I would have said no, until Newsweek unleashed its megacoverage of Sarah Palin. She hints broadly that she is looking at running and that she can win. Palin eclipses Perry in every way — name ID, loyal following, fundraising ability, celebrity status. The Palin buzz created by Newsweek stepped all over the Perry buzz, which hasn’t been very loud recently. The International Business Times, a UK online publication, did a derivative story on the Newsweek piece. Here’s an excerpt: Decision day is fast approaching for Sarah Palin; the former governor of Alaska has indicated her time frame for making her decision. Sarah Plain said: ‘You know, August and September, you do have to start laying out a plan if you are to be one to throw your hat in the ring, so that’s basically the time frame,’ Palin told Sean Hannity during an appearance Wednesday night on Fox News. It has been a relatively quiet month for Sarah Palin but over the past week it has become clearer that she feels she can not only win the Republican nomination but defeat President Obama in a national election. She clearly feels that she is the right candidate for the Republicans and has continued her attack on the candidates that have already announced themselves. ‘I’m not wholly confident that we have that field set yet that that one individual is in the field,’ Palin said. ‘So I’m still thinking about being one that would offer myself up in the name of service, knowing confidently that I have those common-sense, fiscally conservative, pro-private sector experience and ideas that can be put to good work for this country.’ In an open interview with Newsweek, the former governor of Alaska said: ‘If it came down to the family just saying, ‘please, mom, don’t do this,’ then that would be the deal-killer for me, because your families gotta be in it with you.’ Sarah Palin said to Newsweek: ‘I believe that I can win a national election. The people of America are desperate for positive change, and deserving of positive change, to get us off of this wrong track.’ * * * * Many political pros believe that Palin is unelectable, as I do. But she is likely to play a large role in the campaign, even as a noncandidate. She and Perry have been allies for a long time. When Palin talks about wanting to see more entrants into the GOP presidential race, I think one of the people she wants to see is Perry. Palin can’t be the king in this race, but she can be the kingmaker, and I would not be surprised if the beneficiary turns out to be Perry.