Sarah Palin's Facebook - Over 1 Million Supporters

The press likes to tell us that Sarah Palin is finished as a public figure. The Republican establishment likes to tell us that she would have no chance to win in 2012 if she becomes the Republican presidential nominee.

Sarah Palin's popularity tells us a different story. Her book Going Rogue was just released yesterday and already tops the Amazon.com best seller list. Talk show hosts line up to get her on their shows because they know her presence will send their ratings through the roof. Every comment she makes on any current issue makes national headlines for weeks.

Now, here's another bit of evidence of Palin's popularity: 1,017,361 supporters on her Facebook page.

Let's compare that to other Republicans being talked about as possible 2012 contenders:

Tim Pawlenty               11,084 supporters
Rudy Giuliani               18,197 supporters
Fred Thompson           27,535 supporters
Newt Gingrich              31,315 supporters
Bobby Jindal               70,098 supporters
Mitt Romney              104,957 supporters
Mike Huckabee         127,752 supporters
Ron Paul                     149,901 supporters

Yes, I know. Facebook accounts can't be used to predict presidential winners. I get that. However, when one potential candidate has over six times the number of supporters as the next nearest potential contender, that's not insignificant.