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Tuesday, Jun 28, 2011 4:01 PM UTC

Sarah Palin and Barack Obama are in Iowa!

And no one much cares

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Topics: 2012 Elections, Barack Obama, Bristol Palin, Republican Party, Sarah Palin, War Room,

Sarah Palin and Barack Obama are in Iowa!Sarah Palin and Barack Obama

If, two years ago, you knew that in late June of 2011, both Sarah Palin and Barack Obama would be in Iowa on the same day, you would’ve predicted that that day would be a major political event, with wall-to-wall coverage on all the cable news networks and massive stories in the major newspapers and on the political sites. Instead, Politico right now has eight separate Michele Bachmann headlines on the front page. The Palin story is at the bottom of the front page, below an interview with Bob Herbert.

Of course, Sarah Palin is not actually (yet) running for president, unlike Bachmann. It’s still not clear that she will run for president. Palin’s in Iowa promoting the third or fourth “premiere” of the silly documentary about how she used to be considered competent and independent. It’s sort of sad. Dave Weigel’s comparing Palin to Norma Desmond.

Bristol Palin (promoting her book) says her mother has made a decision about the campaign. Which could mean an ill-advised decision to run, probably only to make all the people predicting that she won’t run look foolish. (If Sarah Palin is going to run for president, it will be out of spite, because she certainly doesn’t seem interested in campaigning.)

Barack Obama, meanwhile, is touring a factory. He will be in Bettendorf for like an hour or two. (There’s not much reason for a sitting president to campaign in Iowa, though I guess every electoral vote counts.)

After she watches the movie about herself again, Palin will be at some sort of cookout that will be closed to the press, so don’t expect a major announcement tonight.

Alex Pareene

Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.

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