May Day in Michigan: Palin and the President

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Both Sarah Palin and President Barack Obama will be in Michigan (and only about 50 miles apart) giving speeches May 1, notes Tom Gantert of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy's Michigan Capitol Confidential:

Palin will speak May 1 at the Americans for Prosperity's "Defending the American Dream" event at Mt. Zion church in Clarkston. President Obama will give the spring commencement address at the University of Michigan on the same day.

Scott Hagerstrom, the chairman of the Michigan chapter of AFP, said he felt lucky to get Palin, since he was told she gets 2,500 requests a year.

Hagerstrom said one of the reasons he wanted Palin to speak was "her willingness to take on the status quo."

"People are tired of politics as usual," he said.

The AFP event starts at 8 a.m. and goes until 4 p.m. Palin will speak before noon, Hagerstrom said. Tickets range from $59 to $99.

Some political junkies are already characterizing the dueling May Day events as a preview of 2012 presidential campaign. The latest PPP survey show that Gov. Palin has closed on Obama's lead in the poll and is now in a statistical tie with the president.

- JP