Just what is Sarah Palin up to? That’s the question asked by the New York Times on the weekend:

Without leaving home, Sarah Palin will be able to reach much of her political base, courtesy of a soon-to-be-built television studio in her living room paid for by her newest media patron, Fox News. From her house in Wasilla, Alaska, Ms. Palin also sends missives to 1.3 million Facebook “fans,” writes newspaper columns, Tweets and signs copies of her book for donors.

…

Her growing cast of advisers and support system could be working in the service of any number of goals: a presidential run, a de facto role as the leader of the Tea Party movement, a lucrative career as a roving media entity — or all of the above.

Despite leaving politics in July, Palin is possibly more visible now than ever. She recently stirred up a media flame war with a post on her Facebook page criticising Obama’s chief of staff for using the phrase “f-cking retards”:

Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the “N-word” or other such inappropriate language, Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities – and the people who love them – is unacceptable, and it’s heartbreaking.

… or it was until conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh used it to attack liberals:

“They are kooks, so I agree with Rush Limbaugh,” she said, when read a quote of Limbaugh calling liberal groups “retards.” “Rush Limbaugh was using satire…”

On Saturday night, Palin addressed the growing force of extreme conservatism in the States that is the Tea Party Movement at their National Convention (for a modest fee of $100,000), laying into Obama and labelling them “the future of politics in America”

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7gVp3diPbI[/youtube]

The speech was met with chants of “Run, Sarah, Run!”, though the aspect of the event that seems to have garnered the most coverage is the notes scrawled on her hand to help her along (“energy”, “budget cuts”, “tax” and “lift American spirits”).

And today, she has come out in response to the big 2012 question, saying she is indeed considering it:

Sarah Palin said she would consider a run for president in 2012 “if I believe that that is the right thing to do for our country and for the Palin family,” according to a television interview broadcast Sunday morning.

Palin 2012? Is she ready? Are we?