The GrizzlyFest was a monumental undertaking involving many individuals and sites. The following videos recognize the hard work that went into this highly successful event.

GrizzlyFest Credits

Video Tribute to Palin Support Sites and Blogs

Chuck Heath, Jr., Rebecca Mansour, and Dr. Gina Loudon called into today's GrizzlyFest to discuss the future of the Palin grassroots movement or coalition. Gov. Palin made several attempts to call the show for 15 minutes but could not get through because of technical difficulties.

Mansour spoke about holding candidates accountable and Chuck Heath, Jr. said his "working on" getting Gov. Palin to reconsider running because the field of candidates is absolutely unsatisfactory.

The audio transcript below includes the three-hour broadcast and a 30-minute after-show.

Please enjoy this special presentation by US for Palin and NY4Palin as we provide a suggested way forward for Palinistas based on Gov. Palin's leadership style and power bases.

Please enjoy our Celebration of Special Sarah Palin Moments which airs live at approximately 1555 / 3:55 PM EDT today as part of the GrizzlyFest:

GrizzlyFest '11 Live...

Starting at 1400 / 2 PM EDT, you can hear the audio from the GrizzlyFest by clicking the audio stream below. Please go to http://grizzlyfest.com to join the live chat.

Thanks to those of you who added your input on The Restoration Principles that we're going to be discussing in one of the panels at Grizzly Fest, led by Steve Bannon.

We've assembled many of them into a list and put them into the Grizzly Fest Survey.

You can vote on which principles you think should make the final cut ...

Grizzly Fest Survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FN3CCPY

The GrizzlyFest is an online summit of key Sarah Palin supporters to reload, revive and organize being held on Saturday, October 29, 2011 from 1400 / 2 PM till 1700 / 5 PM EDT. The summit will be divided into three one-hour segments focusing on the Palin movement's prior successes, its current state, and a way forward for the future. Panelists include Tammy Bruce, Jedediah Bila, and Peter Singleton, Iowa State Coordinator, Organize4Palin.

A website dedicated to this historic event: http://grizzlyfest.com went live this evening.

Please visit the GrizzlyFest Schedule for complete details and follow ‘Grizzly Fest’ on Facebook and Twitter.

Three-Dimensional In-the-Box Model of Leadership courtesy of David Boje, Ph.D.

In Where Gov. Palin Leads We Shall Follow, I analyzed two paths the former Alaska Governor could take based on her Transformational and Servant Leadership characteristics. Bases of power and the contingencies that limit its extent build upon her leadership style. By understanding a specific power base Gov. Palin has been operating from since July 26, 2009, her statement that "you don't need a title to make a difference," in conjunction with her 2012 decision will immediately make perfect sense.

Five Bases of Power

Steve L. McShane and Mary Ann Von Glinow who co-authored Organizational Behavior held that for power to exist, a person or group must be dependent on another person or group for something of value. The authors went on to describe the five power bases identified by John French and Bertrand Raven in 1959: legitimate, coercive, reward, expert, and referent. The four contingencies that determine the extent to which a given power base can be leveraged are: substitutability, centrality, discretion, and visibility.

Legitimate power is the power to influence others by position of formal authority or title. Each of the offices Sarah Palin held conferred a set of behaviors she could request of others and specific actions she had the authority to execute. President of the United States is the ultimate example of legitimate power, and is something Gov. Palin chose not to pursue at this time.

Reward and Coercive powers are straight-forward and most often spawn from legitimate power. Those who hold formal positions of power use both sticks and carrots to ensure compliance with their directives.

Expert power originates from within the person and is the ability to influence others by knowledge and skill sets they value. Gov. Palin is a subject matter expert on energy exploration, generation, transmission, and distribution, thus she has considerable expert power in this area.

Her Power is Referent...

SarahPAC File Photo. Referent Power in Action: Gov. Palin is swarmed by supporters at the 2011 Iowa State Fair. It took her two hours to walk 100 yards, so everyone could have a special moment with her.

