The Reaction: Sarah Palin, tantalizing no more, says she's not running for president in 2012

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Ah, but she was tantalizing us for so long. It's almost like she couldn't stop, and, well, maybe she couldn't, not until this late hour, time running out. So desperate for the spotlight, and for the big money that comes from being a celebrity political and media icon, she had to keep telling us that maybe, just maybe, she'd get in. A lackluster Republican presidential field emerged, but she kept lurking, Romney & Co. trying to escape her shadow, an overwhelming presence that continued to dominate her party even when she was in the background.

So why isn't she running? Her letter to her supporters announcing her decision is, as you might expect, a wonder of self-aggrandizing, propagandistic bullshit. She claims that she wants to continue to be a player in the GOP: "I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office – from the nation's governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency." Well, fine. But that surely isn't the whole story. There are any number of other reasons behind her decision, no doubt, but it should have been clear even to her that she stood no chance of winning -- likely not the nomination and certainly not the general election. She's not even all that popular in her own party.

But while she will continue to be a major factor in the GOP, supporting various right-wing candidates and playing kingmaker when possible, she isn't about running for political office, let alone serving the people, she's about maximizing the "Sarah Palin" brand and profiting wildly off her fame. Seriously, she couldn't even finish a single term as Alaska governor. Do you really think she wanted to be president? Maybe her massive ego did, and maybe it still does, but apparently self-interest got the better of grandiose delusion.

For more, see:

-- "What should we make of Sarah Palin's poor poll numbers?" (September 7, 2011)

-- "Rove thinks Palin will run (maybe)" (August 20, 2011)

-- "Box office bomb: Sarah Palin and the failure of The Undefeated" (July 21, 2011)

-- "The return of Sarah Palin" (July 11, 2011)

-- "Sarah Palin cancels bus tour, America exhales" (June 22, 2011)

-- "Is Sarah Palin duping her supporters into funding her bus tour?" (June 2, 2011)

-- "Palin on the bus, back in the spotlight, desperate for attention" (May 27, 2011)

-- "So is Sarah Palin running, or what?" (May 26, 2011)

-- "The tragicomedy of Sarah Palin" (May 23, 2011)

-- "Americans don't like Sarah Palin" (March 11, 2011)

Anyway, whatever. It's over.