Palin - GOP's No. 1 Kingmaker?

Whatever you think of Sarah Palin, you cannot deny that she can get out the vote for her selected candidates. Whether this is enough to catapult her into the lead for the GOP nomination in 2012 is still to be determined.

I, myself, still have questions about her need for more seasoning, but she has time and she is one of the few who speaks her mind and you have no reason to disbelieve what she says, unlike "The One". (Who, incidentally, had less experience.)

Excerpt: Incumbent GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski's stunning setback in Alaska sends a powerful message to political insiders in both parties: Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is now the GOP's clear No. 1 kingmaker.

Upstart candidate Joe Miller, who made a lightning-fast rise in the polls following Palin's endorsement and robo calls, credited Palin for his primary shocker.

"I'm absolutely certain that was pivotal," he told The Anchorage Daily News.

With an estimated 98 percent of the vote tallied — and with thousands of absentee ballots yet to be counted — Miller leads Murkowski by 1,960 votes.

Political pundits suggest the outcome elevates Palin to unique status within the Republican Party.

"Clearly Sarah Palin is the most influential Republican in America," Democratic pollster and Fox News commentator Douglas Schoen tells Newsmax. "That much is clear as the primary season winds down. And Palin clearly is the candidate who will generate the most enthusiasm if she runs in 2012." Read "Murkowski Loss Would Make Palin GOP's No. 1 Kingmaker" here.