After confusion, Palin back on the program for Iowa rally
By: CNN Political Reporter Peter Hamby
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) – She's in again.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is set to appear at a tea party rally in Iowa Saturday, a source close to Palin told CNN.
And Christine O'Donnell is out (again), the source said.
Palin had initially accepted an invitation to speak at the Saturday's "Restoring America Event" in Indianola, an event that generated national buzz as Palin approaches a final decision about whether to run for president.
But members of Palin's staff indicated Wednesday that her appearance was being put "on hold" due to "planning issues" and concerns that the group behind the event, Tea Party of America, was being "dishonest" about the speaking program.
After the confusion, rally organizers "stepped up their game today" and "sorted out" various logistical issues that had concerned the governor's aides, the Palin source told CNN Wednesday afternoon.
The source said event organizers had been sending them "mixed messages" about the program - including the question of whether O'Donnell, the former Delaware Senate candidate whom Palin endorsed in 2010, would participate.
O'Donnell was, for the second time in 48 hours, removed from the program Wednesday afternoon.
Representatives for O'Donnell did not respond to CNN's requests for comment Wednesday, but Ken Crow, one of the rally organizers, told the Des Moines Register that he dis-invited O'Donnell at the Palin camp's request.
The Palin source said O'Donnell's representatives misled the tea party group about the extent of the governor's relationship with O'Donnell.