Free Republic

Sarah Palin has hired a veteran operative to serve as a chief of staff to her loosely organized team, one of the biggest indicators yet that the former Alaska governor is leaning toward a run for the White House. POLITICO confirmed late Friday night that Palin has hired Michael Glassner to serve the key role.

Next Thursday marks the start of the Conservative Political Action Conference, commonly known as CPAC, where conservative activists gather every year in Northwest Washington, D.C. It's a chance for bigwigs to make speeches to a ballroom full of influential types, which makes it a particularly choice venue for Republican presidential aspirants, which speak there regularly. It's a packed three-day schedule from Thursday through Saturday, so there's room enough for most of them. Tea party hero Michele Bachmann, whose office indicated in January that she's considering a 2012 run, will be the first of the 2012ers to speak. Bachmann, many will...