I've been saying for months that the 2012 Republican nomination is Sarah's for the asking. And if she becomes our nominee, it's curtains for the Dems. They've got no one, including Obama, who can beat her.
I believe that Sarah's been positioning herself for a presidential run since at least the time of her book tour, if not before. She's done a masterful job of following in Reagan's footsteps in this regard.
She's kept her name in the news, and has become the de facto spokesperson for the burgeoning Tea Party rebellion. She's endorsed lots of candidates who will go on to win their elections, which has established a serious cache of political favors she can call in during her run for the presidency.
She's also positioned herself as the leading critic of the Obama administration. The other 2012 hopefuls were late to stand up in fierce opposition to Obama, so they're all perceived as standing behind her skirts now.
Watching Sarah Palin's maneuvers over the last two years has made me think that she couldn't have engineered a path to the White House more brilliantly. What's interesting, is reading the comments of others who don't see how well she's orchestrating this, and who believe that she's just an "aw shucks" Mama Grizzly, Tea Party lady.