Mitt Romney should have been in a celebratory mood all weekend when one of his chief rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, darling of the right-iest of the right, Sarah Palin, inexplicably and incoherently quit as governor of Alaska.  Ed Rollins, a rare GOP speaker-of-truth, called the move "political suicide."  But before Millionaire Mitt starts counting down his steps to the White House ("One chicken, two chickens, three chickens ...") he needs to realize Palin's move is not suicide in isolation, but potentially a major kamikaze, and it's unwittingly targeted at the GOP.

Already running for the nomination barely below the surface, Mitt Rushmore has seen one potential challenger after another blow up politically without Mitt firing shot one.  President Obama took out possibly his own, and Mitt's, most competent foe, Utah Gov. John Huntsman.  A personable and capable chief executive, Obama dispatched Huntsman halfway around the world as U.S. Ambassador to China, but only after checking with NASA first for evidence of nationhood on other planets. 

Charlie Crist, soon-to-be-former Governor of Florida and a Gulf States version of Huntsman, looks headed for an ugly primary fight and a tough Senate election.  He'll probably prevail in both, but maybe not.  Either way, Crist and his war chest will be bruised and the GOP extremist base hates him.  Another former GOP Governor, Mike Huckabee, is a creationist of the first degree, but in his previous attempt at the nomination showed himself to be limited and more viable for the VP slot. 

I don't buy into a Newt Gingrich comeback.  If the economy is on the mend, I doubt he'd waste his time or money on a campaign to nowhere.  As for the rest, there is no need to repeat their well-chronicled foibles and fiascos.  What Sarah Palin does next, however, could have profound implications for Romney. 

Palin's appeal is to Americans who are best described as the relatives we have to invite to the holiday barbeque and try to ignore as politely as possible between saying "hello" and "thanks for coming."  Palin will have almost three years between now and the next GOP convention to dominate the media because everyone loves a freak show.  She may be  misguided enough to launch the most embarrassing campaign for the GOP nomination in prty history.  Or, her plan might be to become the Nega-Oprah.and cash in while there's mney to be made and a market for her diatribes.  Either way, her egotism will compel her to advocate her barely disguised themes of bigotry, violence, xenophobia and exclusion.

Any way it plays out, prima donna Palin will skew the Republican dialogue so far to the right, it will be tantamount to a dive-bomber steering towards the largest target in it's own battle group, and that's unquestionably Romney.  He will have to give up all pretense of being moderate just to compete for the base in the primaries, and if he does, indeed, become the GOP nominee, this will haunt him in November.  Or, he can kiss the base goodbye, run to the middle, and be just as damned by lack of numbers. 

Palin is Bob Barr with funding, Ron Paul with Christian soldiers, Bill O'Reilly with glam, Ann Coulter with government experience, and Rush Limbaugh without the smarts.  And now she has time on her hands.  Mitt shouldn't count his chickens before they hatch, but he should remember that they always come home to roost, and the GOP hatched a big, bad one in Alaska.