Successful: October 2, 1991 - Arkansas Governor William Jefferson Clinton announces that he will run for president.
Unsuccessful: January 20, 2007 - Sen. Hillary Clinton jumped into the fray as a 2008 presidential candidate with the words “I’m in”
Timing is not everything however Hillary came in with 2 years still to go before inauguration and could not pull it off, yet Barack prevailed by announcing just a month later. The timing of announcement is really a mute point once the race gets underway.
What is important on the national stage is name recognition, press coverage and the ability to get your message out. On those front’s Palin excels.
Palin has essentially been building name recognition (through both favorable and unfavorable press and activities) since her selection as VP. This is typically a huge hurdle and one that takes time and money for candidates running on the national stage. Palin does not need that time. Obama blazed the way for raising money through millions of small donations, showing how it could be done, so money raising is not an issue. Most candidates have to get in and announce just so that the press will talk to them and so they can make their views and opinions known. Palin just has to jump in her bus, wander through a state fair and she has more press than all the other candidates combined.
I would agree with those that say that it was different back then (i.e. Reagan) and that it is not done that way anymore. Social media and the internet have changed the game and we are watching it unfold before our eyes. History in the making is hard to see when it is happening :)
Very good observation! She did start very very early. In fact, that was the earliest election I'd ever seen.
We must also consider the fact that the media picked Obama over Hillary. Whether she entered early or later Hillary should have been and would have been the nominee if the media did not carry the water for Obama. Obama is the media's President.