Palin Will Step Down

Journalists begin plowing through 24K pages

(NEWSER) - Some 24,000 pages of eagerly awaited emails from Sarah Palin’s time as governor have been released, and journalists are diving in—some with public volunteers, notes the Anchorage Daily News . So far, no headlines; indeed, a Palin rep is encouraging “everyone” to read them. The reporters need no encouragement, it seems: Around 30 of them were jammed in a small room in a Juneau state building with three camera crews, all awaiting the boxes, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

Leaked book by Frank Bailey on sale tomorrow

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin couldn't wait to ditch her job as Alaska governor for a more lucrative future, failed to make commitments, and broke campaign laws. That's a taste of the revelations in a new book penned by former Palin insider Frank Bailey. Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin: A Memoir of Our Tumultuous Years will finally be available to the public tomorrow. The book, based on tens of thousands of emails Bailey amassed during his time with Palin, was leaked earlier this year by the Anchorage Daily News. Bailey tells AP in a new interview that he could never forgive himself if he stayed silent and Palin made it to the White House. More»

The bipartisan reformist disappeared in 2008: Atlantic profile

(NEWSER) - A new profile of Sarah Palin in the Atlantic by Joshua Green offers a surprising (at least to non-Alaskans and her legions of critics) assessment of her tenure as governor. It's downright flattering in parts, explaining how she took on entrenched oil interests and her own party to improve Alaska's finances. "Palin demonstrated many of the qualities we expect in our best leaders," writes Green. "She set aside private concerns for the greater good, forgoing a focus on social issues to confront the great problem plaguing Alaska, its corrupt oil-and-gas politics. She did this in a way that seems wildly out of character today—by cooperating with Democrats and moderate Republicans to raise taxes on Big Business." More»

Conservative ex-senator will test financial backing

(NEWSER) - It's official. Sort of. Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum announced last night that he's launching an exploratory committee to begin raising funds for a possible run at the presidency. Santorum, popular with social conservatives, revealed the new step on Fox News last night. Earlier in the day the wanna-be candidate, 52, said he and his wife had been "incredibly humbled by the encouragement I have received to run for president in 2012." Santorum is polling well among the presumed pack of GOP candidates, but lost to a Democrat in his own state, and has been out of office since 2007. More»

Candidates who could challenge the frontrunners

(NEWSER) - The American electorate loves a dark horse—the candidate that comes out of nowhere and, against the odds, becomes a serious contender. Barack Obama can claim that distinction, as can Mike Huckabee, whose 2008 bid presaged Tea-Party enthusiasm. But who will it be in 2012? Chris Cillizza has some ideas in the Washington Post :

• Marco Rubio. Sure, he's 39 and not even sworn into the Senate, but he's a perfect match to the current conservative zeitgeist, a trait that, on the liberal side, rocketed another young senator into the White House not too long ago...