Palin in Israel with the Netenyahu's, photo Ben Gershom gpo
As 2011 begins to shape up, although few have announced an actual intent to run for the 2012 GOP nominations, pundits are picking sides, and trips are being made both at home and abroad, to shore up alliances and “test the waters”. Palin’s recent swing through the nations that represent perhaps, our two most stalwart allies outside of Great Britain, India and Israel, made quite the impression according to Irish Central.com. The Indian Press appears to be in agreement as Positive Palin stories abound in India, and more so now that she has set foot in the country. In Israel, Palin met briefly with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, making the promise to return for a lengthier visit in the near future. The Prime Minister – however, what is more interesting is that Netanyahu chose to meet with Palin over a Left Wing American Lobby:
J Street officials, who are in Israel for a meeting of the Knesset Diaspora Affairs Committee, complained on Monday that Netanyahu had refused a request to meet with them but had chosen to meet with Palin.
The left-wing American lobby’s president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, said he had wanted to meet with Netanyahu “to introduce ourselves and explain how we can work together as allies.”
This denotes the respect the Prime Minister has for certain American Dignitaries who carry more weight than say, a left-wing American lobbyist.
Back home, Palin’s first stop in Florida was to a sold out crowd of over 1,000, Naples News Press), where, once again, she noted she was weighing a run in 2012.
Meanwhile, the barbs come from the right National Review reports on pundit Bill Kristol as spouting “"I think she's unlikely to be the Republican nominee, and to be honest I think she probably shouldn't be the Republican nominee for president." in reference to a question posed about a potential Palin run in 2012. Conservative activist, Andrew Breitbart, believes that Palin should be akin to an Oprah, in other words a cheerleader for a particular candidate. His choices: Congresswoman Michelle Bachman and Alan West(Politico) Although more than meeting the conservative criteria, both are, at this point, about as relevant as either Ralph Nader or Ron Paul entering the race, perhaps less so, given national name recognition. West and Bachman have exemplary Tea Party Credentials, and Bachman, to her credit, has a stellar voting record in the Congress – that said, Bachman is being taken seriously by ABC News, where she parrots Palin, as saying “she wants to be part of the conversation in 2012” and goes on to note a decision will be made by summer as to her intent to enter the race for the White House
While in India, Palin noted it was time for a woman to be President of the United States, however, to be clear, she did not mention which woman. (See Irish Central link in first Paragraph as source).
All in all, the odds are currently in favor of a Palin run and win, literally she is, as of now, tied with Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination, and is the leading Republican candidate in offshore betting on the overall 2012 Presidential race at Sportsbook.com Having watched the line in previous elections, the odds on favorite at this point is normally the incumbent, however, the closer one gets to 2012, and the candidates begin to own their positions within the two political parties, the odds tighten. As those bets are placed from both within and outside of the U.S. the fact that Palin is the top choice for the nomination, is interesting in itself. A side note: Odds in 2007, on the 2008 election, Barack Obama has a slightly lower line than Palin does now, with Hillary Clinton in the lead and McCain as the top choice for the Republican ticket, with odds being slightly less than 5,000. It is interesting to see who those in Vegas and elsewhere are willing to put their money on in the hopes of a win, of course, the greater the odds, the greater the payoff, but the point is to be paid off. Of note: Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee are tied for White House win, both slightly behind Mitt Romney (who is right behind Palin) and Trump is now on the board.
Speaking of which, Trump will be making a foray into Iowa for the June Iowa Republican Dinner (Des Moines Register), this, along with his recent Face Book notes to fans about his patriotism and his love of country (as in I want to be able to do this for our country), indicates that “The Donald” is serious about the run.
Stock up on popcorn, this is going to be one of the best GOP presidential hopeful debate years in history.
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