McShane and Von Glinow define Referent Power as "the capacity to influence others based on the identification and respect they have for the power holder." David A. Victor and Monica C. Turner who edited Leadership Style and Bases of Power wrote that a leader has referent power when supporters desire to identify with and emulate the leader. "In referent power, the manager leads by example. Referent power rests heavily on trust," Victor and Turner wrote. Both McShane and Von Glinow and Victor and Turner concurred that referent power is a function of inter-personal skills and develops very slowly.

"Referent power is usually associated with charismatic leadership. Charisma is often defined as a form of interpersonal attraction whereby followers develop a respect for and trust in the charismatic individual," McShane and Von Glinow wrote.

Gov. Palin's referent power is a direct result of her Transformational / Charismatic and Servant-Leadership styles. Remember Vince Lombardi? Gov. Palin's referent power is what engenders the remarkable responses to her leadership, the winning of hearts and getting those hearts to follow her anywhere.

From ChangingMinds.org: “In wanting to be like these people, we stand near them, hoping some of the charisma will rub off onto us” (emphasis mine). Gov. Palin’s referent power is at the root of why for instance it took her two hours to walk 100 yards at the 2011 Iowa State Fair. All present wanted to be with her and to touch her in some way, as is the case at all her events.

Of the five power bases, referent power is the one in which you truly "don't need a title to make a difference." Since she is an accomplished Charismatic / Transformational and Servant Leader, Gov. Palin wields considerable referent power and she has been using it since she left office in July 2009. This is evidenced in how she shaped the debate on ObamaCare, the BP gusher, Quantitative Easing, Libya, and other matters. Her 67% overall success rate in 2010 with candidate endorsements is a function of referent power, as is the 90% success rate with the "Take Back the 20" subset.

In Where Gov. Palin Leads, I wrote,

"She may not be President of the United States, and may not be running – in the conventional sense of the term – but she is our Private Citizen President. We look to her for leadership and inspiration. If we take her October 5 announcement in isolation and at face value, Gov. Palin remains our Private Citizen President. Nothing has changed."

That is what referent power is all about. Gov. Palin does not merely have the potential to make a difference sans a formal title. She has already been doing it for over two years and continues to do so.

File Photo by Ron Devito. More Referent Power in Action: Following her speech in Indianola, Iowa, Gov. Palin gives and receives a half-hug with one supporter while holding the hand of another. Referent power generates the desire to stand next to, and have some form of physical contact with the leader. Gov. Palin's supporters travel thousands of miles, spend thousands of dollars, and wait many hours to have their special moments with her. At this rally, Gov. Palin spent more time with her supporters than on her speech, walking the rope line twice - something no one in recent history has ever done.

Contingencies Limit The Extent of Power

Contingencies limit the extent to which power bases can be used. Substitutability refers to the availability of alternatives. Gov. Palin wields considerable power, because she is not substitutable. I have written innumerable times that she is a once-in-a-lifetime leader and I have expressed my utter disdain for the entire field of declared 2012 candidates.

This refers to her non-substitutability, however, Gov. Palin by once being a 2012 hopeful and choosing not to run, is not in a position to slam the entire field of candidates as being unsatisfactory. By staking that position, she would have to declare candidacy and seek the nomination. Gov. Palin said if she thought the field was unsatisfactory, she would run. Gov. Palin thus understands that slamming the entire field of candidates without running herself would be the pinnacle of absurdity. Her gracious statements toward these candidates do not alter the fact that there is only one Sarah Palin and there are no substitutes.

Centrality is the degree of inter-dependence between the power holder and others. Actions of a person with high centrality affect a great deal of people - sometimes at alarming speed. Centrality is associated with mission-critical jobs and jobs that involve significant responsibilities. Though she is a private citizen, Gov. Palin's referent power confers upon her a high degree of centrality and responsibility. Her words influence others to action. The leftists who tried to foist a blood libel ("inciting violence") upon her earlier this year knew this full well. A person wielding referent power at Gov. Palin's level could start a war. Witness William Randolph Hearst's "you provide the news and I'll provide the war." The Father of Yellow Journalism in fact used his referent power to start the Spanish-American War.

Discretion in the context of leadership theory is the freedom to make decisions and exercise judgment without permission from others and without referring to rulebooks. As a private citizen, Gov. Palin has nearly complete discretion or freedom - limited only by her own common-sense, experience, and professionalism.

