ANOTHER SARAH FLAP - AT 7:39 P.M. ET:  From Fox News:

Sarah Palin is out and Newt Gingrich is in.

Congressional Republicans Tuesday decided to ditch the former GOP vice presidential nominee in favor of the former Speaker for the critical House-Senate fundraising dinner in Washington June 8. It's the marquee Republican event to raise money for GOP House and Senate candidates.

Just weeks ago, the House and Senate Republican campaign committees were giddy at securing the telegenic Palin for the dinner. But then things grew murky. At the time, the Alaska governor's office told FOX News that Palin was still considering the invitation and had not yet made a decision. Meantime, spokespersons for the committees insisted that Palin was scheduled and it was just a misunderstanding between the Alaska governor's office and Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC, that accepted the invite.

Sources familiar with the Palin snub fumed openly about how the governor handled this.

"She was a disaster," one Republican source told FOX News. "We had confirmation."

COMMENT:  I hate to say it, but this may be the kick in the shins that Sarah needs.  I like her, but she is deeply flawed and often amateurish.  She also seems to think of herself as a kind of queenly figure.  She is not.  She's engaged in a number of antics more suitable for a Hollywood diva.  This is not appreciated in politics, and her welcome is being worn out.  I hope she makes corrections because she has real talent.

March 31, 2009