Crunching some numbers as we await the arrival of Sarah Palin and her “Going Rogue: An American Life” book tour on Dec. 6 at the Barnes  & Noble Booksellers in Sioux City. POLITICO reports former Alaska Gov. Palin has been signing books for exactly 1,000 people in her few stops thus far. I suspect that means a lot of Siouxland people who want to get a signed copy of “Going Rogue” will be Going Without.

We know the setup at B&N is that Palin will sign two copies per person, with her name only and no personalization like including “To Barbara, All The Best.” This booksigning tour is a business, and keeping to the schedule is key. Palin thus far has signed her allotment, got on the bus and been whisked away, much to the dismay of chanting Palin fans.

POLITICO reports 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Palin has been producing 1,000 signatures per hour, at roughly four seconds per signature. If so, and if each person presumably has two books along, it will take right at two hours to finish the job. That means she’ll likely wrap around 3 p.m., in good stead to make it to the following stop at 5 p.m. in Sioux Falls, 90 miles up Interstate 29 from the Sioux City mall.

The question:  How early will you get in line to make sure you’re one of the first 1,000 to get a wristband to have “Going Rogue” signed? As of now, the wristbands are slated to be distributed at 7 a.m., six hours prior to when Palin will take pen in hand in Siouxland.

The Des Moines Register this evening has released additional details from a poll done on high-profile political figures. The one that Tom Beaumont has just dropped on his blog shows 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is in strong favor among Iowa Republicans. But her unfavorability rating among Iowans overall is 55 percent, compared to the 37 percent who view the former Alaska governor unfavorably, the poll showed.

And Beaumont summarizes, “Those feelings are intense: The percentage of Iowans who view Palin very unfavorably is more than twice as large as the percentage who view her very favorably.” Right — those who deride Palin as “Caribou Barbie” do so with profound dislike, while fans will line up for hours to see her in a Dec. 6 Sioux City book tour and not resent the time spent whatsoever.

The part of The Register poll from yesterday shows President Barack Obama’s job approval rating has fallen to 49 percent, down four percent from September and from 68 percent as he assumed the presidency in January. Obama got 54 percent of the vote in Iowa a year ago.

Yesterday, in writing the fourth blog post in nine days concerning Sarah Palin, her autobiography and her upcoming book tour stop in Sioux City, I thought of issuing an opening disclaimer that I’m not purposely trying to achieve overkill on the topic. I didn’t put that out, and I guess now realize Palin will be a continuing topic from now until the Dec. 6 Barnes & Noble Bookseller stop, whether that drives readers batty or not.  A Michigan newspaper relates how in the opening book tour stop today, the venue was beseiged by Palin fans, so the local B&N officials might need to rethink how to pull off the appearance.

It seems 500 people stood in line overnight (what is this, a Phish concert?) to get first shot at wristbands to have a book signed. By the time the Grand Rapids book store began handing out the bands, 1,500 people were on hand at 7 a.m. That’s the time the Sioux City B&N officials plan to first hand out wristbands on Dec. 6 prior to the late morning store opening and the 1 p.m. opportunity to get a Palin autograph (but no personalization of the “Going Rogue” penning, however).

The Sarah Palin autobiography “Going Rogue: An American Life” is officially out today, 54 weeks after she and John McCain came out on the short end of the stick in the 2008 presidential race. The release is of note here, of course, since Palin will bring her book signing tour to Sioux City on Dec. 6, after kicking off the tour tomorrow in Michigan. So, with the release, The Journal this morning fronts a top of the page piece relating details from Palin’s appearance on the Oprah Winfrey talk show, inside is a book review by Associated Press writer Mark Kennedy (he’s not dazzled) and the opinion page has a Palin-themed column by Richard Cohen of the Washington Post.

If you want to check out some other Palin pieces, click away. First, we have an article from The Hill, in which McCain disputes a Palin claim that his campaign stuck her with a $50,000 bill in vetting her as a possible candidate. McCain said the bill is Palin’s for  legal work related to allegations that Palin made improper use of her influence as Alaska’s governor to press for the dismissal of a state trooper. Beyond that, McCain says he hopes Palin sells a ton of “Going Rogue” books, for which she received a $5 million advance.