When she spoke about the possibility of being shackled as a Presidential candidate with Greta Van Susteren, it was this lack of freedom to which she referred. As a candidate subject to the GOP establishment's rules, Gov. Palin's discretion would have been severely curtailed. This is true of all candidates, but Gov. Palin's track record for rooting out fraud and corruption in her own party put her in the establishment's cross hair. It was this contingency on pursuing legitimate power - POTUS - that at least in part may have driven her decision to not pursue it.

McShane and Von Glinow wrote, "Power does not flow to unknown people in the organization." Even those with legitimate power are effectively neutered by lack of visibility. It's easy to see why "unsung heroes" and "worker bees" have no power. Gov. Palin is an international household name, thus she is highly visible and this contingency is inoperative in her case.

Commanding Respect and Trust

By fully understanding Gov. Palin as a leader, her 2012 decision now makes complete and perfect sense. Being the perfect candidate for POTUS is necessary but insufficient for her leadership style. Lack of discretion/freedom is Kryptonite to any Transformational, Charismatic, and Servant Leader. Pursuing the legitimate power of POTUS most likely would have made the discretion contingency operative to the point of turning her campaign into a kamikaze mission for both herself and her supporters and ensuring an Obama victory.

Gov. Palin used her objective ego (a characteristic of Transformational and Servant Leadership). She did not lead us down a primrose path or blow smoke up our rear ends. Yes, we spent considerable time and treasure - of our own free will - over these past three years in the hopes that she would run. But, the voracious requirements of a Presidential campaign would have consumed the entire past three year's worth of time and treasure over again within a few short months. To knowingly have led us to certain failure would have been unconscionable. Yes, her decision was a heart-breaker for us, but running into certain failure would have been far worse. Broken hearts can be fixed (as long as they don't kill their owners), but broken trust cannot.

Gov. Palin most likely saw the severe contingency against pursuing the legitimate power of POTUS. She saw that she has considerable referent power - not needing a title to make a difference - with virtually no operative contingencies against it. Thus, Gov. Palin wisely chose to use and continue building her referent power instead.

Gov. Palin's decision commands even more respect, even more trust, and even more admiration among those who understand the principles of her leadership methods. The wisdom of her decision will become more apparent as both time and Gov. Palin march on.

Governor Palin today posted on Facebook:

Yesterday, another shoe dropped in the chronicles of the Obama administration’s crony capitalism. A start-up electric car company with ties to Al Gore got a $529 million loan guarantee from Obama’s Department of Energy to build luxury electric cars...in Finland! Leaving aside the fact that to date only two of these $97,000 cars have been sold (one of them to a movie star), we might at least hope that this ridiculous exercise in the government picking winners minus any competitive, transparent process (Al Gore’s venture cap firm) and losers (the taxpayers subsidizing a car no one wants) would produce manufacturing jobs in the United States. Isn’t that the alleged purpose of Obama’s stimulus giveaways?

It’s bad enough that we borrow money from foreign countries to give to foreign countries. Now we borrow from foreign countries to finance jobs in foreign countries. (This kind of reminds me of the $2 billion assistance President Obama provided Brazil for their off-shore energy developments, while shutting down or blocking much of our own off-shore domestic drilling. He’s in favor of energy jobs in Brazil. But in America? Not so much.)

Do you think, as the President tours the country campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime, he understands that voters in Finland won’t get to decide whether or not he keeps his job in 2012, but voters in Michigan and Ohio sure will? In fact, I’m sure the millions of unemployed workers in every state will want to learn why the Obama administration gave half a billion dollars to finance “green” cars built in Finland.

While they’re at it, the geniuses in the White House could also explain the $1.2 billion they gave to SunPower, a company that makes Solyndra look like a blue chip stock. SunPower’s market capitalization is $800 million, but the company is in debt $820 million. What a great investment, huh? Your tax dollars at work, America! If President Obama wants answers about this, he better act fast because his Department of Energy was already caught revising history by scrubbing SunPower’s name out of old DOE press releases. The President should start by asking Democrat Congressman George Miller about the company. Rep. Miller was the leading advocate for giving money to SunPower, which hired his son as a lobbyist.

