FOX News will cover Sarah Palin's NTPC address live (Updated)

*
Fox News will cablecast Sarah Palin’s National Tea Party Convention keynote address to a potential audience of millions of viewers live Saturday night:

The network, which pays Palin as a political analyst and is considered the favored network of conservatives, will carry Palin’s speech during Geraldo at Large in the 9 p.m. hour, a network spokeswoman told POLITICO.

On Monday, convention organizers announced that they had credentialed Fox as well as CNN, Reuters TV and Pajamas Media, and was working with them to facilitate video coverage of select parts of the convention. But neither the organizers, nor the media outlets, announced specific coverage plans.

CNN apparently will not provide live coverage of Gov. Palin's speech, as it plans to air a documentary on Martin Luther King Jr. Saturday night as part of its Black History Month programming. But CNN will rebroadcast excerpts of the address and will dispatch a team of three correspondents and one political contributor to Nashville for convention coverage.

Update: MSNBC(!) and C-SPAN will both carry the speech live as well.

- JP

Sarah Palin on her Tea Party Convention speech

*
In an opinion piece for USA Today, Sarah Palin explains why she intends to speak at the National Tea Party Convention this Saturday night. Here are some excerpts:

Later this week I'll head to Nashville, where I'll have the honor of speaking with members of the Tea Party movement.

[...]

Recently, some have tried to portray this movement as a commercial endeavor rather than the grassroots uprising that it is. Those who do so don't understand the frustration everyday Americans feel when they see their government mortgaging their children's future with reckless spending. The spark of patriotic indignation that inspired those who fought for our independence and those who marched peacefully for civil rights has ignited once again. You can't buy such a sentiment. You can't AstroTurf it. It springs from love of country and the knowledge that we can make a difference if we just stand up and stand together.

I thought long and hard about my participation in this weekend's event. At the end of the day, my decision came down to this: It's important to keep faith with people who put a little bit of their faith in you. Everyone attending this event is a soldier in the cause. Some of them will be driving hundreds of miles to Nashville. I made a commitment to them to be there, and I am going to honor it.

[...]

I will not benefit financially from speaking at this event. My only goal is to support the grassroots activists who are fighting for responsible, limited government — and our Constitution. In that spirit, any compensation for my appearance will go right back to the cause.

The nature of the Tea Party movement means there may never be a "perfectly orchestrated" event: Democracy in action doesn't come with a manual. But we must not get caught up in the politics or the controversies that some hope will distract from the heart of the movement. The focus must remain on our ideas and beliefs, and on supporting those ideas and beliefs however we can.

Once again, like the fresh breeze she is, Gov. Palin clears the air of the pollution around the Tea Party Convention that critics on both the left and right have been pumping into the atmosphere. The governor continues to speak common sense conservatism, and her op-ed should serve as a teaching moment for the circular firing squad.

Read the full Sarah Palin op-ed here.

- JP

Reaction to Sarah Palin's Hong Kong Speech, Part 4

Our final round of reaction to former Governor's Palin's Wednesday address:

Flopping Aces:

"Quite a better speech than the apologies and narcissism Obama put on display in New York!"

National Review editor Rich Lowry:

"Palin is an authentic, powerful voice of the populist right and in the speech she implicitly connects its call for limited government and sensible fiscal policy with America's role as a world power."

Give Us Liberty:

"Palin may or may not be the leader we seek, for now she is our rally point..."

The Xliberal's Blog:

"I chose to highlight the part on the Tea Party Movement because she basically boiled down what the movement is all about and the reason why... Americans of all political parties were out there marching and fighting the good fight"

Way Up North:

"I still say she reminds me very much of Ronald Reagan - and that's not a bad thing."

Big Lizards:

"There simply is nobody else on the American political stage who is as clear, as blunt and bold, as realistic, and as morally straightforward as Sarah Louise Palin -- not Mitt Romney, not Mike Huckabee, not Michael Steel (sic), Rep. Eric Cantor, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, and not even Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi... no one today comes closer to the Reaganite vision than Mrs. Palin."

Jim’s Blog:

"Sarah Palin is a politician who has her finger right on the pulse of the ordinary American."

