'Ready for Another Revolution!'

"How's that hopey-changey thing workin' out for you?" Sarah Palin asked a crowd of 1,100 gathered for the first National Tea Party Convention Saturday night, part of a 40-minute speech assaulting the Obama administration and pumping up the conservative faithful. "America is ready for another revolution," Palin said. The former vice-presidential candidate challenged the White House's approach to national security, particularly its treatment of the Christmas Day bomber, and the president's handling of the economy. She said those gathered for the Nashville event had "both party machines running scared." Palin's reported $100,000 speaking fee caused some controversy within the grassroots movement. Two elected officials, Republican Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, pulled out of speaking engagements at the tea party conference, fearing possible ethics violations because of the murky financial status of the event's sponsor, a for-profit group, Tea Party Nation.