What a difference year makes. Last year Palin blew off the CPAC convention, this year she is just happy ANYBODY still wants her to speak.

"Moneys running out, nobody listens to what I have to say on Fox, and the producers have put the kibosh out reality show ideas. I guess I have no choice but to get out the glitter, put on the pasties, and grab hold of that pole again."

This from Wonkette:

Forgotten anger bear Sarah Palin has made an annual ritual of publicly turning down her standing invitation to speak at premiere wingnut swinger meetup the Conservative Political Action Conference for the last four years to prove the point that she was too good to go around jabbering for free, since the communists at CPAC don’t pay speakers. But the TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’, and America’s attention span is moving on to other shrill idiots, so this year she has at last found some time in her busy schedule full of Nothing to claim a few more minutes of attention.

I have no doubt that the above description is EXACTLY why Palin has decided to suck it up and try to kiss a few GOP asses. She needs to do it before nobody in the party will even bare their asses for the opportunity.

Of course that is not how the CPAC Chairman describes it:

“Few national conservative leaders in America today energize and inspire our grassroots activists like Governor Sarah Palin. Her strong record of leadership, championing of our shared principles and magnetic personality have made Sarah Palin a hero to millions of conservatives across the country,” American Conservative Union Chairman Al Cardenas said in a statement. “As we ready for the critical 2012 election, I’m honored to welcome Governor Palin to the Conservative Political Action Conference for the first-time ever.”

Wow! Is that bullshit deep or what?

If Palin's personality is "magnetic" it must be sending out negative magnetic waves because she has been driving people away from her like rats from a sinking ship.

Wonkette also reminds us that Palin was called out last year for refusing CPAC's invitation to speak by none other than GOP political flavor of the week Rick "man on dog" Santorum:


Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, hinted that Palin was not attending for financial reasons – she commands six-figure fees for making speeches but would not be paid by CPAC – and because she was too busy being a mother. 

He said: "I have a feeling she has some demands on her time. And a lot of them have financial benefits attached to them. So I'm sure that she's doing what's best for her and her family." 

Asked if he would have turned down the CPAC invitation, he said no. "I'm not the mother to all these kids. And I don't have other responsibilities, like she has, other opportunities that she has. Other business opportunities that may be in conflict with what she's been asked to do."

Of course last year Palin was still under the impression that her shit simply did not stink, and  as usual she went right back at little Rickie.  And, to be honest, did a rather admirable job of describing him.

She described Santorum as uninformed, adding: "I will not call him the knuckle-dragging Neanderthal. I'll let his wife call him that instead."

However like a said in the title, what a difference a year makes:

While appearing on Hannity's television show, Palin first said she would not endorse anyone. Soon thereafter, she seemed to fire a shot across the proverbial bows of both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich by mentioning Rick Santorum by name and strongly hinting that the former Pennsylvania Senator is her kind of candidate. 

Maybe it's just me but the only difference between Palin endorsing Santorum in this exchange and her not doing so was the fact that she didn't use the word 'endorse.' 

Well isn't that interesting? Stumbling all over herself to speak at a convention that just one year ago she felt was beneath her, and all but endorsing a man that she inferred was a "knuckle-dragging Neanderthal."

If we ever needed proof that Palin is yesterday's, sorry, last year's news, I think this should serve as more than enough to prove that point.

And for those people who have expressed concern that this signifies Palin is considering jumping back into politics, let me remind you that everything that scared her away in the first place is still waiting for her to be just that stupid. Simply put, ain't gonna happen!