Will Sarah Palin be rained-out in Indianola? -- UPDATE: It is raining. C-SPAN live coverage -- RE-UPDATED: live blog

It's about 10:40 AM (Iowa time) and here is Weather Underground's forecast for Indianola, Iowa, where Sarah Palin is scheduled to speak at 2:15 (Eastern time):

Thunderstorms! With a 70% chance of precipitation. If it rains, won't Michele Bachmann say it's a message from God? Aren't Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann praying for rain? There may be an epic prayer-warrior battle underway at this very moment.

Will this be a wet t-shirt show? Wouldn't her fans be thrilled?

If nothing else, it's going to be cooler, so Sarah may be able to worry less about melting in the heat.

You can watch the forecast, here, at Weather Underground's page for Indianola.


Updated update: The speech is over, so C-SPAN's coverage is over; however (at 6:24 PM (Eastern) they have the speech available for replay). Update: C-SPAN has live coverage of the event, here. Occasionally, they pan over the (small) crowd. It is raining!

Update: She's speaking, apparently the stage is covered, but it looks like it is raining on the fans. She's reading the speech. She should have practiced, not to mention that she should spend some time with a voice coach. She has a real cadence problem that detracts from whatever she may be trying to say. She's making a lot of unsupportable accusations against Obama -- red meat for the 'bots. Too funny: she says she doesn't spend money on campaign organizers; it shows in the disorganization and indecisiveness.

She's talking about "her plan." She cites the 10th amendment, but ignores how the Commerce Clause has interplayed with that. She wants to repeal "Obama Care." Let the private sector reap what they sow -- she said that! Reform entitlements, in a way that honors our committment to seniors (but what about non-seniors who've paid into social security for years?) Obama is manipulating the energy supply -- she said that. She doesn't understand that the energy market is an international market. Alaskan oil is high priced, too, just like the rest of it. "America's economic revival starts with America's energy revival?" Now, she wants to eliminate all corporate income taxes, claiming that would eliminate loopholes (surely!), and she thinks tax cuts create jobs (tax cuts don't create jobs -- increased demand for a company's products creates jobs).

I've heard enough to know that this is an appeal to the uninformed.

She said "You don't need a title ... ." NOT RUNNING!

She's done.

It wouldn't be surprising if her statement about entitlement reform is really about privatizing social security. All that might do is give the bankers fees (rents) for "managing" the money, and subject workers' money to the vagaries of the market. Why support adding a middle-man, unless you're hoping for contributions from those who would benefit by privatization? With student loans, the removal of the middle-man was done early in Obama's administration to reduce the cost of student loans.

Update: Always the tease. USA Today, reporting on last night's event at the Machine Shed Restaurant, wrote:

... When a reporter asked Palin what she thinks about the current GOP competitors, she answered: "Happy with the field of candidates. I always think that there's room for more, though, because spirited debate and more competition will allow an even better discourse and more rigorous discourse that the public deserves." ...

Obviously, at least one of the declared candidates pleases her and she could endorse him or her. Perry? Bachmann? Any of 'em? All of 'em?

Update: For those of you who may have missed the live show, it may still be available for replay at C-SPAN (it was available at 6:24 PM (Eastern)). If not, there is a CNN video here, at YouTube (it isn't embeddable). It was produced by Real Clear Politics.