It's been a conspiracy-ridden few weeks in American politics, culminating in Wednesday's White House birth certificate reveal. Sarah Palin, having re-weathered her own Trig-birther conspiracy last week, weighed in on Obama's press conference by tweeting, "Media: admit it, Trump forced the issue. Now, don't let the WH distract you w/the birth crt from what Bernanke says today. Stay focused, eh?" It's a back-to-serious-business note she's been striking a lot lately: Palin took to Facebook to criticize President Obama's Libyan policy and, while she was at it, took a swipe at him for beginning to campaign for 2012 ("It's unbelievable to me that you spent last week in campaign mode, gallivanting around the country to start raising the billion dollars for your reelection bid that is still 19 months away 'while Rome burns.' ") To that end, she's continued to tell interviewers that it's way too early to start thinking about these things. She grandly sidestepped rumblings about the allegedly rinky-dink nature of her on-the-ground team in Iowa by declaring that's always been her style: "You know I've never really run for anything conventionally over the last couple of decades. I've just jumped in and done it when I know it's the right thing to do."

Now might be a good time for her to get that spring in her step: Haley Barbour isn't running, which frees up some airspace for Palin on the far right, and it's possible that some of his backers might shift loyalty Palinward. But still, Palin's slipped rather eagerly into the role of Trump backer; combined with her recent insistence that she's just a wonkish, nose-to-the-grindstone kind of gal, it almost looks as if she's angling for the bottom half of the ticket again. (She does have a penchant for short-lived gigs, after all.) The Palin meter holds steady at 44 percent.

Previous Palin Meter Readings

Monday, April 18, 2011: 44 percent

Thursday, April 14, 2011: 39 percent

Tuesday, April 5, 2011: 43 percent

Monday, March 28, 2011: 49 percent

Wednesday, March 23, 2011: 53 percent

Friday, March 18, 2011: 55 percent

Wednesday, March 16, 2011: 55 percent

Thursday, March 10, 2011: 48 percent

Tuesday, March 8, 2011: 35 percent

Monday, March 7, 2011: 40 percent

Friday, March 3, 2011: 45 percent

Tuesday, March 1, 2011: 51 percent