to make that call (almost like the American Idol contestants giving hand signals on what number to call), should the convention become brokered or deadlocked. The lady WANTS that call to happen should no clear candidate emerge from the primaries an be nominated at the convention.
Short of that, I honestly see her in a third party situation. Especially if Mitt is the ultimate candidate or Jeb if brokered/deadlocked. She’ll claim it was a draft movement, but again, she’s likely already getting that in place should the brokered/deadlocked convention fail to materialize or she’s not chosen.