When President Obama signed his nearly trillion dollar stimulus boondoggle into law, he mortgaged our children’s future. And for what? Financing jobs in Finland? Propping up near bankrupt companies with connections to congressmen? For this we are burying ourselves in a mountain of debt?

This crony capitalism has to end. We don’t want it. We can’t afford it. And we must not tolerate it anymore. Wake up, America, before it’s too late.

- Sarah Palin

 

Retrieved from: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150340167778435.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin tonight discussed the death of Libyan dictator Gaddafi and the 2012 presidential race on Sean Hannity's TV show from her home studio in Wasilla, Alaska. Gov. Palin said she is glad Gaddafi is gone, but emphasized the importance of ensuring worse, more tyrannical, terrorist regime does not take over. She also made note of the left's hypocrisy in praising Obama's Libya war while decrying President Reagan's airstrikes of 1986.

Shifting to 2012, Gov. Palin said she believed Herman Cain can keep his poll momentum going because he is not a politician, which is something people crave. "Herman Cain recognizes that it's the permanent political class that got us into this mess, and we don't need more of the same thinking that's going to be the solution," she said. While Gov. Palin praised Cain's authenticity, candor, and "getting the ball rolling on reforming taxes," she said corporate income tax foments crony capitalism and that is one aspect of his "9-9-9 Plan" she would change.

Hannity asked Gov. Palin about Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Rick Perry. "Newt has been in the trenches. He has seen it all. His, calm, cool, and collected demeanor bodes well in these debates, because he's not down in that junior high level of bickering back and forth with the other candidates. But he wants to stay at the 60,000-foot level and talk about solutions and address what the problem is. And the problem is obviously, Obama's socialist policies that are bankrupting this country," she said.

"Rick Santorum resonates, and he too can build some momentum," Gov. Palin said.

She said she wanted to hear more details about Rick Perry's flat tax proposal, which is based on the one Steve Forbes drew up nearly a decade ago.

When asked about the exchange between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney over the latter allegedly hiring an illegal immigrant, Gov. Palin said candidates should avoid pettiness and focus on solutions. She added that the debates are democracy in action and reveal characters.

Hannity asked Gov. Palin if she had any regrets about not running. Gov. Palin said she is satisfied with her decision. "I appreciate the role that hopefully I will be able to play and that is spurring discussion on how to spur economic growth in this country and very thankful - it seems like these Republican candidates are getting the ball rolling on talking about the solutions that so many of us want to be able to discuss with them," she said.

Video retrieved from SarahNET

<embed allowfullscreen="false" allowscriptaccess="never" wmode="transparent" src="http://video.foxnews.com/assets/video-player.swf?video_id=1225458073001&amp;d=video.foxnews.com" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="415"></embed>  <div style="font-size:0.9em;">
  <a href="http://vodpod.com/watch/15572998-gov-palin-discusses-potus-debate-with-greta-van-susteren">Gov. Palin Discusses POTUS Debate with Greta Van Susteren</a>
- Watch more <a href="http://vodpod.com/politics">Politics Videos</a> at <a href="http://vodpod.com">Vodpod</a>.</div>
</p><p>As published at SarahPAC: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sarahpac.com/posts/governor-palin-on-on-the-record-with-greta-van-susteren-on-october-18-2011" title="Governor Palin on &quot;On the Record&quot; with Greta Van...">Governor Palin on &quot;On the Record&quot; with Greta Van...</a></p>

Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin, who was named after Bristol Bay was born October 18, 1990. The time of her birth unknown.

Bristol is a chip off the old block in terms of resilience, and accomplishments. What we have born witness to is nothing short of amazing. Bristol has in fact shared in some of her mother's accomplishments, accompanying Gov. Palin to Haiti; a key speech at the Long Island Association; Heroes Among Us and the White House Correspondents Dinner; and a major speech in Seoul, South Korea.

Bristol authored Not Afraid of Life with the help of Nancy French and conducted a small-scale book tour.

Bristol has over 55,000 Facebook friends and is closing in on 56,000.

.

She is a teen, women's issues and advocacy advocate through Single Source Speakers.

And...one year ago today, she celebrated her birthday by dancing the Jive in Week Five of Dancing with the Stars.

Bristol's birthday also falls out on Alaska Day.

