A bit of Sarah Palin in today’s Morning Jolt…

CPAC, Yes; See Palin, No.

No Sarah Palin at CPAC. Again. ABC News: “After skipping the popular Conservative Political Action Conference for the past three years, Sarah Palin has once again turned down the invitation of CPAC officials to address the conference this year. CPAC organizers invited Palin to deliver the closing-night keynote speech on Saturday Feb. 12, immediately following the announcement of the results of CPAC’s annual presidential straw poll,  but after several days of negotiations, she declined. “We’re disappointed that she wasn’t able to make it this year,” American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene said through a spokesman on Thursday. He noted that Palin “expressed interest in wanting to come this year,” but said that it came down to ‘a scheduling issue.’”

Rachel Weiner, writing at the Washington Post’s Fix column: “Four years of scheduling conflicts seems like a trend. So what’s behind Palin’s repeated opt-outs? If there are lingering bad feelings with Keene, that is almost certainly reason enough for her to take a pass. And, unlike some other potential nominees, Palin doesn’t need to raise her profile. She can draw press wherever she goes. And, given the heightened controversy over gay and Muslim attendees, the exposure might seem too risky.”

Er… risky? She quits her term after two-and-a-half-years, endorses long-shot underdogs in GOP primaries, does a lot of her communications through Facebook and Twitter, did a reality travelogue series , had her daughter appear on a national realty competition series about dancing and issued a video commentary on the Tucson shootings right before a presidential address at a memorial service… and we’re to believe Palin going to CPAC would be risky? Heck, she deals with bigger risks when she goes fishing near bears.

Alana Goodman, writing at Contentions: “As ABC News noted, Palin “has a rocky history” with CPAC and skipped the event last year owing to some of the reportedly shady business dealings of the conference’s organizer, David Keene. But the fact that she hasn’t attended the event for three years in a row makes it seem like it could honestly be about scheduling issues, as opposed to any involvement in the social conservatives’ CPAC boycott.

Marco Rubio will also be absent, and it will be interesting to see if any other prominent politicians skip out. The Senate will be out of session next week — since Democrats will be away on a retreat — and it’s possible that some GOP senators slated to speak at CPAC will decide to head to their home states at the last minute. But at the moment, the conference apparently hasn’t been seriously impacted by the boycott, and organizers told ABC News that they expect around 10,000 attendees at the event.”

In today’s edition, I also recommend, “never take restaurant advice from a skinny chef or an ostentatiously healthy eater.”