You’d think she would have seen that question coming before she even sat down. She may have. And if so, it helps to recall that Palin is a politician, after all, and not without talent in that department.
One of the oldest plays in the political playbook is the bafflegab response to a question the politician doesn't want to answer. Instead, ramble on about something that sorta seems to address the question, but really doesn't.
Either way it doesn't work out for her, though. If that response was natural stream of consciousness stuff it looks unintelligent.
And if it were an attempt at bafflegab, it suggests that she was dodging the question -- and tacitly supporting GOProud in the process. Which, from her standpoint, is probably better than saying it outright and alienating her adoring base. But it opens her up to speculation like this.
It's probably a no-win situation ....
There's one other thing that struck me. For better or worse, speaking at CPAC on the year before the election is widely considered de rigeur for aspiring Republican Presidential candidates. It is considered one of the major kickoff points for the nomination race. This year, just as in 2007, virtually everyone being seriously talked about as a candidate is going to be in attendance.
Therefore, it is noteworthy that Palin is not going to be there even though she was invited to give the keynote address. Many assumed that she was skipping it because she was joining the boycott over GOProud. Now we hear from her own mouth that this isn't the case.
So why is she skipping CPAC? Is the feud she had with the ACU from last year still ongoing despite reports to the contrary? It seems a bit unlikely, since SarahPAC is sponsoring a "Presidential Diamond Reception" at CPAC. Is she taking a cue from the fact that the only major candidate not to attend in 2007 was John McCain? Considering that McCain's campaign almost went bankrupt months before the Iowa caucuses, his doesn't seem like a great strategy to emulate.
One possibility that does seem to fit a lot of the available evidence: Palin has no need to go to CPAC because she actually isn't running.