Or click here for Palin’s take on Levi Johnston, the father of her granddaughter,  pursuing porn by appearing in Playgirl magazine. I’m much more interested in an academic review of Palin’s distinctive speech patterns, from the “you betcha”-style lingo and dropping of g’s off “ing” words — something the Alaska academics noted weren’t her style of speaking until she launched into the national sphere with the vice presidential nomination.

Lastly, a Politico piece recapping the Oprah appearance, including Palin remaining noncommittal on any 2012 presidential plans and dishing on her October 2008 interview with CBS news anchor Katie Couric. “I was annoyed by her badgering,” Palin says.

We in Siouxland, coincidentally, will have had the chance to see both Couric and Palin in our midst in a two-month period, which is weird when you think about the odds of that. Couric accepted an award at the University of South Dakota campus on Oct. 8, where Journal reporter Michele Linck recounted her impressions of the Palin interview. Couric said she essentially tried to ask casual questions about the issues of the day and what shaped Palin’s worldview. Palin struggled to answer what she reads to form her stances on issues, and the interview was widely seen as a down moment for the candidate.

Between her book and the Oprah appearance, Palin has no problem sharing her view of the Couric interview. Wouldn’t it be nice to have split the time/distance difference of the Oct. 8 appearance in Vermillion by Couric and the Dec. 6 appearance in Sioux City by Palin with a joint meeting of the two women to talk things out on Nov. 7 in Elk Point, S.D.?

I’ve just wrapped a second-day piece on the announcement that 2008 Republican Party vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will bring her “Going Rogue” booksigning tour to Sioux City. It will be her only Iowa appearance, so many Siouxlanders are pumped to see Palin. I spoke with Barnes & Noble community relations manager Elisha Karr, who said she heard from up the chain that Palin specifically asked to come to Sioux City. Seems she’d been buoyed by a crowd of 4,500 people at West High School here in the last few days before the 2008 election. I was there, Palin was definitely embraced by the crowd that day.

Karr said her understanding is that Palin will be heading a bus tour that day. Since she also has an appearance in Sioux Falls, S.D., 80 miles north, four hours after the Sioux City event starts, Karr said it would be hard for Palin to piggyback another non-booksigning event.

A call this afternoon to Woodbury County Republican Party Chairman Brian Rosener of Bronson revealed he’s requested an appearance by Palin on the trip. But he didn’t sound hopeful, citing that many Republican organizations are hitting Palin, “one of the most sought-after speakers in the U.S.”, with appearance requests.

Lastly, from a handout Karr gave me, here are the particulars to know at this point if you want to see Palin at B&N:
– Wristbands will be handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 7 a.m. Dec. 6. You must be present to get a wristband.
– You must present your Barnes & Noble receipt for “Going Rogue” in order to get a wristband.
– Maximum of two copies of “Going Rogue” per person will be signed.
– No posed photos with Palin.
– No personalization of signings of the books, Palin will be providing only an autograph.

The Sarah Palin autobiography recapping her journey from basketball player to Alaska governor to 2008 vice presidential candidate drops next week. Palin kicks off her “Going Rogue: An American Life” book tour in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Nov. 18, and she has one Iowa stop slated — right here in Sioux City.

It’s an amazing get for the Barnes & Noble store at Southern Hills Malls, as Palin will be signing her book at 1 p.m. that day. She’ll then head north for another stop up Interstate 29 in Sioux Falls.

Many conservatives in the Republican Party want Palin to plow ahead with a 2012 presidential bid. Palin will undoubtedly get a positive response with her Sioux City stop. Of course, progressives might also want to sneak in the two-letters-swapped nonflattering  book produced by The Nation: “Going Rouge.”

ADDED 3:10 p.m.: How could I forget this piece of context — Palin has been in Sioux City once previously, when in October 2008 she spoke to an overflow crowd at West High School just days before the election.

I’ll never forget the first time I heard a person pitch Steve King for president in 2012. Mere weeks after the 2008 election in which Barack Obama was selected as president, we at The Journal took a look at what names Northwest Iowans might see in the ‘12 race. (Yes, some readers said, too much, too soon.) That involved asking  Republican Party chairpersons in many surrounding counties to list their top three picks for four years off. A county chairwoman was quick to put King’s name on her list.

