(Thumbnail image from Sarah Palin's official Facebook page)

“And in fact, were she to be the nominee, we could have a catastrophic election result.  I don’t think it’s inconceivable that she could the Republican nominee for president of the United States.  I do think it’s fairly inconceivable she would be elected president of the United States.” (CNN)  

That’s CNN’s John King interviewing former John McCain strategist Steve Schmidt about the hottest topics on the republican radar this week: Sarah Palin. As President Obama struggles with his agenda, the GOP confronts an internal rift, with Palin in the middle.

For more we bring you perspectives from MSNBC, The Washington Post, and CBS.

First, Margaret Carlson of “The Week” magazine and Bloomberg news had this to say on MSNBC’s “The Countdown” about Schmidt’s comments and Palin’s viability as a candidate.

“Steve Schmidt did this at the Washington Ideas Forum and I was there, and he does not do it with glee.
So he’s not doing it out of self-interest, it is out of having been very very close for a number of months, no other political strategist has been that close, and concluding that she’s not fit to run. And that putting her forward would injure the Republican party, as he said, catastrophically.”

And Schmidt isn’t the only republican speaking out against Palin’s run.  John Weaver, McCain's closest political adviser for much of the past decade, spoke to the Washington Post.

“he was nearly certain that the former governor would never be the Republican nominee and added that, if she was, "it would surely mean a political apocalypse is upon us."

Even with all of this negative commentary flowing out of the republican camp Sarah Palin is still a prime person of interest for the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2012. Washington Post’s Chris Cilliza breaks it down in his political blog, “The Fix.”

“All of the attention that Schmidt's comments have attracted is yet more evidence of the fact that Palin is a -- if not the -- prime mover in the Republican party…it's almost certain the race would boil down to Palin and a single candidate -- former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.), Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty etc -- who would become the rallying point for the anti-Palin forces.”

CBS News blogger Charles Cooper further explains the appeal of Palin, and how she’s staying at the forefront of the republican political conversation.

“Palin has this knack for sending the liberal-left into knee-knocking spittle-inducing convulsions. More than any other Republican, Palin stirs passions. Most important, she has the sort of sass that attracts big crowds of true believers willing to open their wallets for her. Can you say that about the likes of Tim Pawlenty or (gasp!) Bobby Jindal? Not with a straight face.”

So what do you think? Will Sarah Palin’s presence deepen the rift within the GOP? Or will she leave the national political landscape before the 2012 presidential election?