When Sarah Palin said that her bus tour would not only hit New Hampshire, but Iowa and and South Carolina, too, it was taken as a sign that she was serious about a presidential campaig after all. But when she'll actually venture to those latter two states is uncertain, Real Clear Politics' Scott Conroy reports. The bus schedule was never formalized, but her aides indicated the Palins would hit those critical early voting states sometime in June. Instead, Conroy writes, the Palins are back in Alaska, enjoying the summer's 19 hours a day of sunlight.

Conroy elaborates:

As Palin enjoys her sojourn to the 49th state, she has not reconnected with key early-state figures like Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and she may have jeopardized whatever political momentum she gained from her recent reemergence in the 2012 discussion. Her political action committee's website still greets visitors with a stale banner, announcing the nationwide bus tour beginning "[t]his Sunday, May 29th."

Last week, she shot down a report that she'd decide on a presidential campaign within a week. So right now, the only thing Palin's actually in the running for is an Emmy. TLC has submitted Sarah Palin's Alaska for consideration in four Emmy categories--cinematography, picture editing, music composition, and best reality program. As Christian Heinze notes, "If the show wins in any of those categories, Palin herself gets an Emmy, because she's listed as an executive producer of the show."

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Elspeth Reeve