Sarah Palin’s getting ready to pound the pavement on an East Coast bus tour, bringing her potential 2012 ambitions back into the spotlight. But Fox News — where Palin serves as a contributor — isn’t ready to cut ties just yet.
“We are not changing Sarah Palin’s status,” Bill Shine, executive vice president of programming at Fox News, said in a statement.
Palin’s presidential plans remain unclear, but that hasn’t stopped speculation from growing.
Palin’s SarahPAC website describes the tour simply as a “way to appreciate the significance of our nation’s historic sites, patriotic events and diverse culture.”
We’ll celebrate the meaning of our nation’s blueprints, our Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, which are the threads that weave our past into the fabric necessary for the survival of American exceptionalism. Our founders declared “we were born the heirs of freedom”, and despite our difficulties and disagreements, we remain one nation under God in freedom, indivisible. Through visits to historical sites and patriotic events, we’ll share the importance of America’s foundation.
Fox ended contracts with two other 2012 Republicans — Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum — when their presidential ambitions became clear.
Palin’s tour rolls into D.C. on Sunday, where she is expected to participate in the Rolling Thunder memorial ride, the Washington Post reports.
Representatives for Fox News did not immediately return TPM’s requests for comment.
David Taintor
David Taintor is the Front Page Editor at TPM, where he contributes to TPM's Livewire coverage, among other areas. David is from Chanhassen, Minnesota, where, yes, it gets very cold. Reach him at taintor [at] talkingpointsmemo.com
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