Obama Information:

"China’s capitalism was drastically accelerated by Ronald Reagan working with Deng Xiao Ping in the 80’s by loosening trade between the two countries. Sarah Palin knows this too, and she capitalized on it in her Hong Kong speech."

Dan Riehl:

"She's far too attractive to be a cross between Thatcher and Reagan... but does she have their stuff? Someone seems to think so."

Doctor Zero:

"While Palin expounded on political and economic liberty in simple, but forceful, terms, Obama was offering disposable nonsense... to the petty thugs and tyrants at the United Nations"

KillerSite Blog:

"I guess she does read some newspapers… that’s strange, the MSM told me she’s a know nothing?!"

The Federal Observer:

"Whether she is Executive Office material or not, or even considers running for the preidency in the future, is not the issue with me - but the fact that she is expanding her horizons - says much about the Lady."

- JP

Reaction to Sarah Palin's Hong Kong Speech, Part 3

Here's round three of reaction to former Governor's Palin's Wednesday address:

TIME's Swampland blog:

"Palin is trying to capitalize on an increasing nervousness amongst Americans that the government is growing too big. A recent Gallup poll found that the number of Americans worried that the government is doing too much has reached the highest point in more than a decade -- 57%."

targana.com:

"Praising the conservative economic policies of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, she gave a general defense of capitalist systems."

The Jersey Nut:

"Seems to me like Sarah is running as a 'Tea Party Republican" - not part of the Washington crowd, a women who owes favors to no one, and an American who values her freedom to live her life as she sees fit without interference from a government that feels it is best suited to direct the lives of its individual citizens. Could be a winning formula in 2012."

The Shanks Dimension:

"Good Reviews. She got the usual digs from American Democrats who attended."

Pamela Geller:

"Her remarks were breathtakingly fresh, commonsensical, and distinctly American."

Anthony Dalke at Race 4 2012:

"I happen to believe this Sarah Palin could, if she decides to run in 2012, win over Independents – especially those of the Tea Party variety – and capitalize on the feelings of disenfranchisement and angst brewing among much of the American public."

Conservative American:

"Palin is smart like a Fox. Despite all the liberal commentators who promised you her resignation was the end of her career, she’s still going strong."

Taylor Marsh:

"Reviews also saying she was 'well-prepared' -- sure to drive Palin haters to distraction"

American Banking News:

"As far as her comments on economics, there was a lot to like about Sarah Palin’s understanding and solutions."

MarketWatch:

"Notwithstanding the horrific press bashings she's endured -- perhaps even because of them -- Palin remains as hot a political commodity as the right has."

Andrew Malcolm:

"Palin was reportedly well-received and folksy at times, but gone was any hard-edged partisanship so familiar from the campaign a year ago."

Patrick Joubert Conlon:

"Excellent. Brilliant... I think Palin has wised up and started to surround herself with smart people (and good speech-writers) who will bring out the best in her."

Axis of Right:

"The Palin that showed up at this speech was poised, spoke intelligently on many major issues, and set the stage (in my opinion) for 2012. Her themes spoke of the positive impact of the American people and the negative impact of Government. While attacking the problems, she conveyed optimism that America would meet this current challenge and emerge even stronger than before."

Stepping Right Up!:

"There will be no apology tour on the world wide stage forthcoming from Sarah Palin. She will leave the apology tour up to President Obama. After all, he does it so well."

A Time For Choosing: 

"Sarah also articulates conservatism, real conservatism better than anyone out there today. This too is something she shares with Reagan, along with an unabashed love for America, and an unbridled optimism."

- JP

Quote of the Day (September 23, 2009)

Simon, at Classical Values, points to the comment from Melvin Goodé, an apparent Obama supporter who was in the audience for Sarah Palin's speech and said, "She was articulate and she held her own. I give her credit. They've tried to categorize her as not being bright. She's bright":

"Over a year of blackening Sara's reputation down the tubes in one short quote. I have always thought that the Democrats severely underestimated Sarah. Hopefully the Democrat politicians will stay stuck on stupid."

Count on it, Simon. Leftist mad dogs like Oliver Willis will continue to overreach in their personal attacks on Sarah Palin, driving even greater numbers of independents (who are fed up with hearing that crap) right into Sarah's camp. No, the Left won't stop making personal attacks on former Governor Palin. Doing the same thing over and over while hoping for different results is just stupid. And as Texan Ron White says, "You can't fix stupid."

