Reuters: Palin welcome in AZ neighborhood, media less so

"We're hoping her kids take riding lessons..."
*
Sarah Palin's future neighbors in north Scottsdale are ready to welcome her to the neighborhood, but they are not exactly prepared to open their arms to the news media in pursuit of the potential 2012 presidential candidate, according to a report by Tim Gaynor of Reuters:

"I'm very happy that the house finally has someone living in it. it's been empty for a while, and it's nice to have a neighbor," said Monica Rahman, the owner of a busy stable across a dirt road from the manse the former Alaska governor is reported to have bought.

A company acting for an unnamed cash buyer ponied up $1.7 million for the sprawling 5-bedroom horse property in this saguaro-studded neighborhood northwest of Phoenix on May 13, and sources close to the deal have told some news outlets like the Wall Street Journal that Palin is the buyer.

The 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate's possible purchase of a home in the Lower 48 has stoked speculation she may shortly announce as a contender for her party's nomination to run against President Barack Obama in 2012.

For days, Rahman says, the formerly quiet neighborhood has been buzzed by clattering news helicopters, while an influx of reporters has boosted traffic up and down the previously quiet roads, some of them unpaved and used as riding trails.

"The horses get spooked. It's dangerous," she said, her exasperation at the media clearly straining a natural courtesy.

[More]

- JP

WSJ: The Palins purchase home in Arizona

"As rural as Scottsdale gets"
*
According to sources familiar with the real estate transaction, that 8,000-square-foot home in North Scottsdale, Arizona that Todd and Sarah was rumored to have purchased is indeed their second home, the Wall Street Journal reports:

Put on the market in February for $1.75 million, the walled-and-gated house sits on 4.4 acres and has a home theater, a billiard room, a walk-in wine room and a "resort style backyard" with a gazebo and pool, according to the listing and listing photographs. The brown, stucco-and-stone house, which was renovated this year, has several fireplaces, a six-car garage and mountain views. The property has a circular driveway and desert landscaping.

According to the Maricopa County assessor's office, the home was appraised this year at just over $1 million. A spokesman for Ms. Palin couldn't be reached for comment.

The neighborhood is "as rural as Scottsdale gets," says broker Bob Hassett of Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty, who was not involved in the deal but said he was approached in 2007 by a previous owner about listing the home, which he described a "Southwest in feel." Within a square mile of the home, he said, houses are priced between $500,000 and $5 million. Real-estate agent Jeff Sibbach of John Hall & Associates described the area as "low-profile; most of the stuff in there is horse property."

[More]

The $1.65M purchase lends weight to months of speculation that Gov. Palin will run from president in 2012 and base her campaign in Arizona.

Photos of the home are posted here.

- JP

Smith: Palin would base campaign in Maricopa County (Updated)

"Alaska is an extremely difficult base for national politics"
*
Based on what he hears from "a source with no name," Ben Smith writes that the Palin team, despite all the media buzz that it is not laying the groundwork for a 2012 presidential run, has been brainstorming how a campaign would be organized if she decides to run:

One early decision, a source says: It would be based in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Bristol Palin recently bought a house in nearby Maricopa.

One lesson of Palin's sometimes-difficult time in the spotlight has been that Alaska is an extremely difficult base for national politics. From a distant political culture to a daunting time difference, Palin hasn't been terribly well served by the fact that her state is little-known to reporters in the lower 48, and that email inquiries arrive at 3:00 a.m. needing answers by 5:00 a.m.

And Arizona carries its own significance: Basing a campaign there would be a provocative rejection of any lingering political cost from those who connect her harsh rhetoric and Gabrielle Giffords' shooting -- a traditional refusal to retreat. It's also the core of the politically contested, fast-growing new West.

Smith says Palin aides haven't respond to his inquiry about the rumored plans.

Updates...

Comment from Katrina Trinko at NRO's The Corner:

If accurate, this is another interesting hint that the Palin camp, despite having made no public overtures in early states like Iowa and New Hampshire, is still very seriously considering a run.

Smith's rumor is the seed from which even more bizarre rumors spring, as The Arizona Republic's Dan Nowicki blogs:

On Tuesday, state Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, forwarded a rumor that Palin was contemplating coming to Arizona to run for retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl’s open seat in 2012.

But if a Democrat says something, it's always a pretty good bet that it's a lie. From Henry D'Andrea at Politicons we learn:

SarahPAC treasurer Tim Crawford emails, “There has been no decision about where a campaign would be based.”

Crawford's denial hasn't quelled the buzz:

Political analyst Jamie Molera cited several reasons to give the rumor credit.

"I don't think its something where she threw a dart on the board and said, 'Arizona's going to be the place we're going to start from'. I think they've done polling data, I think they've talked to a number of individuals within and outside of the party structure, and I think she made a calculated decision that Arizona is going to be a good place top launch her national platform," Molera said.

Molera said the large population of tea party members in the state and Palin's overwhelming popularity within the group may also help explain choosing Arizona.

- JP