Presidential silly season is officially here and has some in Arizona speculating Sarah Palin has purchased a home in beautiful Scottsdale, Ariz.
A just-closed deal on a secluded luxury home in far north Scottsdale might fit the bill, and talk has begun that this may be the one. It's an 8,000-square-foot, dark-brown stucco home with a guard gate that can keep unwanted visitors away. It has six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a six-car garage, a swimming pool and spa, and a full basement with a home theater, billiards room and wine cellar.
Safari Investments LLC paid $1.695 million cash for the home in a deal that appears designed to cloak the identity of a high-profile buyer.
Safari Investments is a Delaware limited liability firm formed May 12, the day before the deal for the Scottsdale home closed. No officers are listed on the Delaware filing, and that state doesn't require the names of individual associated with limited liability companies to be disclosed. High-profile people often buy homes through LLCs to maintain their privacy.
Confirmation of a Palin house purchase in Scottsdale likely would rekindle chatter about whether Palin might run a political campaign out of Arizona, the home state of U.S. Sen. John McCain, who plucked her from relative political obscurity in 2008 to be his vice-presidential running mate.
Palin has been rumored to be considering headquartering her 2012 White House campaign, if there is one, in Scottsdale. She also has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.
Palin may or may have not purchased a home in the area, many high profile people own homes in the Grand Canyon State and specifically in Scottsdale, but Palin running for Kyl's Arizona Senate seat? Really? Doubtful.
Although Palin is popular in Arizona for publicly backing Arizona Governor Brewer on her strong immigration policies, I doubt Arizona voters would be too keen on having a life-long Alaskan respresenting them as an Arizona senator. If Palin runs for president, basing her campaign headquarters out of the Phoenix area will be much more convenient than headquartering in Alaska.
On a personal level, Arizona is a good fit for Palin who is an avid outdoorswoman. Arizona has endless outdoor recreation options from the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, the Sonoron desert, skiing, mountains, the largest Poderosa Pine forest in the world, red rock Sedona, rock climbing, river rafting on the Colorado, hiking, big game hunting and more, without the bitter Alaska cold and long nightime hours.