- JP

Reaction to Sarah Palin's Hong Kong Speech, Part 2

The Wall Street Journal's editors:

"The former vice presidential candidate understands Beijing better than the Obama Administration does."

conservative brother:

"As Obama was ripping our country apart to the cheers of some of the most murderous dictators in the world, Former Governor Sarah Palin was giving a speech that was the complete opposite."

Freedom's Lighthouse:

"Palin brought a positive message about America's ability to heal itself, particularly if we follow the prescription set forth by President Ronald Reagan."

Allahpundit:

"For a speech that some on the left stupidly maintained was an elaborate 'prank,' it sure does seem to have been treated pretty seriously by those who were there."

Glenn Reynolds quotes Hong Kong reader Sean Giefing:

"I attended Sarah Palin’s speech at the CLSA conference in Hong Kong. She was very engaging – very down to earth, likeable and offered very intelligent and well informed opinions on US domestic and foreign policy and interesting views on China."

Ruby Slippers:

"Cameron Sinclair, Co-founder of Architecture for Humanity and the Open Architecture Network, gave a surprisingly positive review of Sarah Palin's Hong Kong speech at The Huffington Post. Yes you read that right, The Huffington Post. Sinclair comments that the speech was 'crafted' but contained some surprising criticism of the GOP." 

Bill Lawrence:

"She said the Chinese people need more freedom and stuck up for Tibet and Taiwan. She said America needs to purse a policy of energy independence which meant new drilling, natural gas and nuclear power plants. She said the Republican Party has lost its principles and it's not even certain she saw Tom Delay dancing."

Castaway Conservative:

"I love the fact the media wasn’t invited in. Make ‘em pay, Sarah."

Don Surber:

"Methinks some people expected Joan of Arc while others expected Tina Fey. I think they got Sarah, a bright person from middle America who is more mainstream than the geniuses we have in Washington. It is too bad our current president did not face the same scrutiny before he was elected."

Stephen Spruiell:

"Contrary to speculation that a Hong Kong brokerage invited Sarah Palin to speak at its annual conference as a tongue-in-cheek joke, Palin's address appears to have gone quite well."

Jason Barrett:

"In a wide-ranging and well-received speech in Hong Kong, Palin supported a more Libertarian free-market approach, slamming the recent imposition of tariffs on Chinese tires by the Obama Administration."

Newsweek blogger Katie Connolly:

"The speech is a smart move in the reinvention of Sarah Palin. Sure she can give a good speech, whip up crowds, and raise money, but the longevity of her national political career hinges on her ability to have a voice in serious policy debates."

Another Black Conservative:

"Her quotes on China [are] damn good, I have not heard Obama take China to task for its human rights abuses."

Jeremiah Marquez:

"Sarah Palin resurfaced in Hong Kong on Wednesday more moderate in tone and better versed in international affairs, possibly laying the first brick for a 2012 White House bid."

Macsmind:

"Way to knock it out of the Park Sarah, good job!"

- JP

WSJ: Excerpts from Sarah Palin’s Hong Kong Speech

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog has posted some excerpts from former Governor Palin's speech to investors. Here are a few of them:

On Conservatism:

"You can call me a common-sense conservative. My approach to the issues facing my country and the world, issues that we’ll discuss today, are rooted in this common-sense conservatism… Common sense conservatism deals with the reality of the world as it is. Complicated and beautiful, tragic and hopeful, we believe in the rights and the responsibilities and the inherent dignity of the individual."

"We don’t believe that human nature is perfectible; we’re suspicious of government efforts to fix problems because often what it’s trying to fix is human nature, and that is impossible. It is what it is. But that doesn’t mean that we’re resigned to, well, any negative destiny. Not at all. I believe in striving for the ideal, but in realistic confines of human nature."

On Liberalism:

"The opposite of a common-sense conservative is a liberalism that holds that there is no human problem that government can’t fix if only the right people are put in charge. Unfortunately, history and common sense are not on its side. We don’t trust utopian promises; we deal with human nature as it is."

[...]

