The Money: Sarah Palin’s political action committee collected $865,800 in contributions for the second quarter of this year, more than in any previous three-month period. As of June 30, SarahPAC had more than $1 million cash on hand. Beyond the $87,500 contributed to conservative candidates, the committee also spent nearly twice as much as it had previously on list-building and direct mail. The move from online fundraising only, where she has garnered a remarkably high percentage of donations under $200, to slick direct mail solicitations shows a ramping up for things to come. Though she does not yet have a backroom machine like Gov. Mitt Romney, the addition of political staff hints at a coalescing campaign organization.

The Media: The elephant in the room is impossible to ignore. Though the national media may bray and belittle her, they continue to pay attention to her. Some praise is begrudgingly bestowed. Chuck Todd marvels: “… it is amazing the ability this woman has to get media attention with as little as she does, whether it’s a Twitter or a Facebook update…” Even Kathleen Parker, who declared Palin “Clearly Out of Her League,” now sees Sarah as “a genius” noting, “This woman is not to be feared or loathed…she’s a public relations machine who manipulates public perception with well-timed and, recently, sophisticated messaging.” Whether driven by jealousy or pure capitalism, media coverage of Palin continues, and it helps sell magazines and generate clicks. (Just wait for the cavalcade of cover stories to come on daughter Bristol’s re-engagement to Levi Johnston. The franchise grows.)

The Mamas: An endorsement from Sarah is second-to-none. The coveted mantle of Mama Grizzly has been shared with a growing list of candidates, men and women alike. Her latest endorsements include Karen Handel for Georgia governor, Ann Marie Buerkle for New York’s 25th district, CeCe Heil for Tennessee’s 5th, and Rep. Todd Tiahrt from Kansas for senator. The former governor of Alaska has awakened an enviable constituency no other Republican leader has: conservative mamas and papas. The newly released SarahPAC video, with already over 368,000 views, is not slick but very well done, in part because it’s not highly produced. It’s rough documentary feel oozes authenticity—what voters are craving right now.