With GOP people like Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Mitt Romney and others taking top mentions in early 2009, I forgot about King as a possible presidential candidate. The speculation was whether this would be the year King ran for governor, which he ultimately did not pursue.

Then last month, when interviewing Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann for a profile piece on King, I asked about her perceived interest in the presidency. Before saying she had no intention to pursue the presidency, Bachmann first brought up King’s name as getting mention on Capitol Hill.

And last night, Dave Price of WHO, the Des Moines NBC affiliate, aired an interview with King in which the four-term congressman won’t rule out running for president. And why should he? King is beloved by the conservative base of the Republican Party, which in many states has a big role in pushing candidates toward victories in primaries and caucuses. King loves having a national voice on issues of importance, which doesn’t hurt his profile with the base. (Yeah, sure, he riles up Democrats, that’s a given.)

Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, who King has noted is essentially his twin, ran for president in 2008. Why shouldn’t Steve King?

We have definitive word that 2008 Republican Party vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin won’t be coming to Iowa on Nov. 21, so the Family Policy Council Action event will be less splashy than organizers hoped. Just now after noon, IFPC spokesman Bryan English has released that Palin confirmed she can’t make the event, given a busy schedule for her “Going Rogue” book tour. The book will be released in November, and Palin has been heavily booked to promote it.

From English: “We extended our invitation knowing she would be in the middle of her book tour and the chances of her being able to accept any invitations were extremely slim. She has asked if she could speak at a future mutually agreeable date. She will not accept any fees for her appearance.”

The IFPC, in announcing earlier this week they were trying to land the former Alaska Governor, launched a fundraising effort. Reports were that it would take $100K to land Palin, and some affiliated with other Iowa right-of-center groups in a Politico piece were dismissive about paying to get a high-profile Republican to speak in the state.

The IFPC event will be held on the same day Iowa Democrats will have Vice President Joe Biden speaking in Des Moines. We may see Palin speaking for an Iowa Family Policy Center event at some later date.

When we had the chance to see Sarah Palin in 2008, just a few days before the election, it was as a vice presidential candidate. The next time we see her in Northwest Iowa, it will be with Palin sniffing a presidential bid or fully as a prez candidate for 2012. This afternoon she chose the not-many-working Friday of a three-day weekend as the time to announce she’s resigning as Alaska governor. Of course that just fuels speculation she’ll run for president.

Palin is beloved by many Republican conservatives, although some GOP’ers feel she didn’t do John McCain many favors in the months after her splash into national consciousness at the convention. She sure was well-received in her Sioux City West High School appearance on Oct. 25, 2008.

Now, who’s the new Alaska governor? Surely you’ve heard of Sean Parnell.

I caught a three-minute snippet of the Rush Limbaugh radio show two days ago, which I’d forgotten until reading a new statement today by conservative Richard Viguerie. It seems I cite Vigeurie —  a less-government, Reagan-style conservative — a couple times annually here, and now he’s bemoaning the lack of national Republican leader. He cites what I heard, of Rush railing back against Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.

I got Limbaugh mid-rant, so I didn’t know the genesis for his anger. But Steele made the assessment of Rush as an “entertainer” who can be “incendiary,” which didn’t sit well. Not to get too far into this, but Limbaugh talked about how he’s leading a conservative movement, which doesn’t mean he always lines up with the Republican Party. For what it’s worth, Steele apologized a bit later in the day, recognizing how good Limbaugh has been for the GOP.

Anyway, Viguerie says no one nationally is stepping up to lead the party. “The Rushification of the GOP is the natural and inevitable result of the fact that those who are supposed to provide leadership — Republican elected officials and party officers — are doing little to bring the party back,” he offers. And he said the GOP is begging for a leader as President Barack Obama moves the country closer to “socialism.”

Viguerie takes exception with the Feb. 24 speech of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who gave a “technocratic” response following Obama’s address to a joint session of Congresss. Jindal may have had some problems with an uneven speech, but he’s seen by many as the future of the party. For some Sarah Palin fits that category.

But if you don’t like Jindal or Palin – and while they command a lot of media coverage, they’re not in the Washington beltway — who does speak for the Republican Party today? Who is the person who should step up to fill what Viguerie calls a vacuum?