Palin's Man In Iowa?
The Wall Street Journal reports:
DES MOINES, Iowa—Prominent Republicans here pretty much splinter into two camps on the question of whether Sarah Palin will jump into the 2012 presidential race.
One side points to a mysterious California lawyer named Peter Singleton as proof the former Alaska governor will definitely run. The other side points to Mr. Singleton as proof she won't.
"When it comes to Palin in Iowa, it's pretty much Peter Singleton," said Iowa Tea Party Director Ryan Rhodes. "The guy is everywhere."
Crisscrossing the state in a series of rented cars, the 56-year-old Mr. Singleton has spent the better part of five months visiting obscure county GOP chairmen, befriending tea-party activists, buttonholing lawmakers in the lobby of the state Capitol, and amassing a database of potential Palin supporters. His base camp is the Days Inn in West Des Moines, where he washes his shirts in the sink.
Deepening the mystery: Mr. Singleton swears he has never met Ms. Palin and has no contact with her team. "I'm just a dedicated activist working on my own," he said.
Ms. Palin's aides concur, insisting that she hasn't met with Mr. Singleton and that he is in no way coordinating with her political-action committee.
But not many Republicans here buy the lone-wolf theory.
"I came away from our conversation convinced Mr. Singleton is organizing for her, and has an inside track on her 2012 campaign," said Jeff Jorgensen, GOP chairman of Pottawattamie County in the state's southwestern corner. He met Mr. Singleton for breakfast last month.
State Sen. Kent Sorenson, an up-and-comer in Iowa tea-party circles, emerged from his talks with the Menlo Park lawyer with a different conclusion.
"To send someone you've never met, an operative from another state, just seems odd," he said. "It suggests Sarah Palin is simply not serious about Iowa." Mr. Sorenson plans to support Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann if she runs.
Ms. Palin's plans for 2012 remain a big topic across a state famed for its first-in-the-nation caucus, a contest—now set for February—that rewards those who really work the state, from county fairs to small-town living rooms.
Ms. Palin, who appeared at a tea-party event in Wisconsin over the weekend, is slipping in most national polls, but GOP activists here believe she would scramble the emerging field if she jumps in.
Other presumed candidates—Tim Pawlenty, Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich—are now popping into Iowa almost weekly. Many are beginning to hire operatives and lease office space. But Republicans strain to cite any evidence of a fledgling Palin campaign in Iowa—beyond the ubiquitous Mr. Singleton. Ms. Palin hasn't visited the state since December.
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