(Image Source: The New York Times)

BY GINA COOK

ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE 

Sarah Palin rolled out the punchlines at CPAC on Saturday and the jokes were fired at Obama as she used his rhetoric for most of her speech.

Palin: “We aren’t red Americans, we’re not blue Americans, we’re red, white and blue and President Obama-we are through with you.”

The speech rallied the CPAC audience. As one blogger for ABC says,

“The screams and cheers … felt at times like they belonged at a Justin Bieber concert. A dozen times the conservatives at the conference leaped to their feet to applaud Palin, as she threw them line after line about beating President Obama and reclaiming ‘traditional values.’”

 

But claps and cheers aside, what is Palin’s tangible influence in the GOP race? Here’s CNN’s take...
 

“... she really is ceremonial at this point.  She’s not raising the money the way she used to, she has not chosen to endorse anybody yet, so her influence has waned, but not at CPAC. I mean she’s their girl.”

Although Palin made no endorsement, media outlets are saying she did seem to take a jab at Romney when she talked about the Republican nominee needing to be instinctively conservative. The Atlantic questions the influence of her remarks saying,

“It was a call that Republican voters seemed to be heeding when they handed Romney unexpected losses in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado on Tuesday. But with Romney bouncing back to win the straw poll and Maine caucuses on Saturday, maybe Republican voters aren’t listening to Sarah Palin after all.”

 

But The Daily Beast disagrees, saying Palin still makes an impact with conservatives and quote...

 

“She still has star appeal, and her ability to channel the Tea Party could make a difference in November, especially if the nominee is Romney.”

Although her husband Todd has already endorsed Gingrich, The State Column says when asked about endorsing someone Palin just said — quote “Not today”