On health care:

"I seem to have acquired notoriety in national debate. And all because of two words: death panels. And it is a serious term. It was intended to sound a warning about the rationing that is sure to follow if big government tries to simultaneously increase health care coverage while also claiming to decrease costs. Government has just got to be honest with the people about this"

"As I said, it’s just common sense to realize that government’s attempts to solve large problems like the health-care challenges that we have, more often create new ones, and a top down one size fits all plan will not improve the workings of a nationwide health-care system that accounts for some one-fifth of our economy."

"Common sense also tells us that passing a trillion dollar new retirement program, that’s not the way to reduce health-care spending. Real health-care reform is market oriented, patient centered and result driven. It would give all individuals the same tax benefit, that an ideal plan that I would have in mind, same tax benefits as those who get coverage through their employers. And give Medicare recipients vouchers so that they can buy their own coverage. And reform tort laws and change regulations to allow people to buy insurance across state lines. Rather than another top down government plan, we should give Americans themselves control over their own health care with market friendly responsible ideas."

Read the rest of the excerpts from Sarah Palin's speech here.

- JP

Early reaction to Sarah Palin's Hong Kong Speech

Catherine Yu Yeun Chen posted the following on Sarah Palin's Facebook page:

"I have really great news, a friend who attended the Forum where Mrs Palin made the Keynote Speech at the CLSA Investor's Forum, just while ago, said: Sarah Palin was received with the biggest round of applause it took 3 minutes at least before she was able to start her Speech and that the Speech itself was brilliant and astute and that she took China to task aggressivaly but without been offensive or rude, and she answered many questions brilliantly and smartly after the speech itself, and she was looking beautiful and relaxed and again received a standing applause, but my friend can not tell me anything about the speech-address, it is CLSA rules, and it is up to Sarah and the Organizers to decide whether the speech will be available for public reading."

The following tweets are from cellomonkey (not a Palin fan):

#Think sarah palin will wink at me tomorrow?

#Anticipation building as palin prepares to speak at clsa forum in hk.

#Sarah palin pretty in pink today.

#Palin ties her lineage to asia by saying todd is part eskimo.

#She takes a stab at policy speak since she's from main street.

#Palin pushing "common sense conservatism - a respect for history and tradition and common sense."

#Palin: "mccain and i came in second in a competition of two!" shes funny.

#Palin preparing for 2012 bid by evoking reagan, lauds hkg as model for free mkt economy.

#Palin seemingly campaigning but i wonder how many of us are actually us citizens.

#30 minutes in, im not sure palin has said the word "china"

#"nukular"!!!

#The guy next to me is reading a macro strategy report.

#Palin critizes cutting of defense budget while china and russia are beefing up.

#Palin attributes asian economic prosperity to american commitment to security in the region.

#Palin hopes to integrate india into asia... hrm.

#Palin warns against rise of a one-nation asia, citing missles pointed at taiwan.

#Palin: "it is in the interest of our safety for china to work out its contradictions"

#Wow, palin is lashing out against china "we hope for china to rise responsibly"

#palin has found herself a spot on hu jintao's to-do list [Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China]

#Palin says "i have a husband, yea, i think i coulda used a wife" on being asked "how do you do it"

#Zuckerberg gets props from palin for embodying american ingenuity.

These tweets are from Cameron Sinclair (casinclair, also not a Palin fan, but his impressions of the speech treat her fairly),  apparently also a scheduled speaker at the event:

#Kind ironic. Sarah Palin will talk foreign policy (wed keynote) and I'll speak about lack of US policy during Katrina (thurs keynote).

#Checking keynotes sched for this event in HK. I'm firmly in between Sarah Palin and Sheryl Crow. A sentence I never thought I'd ever write.

#Funnily enough palin and my talks are the only ones closed to the media. Mine is probably lack of interest.....

#So far six outlets want me to speak on camera right after the Palin talk today. Silly politirazzi.

#Stimulus failed will keep unemployment high - Palin.

#Fed is immoral - Palin

#Palin calls self common sence consertative - quotes Reagan and Thatcher as 'getting it right'.

#Palin suggests her cost cutting in the Governors house shows her fiscal conservative.

#Palin suggests GOP has sold out since Reagan and are as bad as the liberals. They lost principles.

