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Sarah Palin turns down CPAC keynote

The Note: UPDATED: 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." [MORE]
It turns out that Palin maybe putting family first.  Both her birthday and an Iron Dog ceremony are happening around that date.
Honestly, I don't know why every year everyone makes such a fuss about Palin skipping CPAC.  When you think about it, CPAC doesn't offer Palin anything she doesn't already have.
Most Republican candidates seeking the White House use CPAC to gain notoriety, polish their conservative credentials or to make a good showing in the non binding straw poll.  Palin already has all of those things so why fly almost 4,000 just to get what you already have?
If I had to guess why everyone tries to make Palin's skipping CPAC into a big story, it would have to be because no one want to acknowledge that Palin is actually bigger than CPAC. That or one more "Palin controversy" is always good for the media's readership.