It seems that being on the cover of Newsweek, and rating an eight page article, has once again added fuel to the flames of liberal paranoia.  “Palin Plots Her Next Move”…looks for clues into what the Alaska Dispatch refers to as the “Mystery of 2012”.  Sounds like someone’s been reading a little too much Nancy Drew doesn’t it? 
New clues in the Sarah Palin ‘Mystery of 2012’ reads like the nervous angst of a young teenager fearing their reality imperiled.   They really do fear her.
The Daily Beast on Sunday posted a picture to its Twitter account featuring former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on the cover of the upcoming issue of Newsweek with the bold proclamation “I can win,” on prominent display. In what could be titled as a young-adult detective novel — “Sarah Palin and the Mystery of 2012” — the Newsweek profile and a Facebook note posted on Saturday from the failed vice-presidential candidate provide new and enticing clues as to whether or not Palin will run for the presidential nomination in 2012.
Palin has been relatively quiet in the last few weeks, making a brief foray to Pella, Iowa, for the premier of the pro-Palin documentary “The Undefeated” — and appearing in the state at the same time as President Obama — but has otherwise kept a low profile. Then, on Saturday, she posted a lengthy Facebook note (a favorite outlet for voicing her opinion to her more than 3 million followers there) titled “The Sugar Daddy has Run Out of Sugar; Now We Need New Leaders,” that focused heavily on government policy and alludes to the future after 2012.
“Barack Obama’s big government policies continue to fail,” the note begins. “He should put a link to the national debt clock on his BlackBerry.  “This is among several other digs at the current U.S. president. Palin discusses the practice by the Federal Reserve of buying financial assets from banks, known as Qualitative Easing, with the most recent round of purchases commonly referred to as QE2. A Dallas Times article from last year notes that Qualitative Easing is also referred to, colloquially, as “printing money,” since the Fed must create money in order to purchase assets. QE2 has become a hot topic in the context of the debt ceiling debate, including a recent assertion by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan that he was meeting with two economists (over two $350 bottles of wine) to discuss QE2 policy.
Palin refers to the policy as “playing inflationary games with our currency,” before noting “It’s a matter of public record that I did not go to Harvard Law School, but I can add.” Harvard Law School is President Obama’s Alma Mater.  The bulk of Palin’s note focuses on reducing government spending and debt, but she alludes several times to the impending 2012 election, most notably at the end of her message. “…first and foremost we must tackle our debt. We don’t have the luxury of playing politics as usual. We need real leaders who will put aside their own political self-interest to do what is right for the nation. And if they don’t emerge…well, America has a do-over in November 2012.”
As with all things Palin, it’s difficult to tell exactly what she means when she says it. Whether she’s implying that America needs only to elect someone other than Obama in 2012, or she’s saying that she’s that “real leader,” is anyone’s guess. The Newsweek article affirms this uncertainty.
“I’m not so egotistical as to believe that it has to be me, or it can only be me, to turn things around,” she says in the piece. “But I do believe that I can win.”
But following a quiet spell for the notoriously well-publicized Palin, this latest round of 2012 overtures will only stoke the fires of speculation.