On this day - Bristol's Birthday - in 2008, Gov. Palin performed a comedy routine with Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live.

The staff of US for Palin wish Bristol a Happy 21st Birthday, and many more years filled with health, joy, love, and prosperity.

You can see a comprehensive overview of Bristol's accomplishments on our dedicated Bristol Page.

In the days following former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's announcement that she will not be seeking the GOP nomination, I fell back on my MBA training from University of Phoenix Online. When dealing with political leaders everyone tends to focus on party and ideology, but virtually no one applies the principles of leadership theory. A solid understanding of Gov. Palin as a leader - totally divorced from the politics of left and right - is essential to aligning with her mission and strategies moving forward.

I have always written that Gov. Palin is a Transformational Leader, which includes Charismatic Leadership as a sub-component. Continued leadership contingent upon results and self-sacrifice are core behaviors of Transformational Leaders. These leaders also tend to move on once they have effected change; a Transactional Leader comes in behind them to maintain the new status quo. Kreitner and Kinicki's Organizational Behavior is a standard textbook used in MBA courses and discusses this leadership style at great length. US Air Force Colonel Mark Homrig provides a solid primer on Transformational Leadership for free and it is a must-read to understanding how Gov. Palin leads, and the brave new world she is leading us in.

Gov. Palin is also a Servant Leader to the core, for she has all 10 characteristics: listening, empathy, healing, self-awareness/objective ego, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community. Providentially, her first and married names define none other than Servant Leadership. Sarah means "princess" in Hebrew. Palin means "servant" in Welsh. Princess Servant. Servant Leader. You can learn more about Servant Leadership in Larry Spears' Reflections on Leadership: How Robert K. Greenleaf's Theory of Servant-Leadership Influenced Today's Top Management Thinkers.

Titles, Making Differences, and Hierarchies

Gov. Palin has said numerous times since resigning her governorship "you don't need a title to make a difference." She has proven the statement true over these past two years. Even so, Gov. Palin's announcement that she will not seek the 2012 GOP nomination broke many hearts and left many minds bewildered. While some dismiss this reaction as "childish," it's human nature. In an MBA paper I wrote that even new leadership methods such as self-directed teams are little more than hierarchies in disguise. In any human endeavor involving a group or organized effort, there can only be one leader. Even grassroots groups have leaders and hierarchies, sometimes morphing into machine bureaucracies.

 

We place stock in official titles, because those with legitimate power can request certain behaviors of others and are vested with the authority to undertake specific actions. The difference Gov. Palin can make as a private citizen is - well - different from the difference she can make as President of the United States. The conventional way of thinking cannot accept the difference she can make as a private citizen.

In Branded: The Underpinning of Support, I wrote:

In the hands of the wrong person, even the right message can be disastrously implemented. In these times, mediocrity does not cut it. We need a strong leader. We need a standard bearer. The person does matter. Judgment and discernment by definition cannot be programmed. You see, some qualities are completely apolitical and cannot be mechanized. Few people possess even one of them, much less all of them. These qualities are: integrity; leadership by example; keeping promises; executive experience; command experience; life experience; judgment; the right combination of toughness and sweetness; accomplishments; fortitude; the ability to keep confidences; a proven and vetted track record of success; a proven ability to withstand media scrutiny; people person; and impeccable character that inspires confidence and commands respect. Add to that list: proving to the world that a woman can do anything a man can do – and in many cases, do it better.

These qualities are about the person and Gov. Palin possesses every last one of them. That's what makes her the kind of leader you see only once in 75 - 150 years.

Nearly all dedicated Palinistas agree that the current field of Republican candidates is completely unsatisfactory. Why? There is no leader among them and none are worthy of the job. None of the 2012 candidates has even one of the qualities Gov. Palin possesses, much less all of them. This knowledge drives things like the Earthquake Movement and talk about drafting and write-in.

You Can't Solve Current Problems with Current Thinking...

If we are Gov. Palin's supporters, accepting that you don't need a title to make a difference is part of what we signed up for. We cannot consider ourselves her supporters and not accept this. Since we also know there can only be one leader in any human endeavor and we have been supporting Gov. Palin for over three years running, she is our leader. She may not be President of the United States, and may not be running - in the conventional sense of the term - but she is our Private Citizen President. We look to her for leadership and inspiration.

