SO, WILL SHE EVER SPEAK WITHOUT A TELEPROMPTER?

Score one for those who foresaw that Sarah Palin would wind up on television -- but note that she still has plenty of leeway to move back into electoral politics, which is what many of us have assumed (and continue to assume) is her goal:

Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska has signed on as a contributor to the Fox News Channel.

The network confirmed that Ms. Palin will appear on the network's programming on a regular basis as part of a multi-year deal. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ms. Palin will not have her own regular program, one person familiar with the deal said, though she will host an occasional series that will run on the network from time to time. This person would not elaborate, but the network does have a precedent for such a series. Oliver L. North is the host of an occasionally running documentary series on the military called "War Stories."...

So this isn't a five-day-a-week gig that's going to be all-consuming, or even a weekly series. In other words, she may not be on Fox any more than, say, Liz Cheney. My guess: this isn't a career destination, it's a layover. She's still going to have plenty of time to gear up for 2012.

And I love the fact that she's been touted specifically as the host of an occasional series -- not as a "Fox News contributor" who'll show up from time to time to hold forth as a talking head. She may well be both, but I can't help noticing that the principal role being carved out for her is ... reading scripted lines. Gee, why do you suppose Fox isn't stressing her skill at speaking off the cuff?