Karl Rove Expects Sarah Palin to Join the Fray

For the second time in as many days, Republican strategist Karl Rove said that he believes Sarah Palin is getting ready to enter the crowded Republican presidential field.

“I’m not much of a gambler, but I’d put a little bit more money that she gets in than she doesn’t,” Rove said during an appearance earlier today on “Fox News Sunday.”

During the Fox News interview, Rove noted that Palin’s schedule next week “looks like that of a candidate, not a celebrity.”  Coupled with her recent visit to the Iowa State Fair during the high-stakes Ames Straw Poll last weekend, Rove contended that a new campaign-style video released by the former Alaska governor’s political action committee was further evidence that Palin was about to take the presidential plunge.

The slick two-minute, nineteen-second spot concludes with a roaring grizzly bear standing on its hind legs followed by a caption reading: “Thank you Iowa! See you again September 3.”

Rove, who served as President George W. Bush’s top political advisor, believes that Palin is quickly reaching the point where she can no longer simply flirt with the idea of running for President.  She owes it to her supporters to make a decision soon, he said.

“You can only tease so many times in the political process and I think she’s getting to the end of that,” said Rove.

Palin is expected to return to Iowa, site of the first-in-the-nation caucuses, on September 3 when she will be the keynote speaker at a Tea Party of America’s “Restoring America” rally, an event that was recently moved from Waukee to Indianola to accommodate a larger crowd than initially anticipated.