Being Sarah Palin
No skulking back to the Alaska governor's mansion for this failed vice-presidential candidate. Sarah Palin quit that job last year for a new career as a conservative media celebrity at large, and has remained in the spotlight ever since. Whether she was anointing a new "mama grizzly" to tweak the Republican establishment, tweeting a nonexistent word, belittling President Obama's "hopey changey stuff" or shooting a moose, no news cycle was complete without the latest from Pundit Palin. Having created name-brand shows on Fox and the Learning Channel — while her daughter's improbable turn on Dancing with the Stars kept Brand Palin in the spotlight — the former Alaska governor will likely continue to hog the headlines next year with the will-she-or-won't-she cliff-hanger. Even if she doesn't (run for President, that is), she's on track to establish a media footprint worthy of Oprah.