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Sarah Palin is kicking off her totally-not-a-presidential-campaign-bus-tour of the East Coast Sunday with a stop at a veterans' motorcycle rally in Washington, D.C. After that, she's headed to historical sites up the coast with the goal of "reminding ourselves who we are and what Americans stand for." But those stops are, as of yet, unnamed! Like everything Palin does, every moment of her "One Nation" roadtrip will be scrutinized for clues as to what she's thinking about 2012. We at the Wire would like to offer you a handy guide for how to read these tea leaves.
Gettysburg: Running.
Fort Sumter: Definitely running. This is where the South first rebelled. Those maverick Confederates didn't take any guff from the Establishment.
Bull Run: Not running. In this early Civil War battle, Wikipedia explains, Union Gen. Irwin McDowell's "ambitious plan for a surprise flank attack against the Confederate left was not well executed by his inexperienced officers and men... The Confederates launched a strong counterattack and as the Union troops began withdrawing under pressure, many panicked and it turned into a rout as they frantically ran in the direction of nearby Washington, D.C." Attacking the left flank does not always guarantee a victory.