 

If we take her October 5 announcement in isolation and at face value, Gov. Palin remains our Private Citizen President. Nothing has changed.

One of my respected colleagues, Josh Painter presented a theory about the factors that could have driven Gov. Palin to not seek the 2012 GOP nomination. More specifically, Painter delineates precisely how and why Gov. Palin "running" - in the conventional way - could have been been a kamikaze mission for her. The GOP establishment was pulling chicanery with leapfrogging primaries among other skullduggery specifically to disadvantage Gov. Palin and favor RINOs like Mitt Romney.

Gov. Palin declining to seek the 2012 GOP nomination was not for lack of support. We've been egging her on for three years. She has received a huge volume of mail each day, much of it asking her to run, starting the night Obama was elected. Nor is money the issue. Some supporters started saving money in coin jars, shoe boxes and piggy banks three years ago. Many would not even donate to SarahPAC. They wanted the money to go to her campaign. Team Sarah has a large sub-group dedicated to campaign donation savings.

Unconventional Campaign?

Gov. Palin also said numerous times over these past three years that any campaign she runs would be unconventional - to the point that many supporters would be uncomfortable with it. She has been consistent in saying this, and she has referenced an unconventional campaign nearly every time the subject arose.

 

Consider the following: in her announcement of October 5th, Gov. Palin never said "I am not running for President." Read the transcript and listen to the audio. Gov Palin said she is not seeking the 2012 GOP nomination. I can parse words just like the old master himself. It could all depend on what the meaning of "is" is.

In Lynchburg, VA, Gov. Palin said she could not understand supporters who trust her "to be the leader of the free world, but who do not trust in her decision at this time." In Seoul, Gov. Palin said it was time for a woman to be President of the United States. I hardly think Michele Bachmann is the woman she referred to.

Could Gov. Palin's October 5 announcement have marked the beginning of the unconventional campaign about which she has spoken so many times? Could my heart-break at her announcement have been because the announcement went right over my head - along with everyone else's? My original headline appeared to indicate such. If so, it would be my best heart-break ever. Could Gov. Palin already be doing the very thing that people are trying to Earthquake her into doing?

Guerrillas defeated the British Redcoats to found our republic. Guerrillas fight unconventional wars. They also fight clandestine wars. Could Gov. Palin be running a clandestine unconventional campaign the likes of which have never been seen in US history?

I would be highly irresponsible to suggest as fact that Gov. Palin is currently running unconventionally for President. I would be blindly foolish to dismiss the clear signs suggesting the possibility. This is why "glassing the field" - picking up the binoculars and slinging the rifle - makes most sense. Sometimes, slow and steady wins the race. Only Gov. Palin, Todd, God, and maybe her closest staff know what she's doing. Given the mortal enemies in her own party and its inability to abide by its own rules, best it's left that way.

Where She Leads...

I began my analysis in Branded with a quote from Vince Lombardi:

“It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men. Men respond to leadership in a most remarkable way and once you have won his heart, he will follow you anywhere.”

Gov. Palin could remain our Private Citizen President or she could have already begun an unconventional campaign to run for President. Either way, she is leading us into a brave new world.

 

Her dedicated supporters have responded to her leadership in a most remarkable way.

Gov. Palin has won our hearts...

...Where she leads, we shall follow.

Immediately following former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's announcement that she will not seek the 2012 GOP nomination, I temporarily suspended Organize4Palin's New York state operations. The simple reason for this is that O4P in its current form was oriented toward supporting a Palin presidential candidacy following conventional primary and caucus rules. A time-out is required to align the organization with Gov. Palin's strategies that support her mission moving forward.

Gov. Palin's Vision and Mission

We know that Gov. Palin's vision is Sudden and Relentless Reform. We know that her mission is to root out crony capitalism and corporate welfare; enforce the Constitution - specifically the Second and Tenth Amendments; make the United States energy independent with an "all-of-the-above" approach; revive, renew, restore Reagan Conservatism and American Exceptionalism; restore our economy following a five-point plan; and set forth a five-point military policy moving forward.