#Cap and tax (trade) will cause unemployment. Say it will cost $1800 per Americans and cause no change.

#Palin pro Nuclear and energy independance advocate. Tap the god given resources of America and not foreign entities.

#Natural gas IS the future - Palin

#Palin wants 'all of the above' energy policy to ween ourselves off natural resouces. Says we need to 'drill'

#Death panels - governments not being honest. Can't increase healthcare and cut costs - Palin

#Palin says drill. Say death panels were a way to show mainstreet what is wrong w gov plans

#Palin listing all deaths caused by twisted vision of terrorists. 'this is a war' - Palin suggesting the surge pushed the war out of Iraq.

#Palin says Pelosi and liberals stopping Obama from making right decision to increase troops in afghanistan.

#American defence of Asia has allowed it to prosper - Palin

#American military precense in Asia has allowed it to prosper - palin.

#Folks walking out on palin as she's running over Q&A time.

#We can help intergrate Asia and India -Palin.

#Palin says China key to global push out of recession. China needs to be responsible stakeholder. (and free).

#China needs to ease off Taiwan and to back off supporting Sudan and Zimbabwe. Notes Tibet issue - Palin (on a tear)

#Palin wrapping up saying local Chinese wanting more freedom in China. 'No one worrys about India and it's growth'

#Palin - notes Charter 08. Anyone!

#Palin wrapping up.

#Last 20 min of Palins talk on china us relationships and free trade. Current US gov are anti-open and anti-growth -palin.

#Palin says us must recognize we must lead by example not words. Americans are suffering and frustrated dems exempt themselves from hlthcare.

#Palin says tea party movement are democrats and republicans and fighting the good fight.

#Palin notes bush changed view on china - notes we are interconnected and need to put diplomatic pressure on china. Says taxing tires was bad.

#Local elected officials need to be heard. GOP will be re borne through locals - palin.

#Government need to stay the heck out of salary decisions - palin.

#Palin - Chavez is Castro lite. We need to play hardball with Cuba.

#Palin on Todd and schedule - 'i needed to have a wife' (ouch)

#Palin on Twitter - I love it!

#Palin - facebook is a success story of US ingenuity. Shows 'we still got it'.

#Palin shows picture of son on stage. Then exits.

#Nothing like being attacked by press leaving 'it was awful and right wing, wasn't it' - ask to comment, I said go on Twitter....

#Dear @CNN your reporter is the only one trying the sweet tactic to get a quote. Not working either.

#Hey ms Palin, I'll let you tweet my keynote tomorrow lunch. I'm talking on Katrina and school reform through public/private partnerships.

#@cellomonkey my pics sucked. My keynote tomorrow will have 180 more slides than Palin.

#@Tx4Obama no problem didn't realize I was one of only two tweeting. Had to find alt. Network to send.

#ok speech with occational hits. Interesting Palin attacked GOP more than Dems.

Sinclair posted a suprisingly unbiased summary of the Palin speech at HuffPo here. The Wall Street Journal's even-handed coverage is here. The New York Times' treatment of the Palin speech is cold-day-in-hell positive here (a must-read!). The usual negative take from CNN, the Clinton News Network, is here. Euro-socialist AFP's negatively-slanted article is here. A biased AP report is here, and a very biased Bloomberg story is here.

- JP

Cameron Sinclair Twitters Palin's Speech Before the CLSA (Update)

The short story

His Twitter

I am going to give this guy the benefit of the doubt because twitter is a hard format to get your point across.

But most of his twitter was mundane.

In reading his comments, it seems there was a commonsense approach in Palin's speech.

It seems from the twitter that most of the speech was not earth shattering.

But if she did say we needed to be cooperative with China when it came to the economic scuffle on the tires, it would be interesting to see what the full comments were.

On the topic of China, from what I read so far, she was critical of China..

But there is always that nagging problem of how to handle China with their human rights abuse and their lack of Democracy.

On the issue on China, it will be interesting to see the complete sentiment in her speech; given the fact that China is selling gas to Iran.

Update:

The Asian Sentinel has their  take.

What they got was 90 minutes of boredom which had half the audience fiddling endlessly with their Blackberries. Ninety percent of her speech could have been – and probably was – written for a domestic US audience receptive to her "mom and pop" populism. Indeed the only newsworthy aspect of the speech was why her remarks had to be kept private despite their predictability.

