(Thumbnail Image: The Guardian)

Talk of a 2012 presidential run for Sarah Palin has started again. But this time she has support from the growing Tea Party Movement.

We are looking at perspectives from CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, ABC, and NPR.

After her speech at the National Tea Party Convention, Palin says she would run if it is the right thing for the country and her family.  On CNN columnist John Avalon explains Palin’s statement further saying he thinks Palin will use the movement’s support to get a mainstream party nomination.      

“The fact that she spent so much time on foreign policy tells me she’s aiming a lot higher than just the tea party movement. She knows that this wave, she may be able to ride this wave into the republican nomination. She’s going to surf that wave as far as it can take her.”

In her speech, Palin criticized President Obama’s war strategy and mocked the administration's focus on change.

NPR highlighted specific references to the president’s foreign and domestic policies.

"They know we're at war, and to win that war we need a commander in chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern."

"How's that hopey-changey stuff working out for you?"

FOX News contributor Juan Williams says Palin’s political ideals have already made her a leader of the movement.

“There is no question in my mind that if you think about the tea party as anti-Obama, anti-tax, small government, you know, Sarah Palin is queen of the party. She is the queen of the tea party, and she has to take responsibility and accountability for being that leader.  She can’t quit on this like she quit on governor of Alaska.  It’s just not acceptable.”

Palin reportedly turned down an offer to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference- a decision being labeled as a tactical move to a less mainstream image. MSNBC elaborates.

“She’s dominating the Republican Party externally right now and there are a whole bunch of people behind the scenes that wish she weren’t there, don’t know how to get rid of her, don’t know how to push her out of the way without alienating a huge chunk of the party’s base.”

Some say even with support from the Tea Party, Palin is not a strong enough politician to get a place in the 2012 election.  ABC shared a skeptical perspective on the influence Palin and the movement have on the nation’s big political picture.

“This is one of the biggest, most energized movements in America today, but that is not a lot of people. 600 people in a ballroom. Even tens of millions. Let’s say she’s got tens of millions of followers, as does the tea party movement. That does not make a national winning coalition. She’s got a lot of support, it creates a lot of energy. That’s a huge strength for both her and the tea party movement but its still not big enough or specific enough to do anything but criticize Obama, criticize big government. That creates excitement, but again it’s not a national governing movement.”

So do you think Palin will run for president in 2010? Does her association with the Tea Party help her?

Writer: Chelsea Donohoe

Producer: Grace Meiners