Take a Peek Inside 'Palin World'

Tucked inside a 7-page New York Times piece on Sarah Palin comes this nugget: "I am" considering a run for president in 2012, she tells writer Robert Draper, adding that she will decide after evaluating whether she brings anything unique to the field of GOP hopefuls. Highlights from the piece:

• The 2008 campaign: "Less well known was the Palin who agitated for more access to the media (other than Katie Couric), who was seen more than once passed out on her hotel bed half-buried in briefing books and index cards and whose thriftiness when it came to her wardrobe was so obvious that one senior strategist clucked of the Palins, “These people shop at Dillards!'" writes Draper.
• Inside Palin World: There are a handful of core advisers without titles operating remotely. "The inhabitants of Palin World have loosely defined duties and thus invariably play outside their lanes. 'It’s kind of like if you reach out and for whatever reason someone’s not responding, then someone else jumps in,' " one tells Draper.

• Todd: “The one person she trusts,” according to a longtime friend. “Todd is somebody that I think really grew and took on the job of being her support system, way beyond his education and where he came from." Writes Draper: "He handles her travel. He is at times her sole accompaniment to events. It has fallen to Todd to mollify alienated aides, interview potential speechwriters and help prep his wife for an interview by Googling subject matter on his BlackBerry." Says one member of Palin World: “Todd is always part of the information chain.”
• On her Twitter strategy: “I just tweet; that’s just the way I roll. The only thing I do consider is when I think of what’s going on in the East Coast, with the difference in time zones. I can tweet before going to bed at midnight or 1 and know that they’re up and at ’em, and they’re going to have to respond."

Click here for the full piece, which charts her rapid ascension and looks at her inner circle, or click here for more on her possible 2012 run. (More Sarah Palin stories.)