Strategies

Anyone who has at least some basic knowledge of Gov. Palin's career over these past 20 years knows that her vision and mission has been fundamentally the same throughout. Perhaps the size, scale, and scope of what her mission focused on at key milestones of her career differed, but her overall vision and mission have been consistent.

Since July 2009, Gov. Palin has been an author, Fox News contributor, public speaker, documentary producer and was the subject of a movie. We could broadly classify these disciplines as "Constitutional Conservative Advocacy," and she has been doing it as a private citizen now for over two years running. Seeking the 2012 GOP nomination is one strategy that Gov. Palin could have used - and could still use - in service of her mission. She has decided not to use this strategy - at this time - language that comes straight out of her speech in Lynchburg, VA.

Aligning Her Mission...

In the days that followed, I polled the volunteers and Regional Coordinators who comprise O4P NY. My questions were directed at determining their understanding of Gov. Palin's mission, the current strategy she has chosen to support it and their position on drafting and write-in campaigns.

I made it clear that O4P is not legally setup as a draft committee, thus any drafting or write-in under the O4P name will violate FEC regulations. O4P members who wish to draft may do so as private citizens, but the O4P name absolutely cannot be used in connection with drafting. Randy Highsmith, FL State Coordinator once led the 2012 Draft Sarah Committee which was registered with the FEC as a draft committee. Because the 2012 Draft went defunct many months ago, there is no FEC-registered draft committee pertinent to Gov. Palin currently in existence.

Also, O4P cannot endorse any candidate Gov. Palin has not herself endorsed for the simple reason that the word “Palin” is in our name. Any endorsement or support of a candidate must be in connection with something Gov. Palin has sanctioned, approved, or authorized by putting her name on it.

I have made the decision that O4P New York will focus on Gov. Palin, her vision, mission, and her endorsements – that is operate exclusively under the O4P brand. This is based at least in part on the 64% of responses to my volunteer polling indicating alignment with Gov. Palin’s mission – seeking the GOP nomination or not. O4P NY must always be aligned with Gov. Palin’s mission and her strategies or it will be working at crossed purposes with her.

Sometimes, Slow and Steady Wins the Race

While our game is not off, many aspects of it are on a time out. The reasons for this are:

1. O4P cannot turn on a dime and significant changes in footing - reversion to the 2010 model of down-ticket endorsements as one possible example - would take time to implement. It’s just the nature of the beast when working with organizations.
2. O4P NY must always remain aligned with Gov. Palin's mission and O4P National's mission.
3. The language of Sarah’s announcement – not seeking the 2012 GOP nomination, her last three speeches, and the Sarah’s Earthquake movement present us with a unique situation and a whole host of things Gov. Palin could do or circumstances that could transpire in relation to her. Making radical changes based on impetuousness is not wise.

Yes, we must not retreat. Yes, we must reload. But, we don't just go off half-cocked. We do long-range recon before going into our next battle. Do the Heaths and Palins not "glass the field" on their moose and caribou hunts?

I think waiting, and observing is the most rational approach as opposed to making radical changes right now. This is a situation where slow and steady wins the race. Putting it another way, now is the time to sling the rifle and pick up the binoculars.

Photo by AFP.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin yesterday told attendees of the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, South Korea that the United States was due to have a woman as its president, according to the Washington Post. "There will be a woman president of the United States and I look forward to that day," she said. Gov. Palin did not discuss her political future or why she declined to seek the 2012 GOP nomination.

Gov. Palin said she hopes to see "regime change" in North Korea and the South rebuild the North.

Photo by AFP.

According to an AFP report on Yahoo News, Gov. Palin also spoke about "China using its military influence in regional disputes."

She targeted political elites in the United States, Europe, and China, speaking out against crony capitalism and corporate welfare. The Chinese Communist party dictates to the Chinese what they can and cannot do and the European Union is dictating to to its member states, she said. In the United States, "political elites believe we just can't get along without them. Government officials like to push this idea because it gives them the opportunity to pick the economic winners and losers in our system... in other words, it gives them ultimate economic power," she said.

Gov. Palin hailed the role technology and social media plays in empowering individuals. "Technology has taken power away from central authorities and provided individuals with more choices. We are no longer living in a top-down world. Now we are living in a bottom-up world, from entertainment and information to education," she said.