You will see where I  pointed to the softening stance by the CLSA on who requested it be closed in the A.P. story.

And I found the comments on boredom funny when you consider Sinclair's frantic twittering (probably on a Blackberry).

And last, this:

All in all this was standard conservative Republican stuff but it bored than surprised a naturally conservative audience waiting for something that might be quote worthy if not memorable.

The only slightly interesting bit was when she got to discussing China. It had indeed had "miraculous" economic growth and she hoped its rise would remain peaceful. However she warned that the US and the rest of Asia had to be prepared in case things China "went in a different direction." She criticized its missile threat to Taiwan, lack of pressure on North Korea on the nuclear issue, its dealings with regimes in Iran, Burma and Zimbabwe. She noted that political freedoms had not followed economic reform and contrasted it with democratic progress in India, Indonesia etc. She criticized suppression of domestic critics and also mentioned those two words Chinese leaders least like to hear: Uighurs and Tibet.

Palin was clear that the strong US defense posture had enabled Asia to prosper and continued military strength and the alliances with Japan, South Korea and Australia had been and remained crucial its peace and success as China was rapidly building up its military even though, she claimed, it faced to major threat.

The CLSA is not naturally conservative audience. It is made up of people who support the  Clinton Global Intitiative.

CLSA is actively engaged in the global dialogue on climate change, carbon trading and the issues that matter to investors, companies and consumers.

CLSA Chairman Rob Morrison is a founding member of the Copenhagen Climate Council, which was established to promote the need for a new global treaty on the environment and to present new ideas, solutions and recommendations at the 2009 UN Climate Conference.

CLSA supports the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) through sponsorship of its annual meetings. Launched by former US President Bill Clinton in 2005, the CGI brings together global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, which naturally include the environment. In 2007, CGI members committed 276 projects to support energy & climate change. In December 2008, CLSA executives took part in the CGI's annual meeting in Hong Kong, the first to be held outside the US.

Participation in the annual Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) provides an opportunity for CLSA to present its views on how the public and private sectors can work together to manage the environmental impact of Asia’s rapid economic growth. At the April 2008 conference, chairman Rob Morrison participated in a panel discussion entitled "Green energy: Public-private partnership".

And last but not least, Olbermann gets  egg on his face again...

- Tom

Topic of Palin Asia speech: US foreign policy and China

Organizers say that Sarah Palin will speak about US foreign policy and China in her keynote speech at the CLSA Investors' Forum Wednesday in Hong Kong, according to a report from an international wire service:

"We have asked her to address US foreign policy, to discuss her views on governance, healthcare, and of course, China," Jonathan Slone, chief executive officer of the Asia-focused brokerage, said in an interview with AFP.

Palin was chosen to speak since she's a possible Republican candidate in the next US presidential election and because of her influential role in politics, he said.

After the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate told CLSA that she would have to adjust her speech if reporters were present, Slone said CLSA decided to close Palin's session to the media: 

"We are very pleased with her attitude towards us. Sarah could have come here and made a media circus," he said.

"But we said to her, 'Look, we want you to give the most information to our clients. Do you feel comfortable doing that with the press around?'

"She said, 'If I do that with the press in the room, I will have to say different things.'"

Stone said that keynote speeches at the annual CLSA event have been closed to the media in previous years for the same reason.

Former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore and ex-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan have delivered CLSA keynote addresses in past years.

Our take: We strongly suspect that former Governor Palin told the organizers that she wouldn't criticize the Obama administration on foreign soil with the media in the room. She knows they would have reported that she "criticized her country" on foreign soil. So the CLSA people closed the session to reporters to allow her to speak freely.

Criticizing the U.S. on foreign soil is just fine with the Democrat-Media Complex as long as it's a lefty such as Jimmy Carter or some Hollywood moron doing it and a Republican is president. But if a conservative tried to do the same thing with a leftist Democrat in the White House, the press would treat it as the most heinous act of treason since Benedict Arnold switched sides in the Revolutionary War.

Update: At The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Eric Zimmermann suggests "Palin... may be trying to beef up her foreign policy bona fides in preparation for a 2012 presidential campaign." 

- JP