1.) Sarah Palin isn’t going to do what most people already figured she wasn’t going to do — Namely, run for president. TheDC’s Will Rahn reports: “Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin dashed the hopes of her many supporters when she announced Wednesday evening her decision not to run for president in 2012. Palin broke the news on Mark Levin’s radio program. In a letter to supporters, she wrote, ‘After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States.’ ‘As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision,’ Palin wrote. ‘When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.’ Palin told Levin that she would not run as a third-party candidate and instead will concentrate on coordinating ‘strategies to assist in replacing the president, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House.’ Dozens of commenters on Conservatives4Palin.com, an online hub for Palin supporters, reacted angrily to the news of her decision.” Of course they did. We’d quote them here, but it might be seen as an endorsement.
2.) Steve Jobs, R.I.P. — TheDC’s Tina Nguyen reports: “Steve Jobs, computer visionary and industry titan, is dead. The Associated Press reported this evening that Steve Jobs has died in California, citing Apple representatives. The company’s website confirmed the news. ‘We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today,’ Apple said in a short statement. ‘Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.'” In all likelihood you’re reading this on one of his devices, or one of the devices created to compete with them. He was no stranger to controversy, but there’s no denying that he changed the world. Rest in peace, Steve.
3.) No more tea for you, Scott Brown — The Tea Party giveth, and the Tea Party taketh away. TheDC’s Amanda Carey reports: “In 2010, he was the tea party poster boy. In 2012, Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown may not get so much as a nod of acknowledgement from tea party groups. Brown shocked the country back in 2010 when he beat his Democratic opponent, Martha Coakley, and was elected to the state’s Senate seat vacated by the late Teddy Kennedy. The Tea Party Express paid to run pro-Brown ads. FreedomWorks activists campaigned for him. In short, Scott Brown was the tea party movement’s first electoral victory. But now that he’s up for re-election for a full six-year term in 2012, tea party activists tell The Daily Caller they’re not going to bother putting together the same operation that swept him into office the first time. That’s not to say tea partiers will not vote for Brown, or even put up much of an effort to oppose him since a serious primary challenger has yet to be found. The movement has matured into realizing that sometimes the ‘least of two evils’ — as one activist put it — is necessary in a traditionally blue state like Massachusetts. But don’t expect tea partiers to be happy about it.” If you vote for somebody because you think he’s going to resist untrammeled government growth, and then he refuses to do anything to cut spending, you’re under absolutely no obligation to keep supporting him. That’s why we have elections. (Are you paying attention, Bev Perdue?)
4.) Fast and Furious and Falling — For the latest on Watergate with a body count, AKA Fast and Furious, let’s go to TheDC’s Matthew Boyle: “Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona told The Daily Caller on Wednesday that Obama administration officials responsible for Operation Fast and Furious might be accessories to murder. ‘We’re talking about consequences of criminal activity, where we actually allowed guns to walk into the hands of criminals, where our livelihoods are at risk,’ Gosar said in a phone interview. ‘When you facilitate that and a murder or a felony occurs, you’re called an accessory. That means that there’s criminal activity.’ Gosar said the government should be held to the same standard as everyone else.” Good luck with that one. Not only is Gosar right, but the usual suspects on the left — Media Matters, Kos, et al. — can’t condemn him for this “outrageous” statement without acknowledging that Fast and Furious happened in the first place. The truth has a way of finding its own way to the sunlight, doesn’t it? In other F&F news, House Republicans are calling for a special counsel to investigate Eric Holder’s, um, faulty memory under oath about what he knew and when he knew it. And now some top ATF guys find themselves looking up at the undercarriage of the bus.
5.) Meghan McCain takes contrarian view on Zach Galifianakis — If you think you’ve come to a decision on Herman Cain, don’t make up your mind without heeding the sage wisdom of America’s Only True Republican. TheDC’s Laura Donovan reports: “Meghan McCain has ‘warm feelings’ towards GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain, but the 26-year-old won’t be hopping on the Cain train. In a Monday column for The Daily Beast, McCain said the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO’s approachable personality doesn’t warrant him a presidential nomination… If Cain’s charm was enough to land him the top dog position, McCain says, people like ‘The Hangover’ funnyman Zach Galifianakis would run for office. ‘[A]s much as even I can find myself developing warm feelings toward Cain because he seems like a nice, charming and normal person, if that were the only qualifications for president, we should be nominating Zach Galifianakis.'” That’s right: On Planet Megs, Zach Galifianakis is “nice,” “charming,” and “normal.” She forgot “svelte.”
6.) Today’s words of wisdom from Alec Baldwin’s Truther, er, Twitter feed — “I think all GOPers in US must feel hurt/confused. 2 slowly discover that ur party’s policies were really about lining rich ppl’s pockets.”
VIDEO: TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein takes on Hank Williams, Jr. and Occupy Wall Street on “Red Eye”
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