VIDEO- David Brooks: Sarah Palin is "a joke"

By GottaLaff

David Brooks:

"Republican primary voters are just not going to elect a talk show host."

Not after the stratospheric success they had with Me and the Chimp. Too bad the now-canceled 2001-2008 series wasn't more like Lockup.

Iowa Republicans wince at Sarah Palin's $100K speaking fee

"Really, really odd". Yep, she is.

A conservative Iowa group’s effort to lure Sarah Palin to its banquet next month has had an unintended effect: Rather than exciting conservatives about the prospect of a visit from the former Alaska governor, the group’s plan to raise a six-figure sum to bring her to the state has GOP activists recoiling at the thought of paying to land a politician's speaking appearance.

(snip)

But representatives from other Iowa-based political advocacy groups said they would never consider shelling out money for what many politicians see as a privilege: the opportunity to speak to a room full of sure-fire caucus-goers who often serve as precinct captains and can be instrumental to a presidential candidate’s success.

“If somebody tells me they want me to pay an appearance fee, it tells me they’re not very serious about running for president,” said Ed Failor, Jr., president of Iowans for Tax Relief and an influential GOP insider.

“I found it really, really odd,” Failor said.

Tim Pawlenty Locks Up Top GOP Talent For 2012

Good luck with that. Your own state doesn't even want to vote you in as President. But hey, if you've got RedState one your side...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) "has been quietly assembling the blueprint of a presidential campaign and will announce Thursday the support of a group of high-level political strategists and donors, complemented by a handful of top new media consultants," Politico reports.

"Pawlenty, under the radar of D.C.'s political community, has locked up some of the key operatives who engineered then-President George W. Bush's reelection campaign -- a significant feat for a little-known Midwestern politician."

Rick Santorum for President?

Oh, this is the first thing that cheered me up in a few days. I do so love Google Bombs. Via Taegan.

Politico adds former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) to the list of potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates after learning that he will visit Iowa later this year "for a series of appearances before the sort of conservative activists who dominate the state GOP's key presidential caucuses."

Bonus Cartoon of the Day

Because I had to. Well, we don't know it's a sex scandal yet...Click to enlarge, via.

Countdown- The Real Republicans Candidates Of 2012

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Bobby Jindal Gets Book Deal

Let's hope his ghost writers write better than he speaks.

"In a move almost certain to fuel fresh speculation about his national ambitions," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said that he "has agreed to write a book for a conservative publishing house about his life and policy ideas," the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

"The book is tentatively scheduled for release in 2010... In recent years, book authorship has become a virtual requirement for presidential aspirants."

Palin unplugged in speech to Alaska GOP dinner

Oh, she's a gift that keeps on giving this one.

(CNN) – Sarah Palin is teeing off on the media once again.

In a little-noticed speech to a GOP dinner in Alaska last week, Palin riffed for nearly an hour on a variety of topics — including her relationship with former McCain staffers, the Bush administration's anti-terror efforts, and actress Ashley Judd.

But the Alaska governor returned multiple times to the "unprecedented level of media slant" that she witnessed during her two-months on the Republican ticket with John McCain.

(snip)

"Some in the media actually participated in not so much the 'who-what-where-when-why' objective reporting on candidates and positions, those five W's that I learned when I had a journalism degree so many years ago in college, when the world of journalism was quite different than it is today," she said.

"No, things have changed," she continued. "But complaining? Or whining? Absolutely not. But I am going to call it like I see it. It doesn't do any good to whine about any of this. But I can call it like I see it. Sometimes it gets me in a lot of trouble when I speak candidly, and I speak from the heart and I do such a thing. But I am going to."

"And there was that media slant this go round," she said. "And unless things change, the GOP had really better can stand together, 'cause we got that on the battlefield also. I call it like I see it and like I lived it on the campaign trail. Not complaining, but dealing with reality."

Hoo boy.

General Petraeus planning 2010 visit to Iowa

The number one thing that came to mind when I saw this is that there is no way that General Petraeus would have the erm, flexibility to acquiesce to the Religious Right. Not a chance.

"THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned that General Petraeus is planning on delivering the commencement address at the University of Iowa in 2010.”

So reports Michael Goldfarb, late of the McCain campaign, on the magazine’s blog.

Petraeus going to Iowa, a state he doesn’t have previous ties to, is going to create a huge amount of buzz about his presidential ambitions because the Iowa Caucuses kick off the whole presidential nomination process. If he does, deliver the address—and Petraeus must know this—it will be seen as a sign that he is thinking about running in 2012.

(snip)

Very little is known about Petraues’s politics and no one knows how he would make the transition from soldier to politician. But if he did enter the race, it would shake things up dramatically. He would instantly become a top tier candidate and the most serious threat to Obama's chances of winning a second term.

Huckabee Takes Swipe at Palin

Catfight or Hick Off? 2012 is going to be fun. /apologizes to decent hicks.

Mike Huckabee (R), a likely Republican presidential candidate in 2012, took a shot at Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), one of his possible rivals, in an Esquire interview.

Said Huckabee: "Now I must say I did not think that either the Charlie Gibson interview or the Katie Couric interviews were unfair. In fact, if anything, Katie Couric was extraordinarily gentle, even helpful. [Palin] just... I don't know what happened. I can't explain it. It was not a good interview. I'm being charitable."

Romney is Already Running

Oh yea. Can't wait.

Mitt Romney "is laying the groundwork for a possible White House campaign in 2012, hiring a team of staff members and consultants with money from a fund-raising committee he established with the ostensible purpose of supporting other GOP candidates," the Boston Globe reports.

"The former Massachusetts governor has raised $2.1 million for his Free and Strong America political action committee. But only 12 percent of the money has been spent distributing checks to Romney's fellow Republicans around the country."

"Instead, the largest chunk of the money has gone to support Romney's political ambitions, paying for salaries and consulting fees to over a half-dozen of Romney's longtime political aides."

Join Rudy 2012 Dot Com?

Maybe this explains Rudy!'s lukewarm cheerleading. The script on the site at the bottom says 2008, but the website is 2012. Via Pam.

h/t to Noah that Mitt Romney 2012 has also been reserved.