Palin's PAC Piggy Bank

The release of Stephen Bannon's movie is prompting conservatives to wonder if Palin might after all run for president. But the Edwards indictment may give her pause.

The release of Stephen Bannon's movie is prompting some conservatives to wonder hopefully or worriedly that Sarah Palin might after all run for president.

But since the last round of these discussions, she faces a new deterrent: the John Edwards indictment. The Edwards case sends a message: there is new federal criminal scrutiny of presidential candidates who spend campaign funds on personal consumption. That should worry Palin intensely. So long as she remains uncommitted, she can use her PAC as a personal piggybank. But her lawyers are surely telling her that if she declares, the grifting must stop. And that will rob campaigning of most of its charm for her.