SARAH RISING – AT 8:56 A.M. ET:  Something is happening with Sarah Palin.  A new seriousness, a new sense of reflection.  If you saw her on Great Van Susteren's program last night, after the GOP debate, she was far more impressive than any of the debaters.

She was poignant, almost sad, very mature and reflective.  She'd given a speech in Iowa last week that even a New York Times writer found outstanding.  Newt Gingrich referred to that speech last night and said he wants to circulate it.

That speech, and her performance on Greta's show last night, was the old Sarah, the Sarah we began to love in 2008 before the roof caved in.  The old Sarah was fiercely independent, a truth teller who took on both parties if necessary, a governor with one of the highest approval ratings in the nation.   

Last night Greta returned to one of the themes of her Iowa speech – crony capitalism, the corruption of the free enterprise system by well-connected, slick operators who distort markets, scream freedom, then rush to the government for a bailout if they mess up too badly.  Even conservatives have begun to talk about this more and more.   It strikes a chord with people who believe fairness is still an American virtue.

Will Sarah run?  I don't know, and we didn't get any word on that last night.  A new poll places her third among the GOP candidates in the race for the nomination.  That is strong for someone who isn't yet in the contest.  But I did get a hint last night that Sarah will not run, that she realizes this may not be her time, that she's got to grow again as a serious candidate for the future, that she will continue to be a gadfly.  But I could be very wrong.

The transcript of Sarah's extraordinary Iowa speech is here.  It is well worth reading.  She has such talent, if only she could get all the moving parts to work together again, as they did when she was governor.

September 13, 2011