Moon and stars. Bread and butter. Sarah Palin and the Tea Party.

It really is hard to imagine a better combination than Sarah Palin and the Tea Partiers, isn't it? She's made herself one of the movement's top advocates, and it should come as no surprise. When it comes to wild rhetoric, attention-grabbing antics, and scare tactics, these two have plenty in common.

Palin made headlines this week for appearing at a national Tea Party's meeting over the weekend, where she predicted a strong year for Republican gains in Congress and said President Obama's progressive agenda won't last long.

“This party that we call the Tea Party, this movement, as I say, is the future of politics in America," Palin told an enthusiastic crowd that called for her to run for president as she exited the stage.

There were plenty of attacks on Democratic leaders, particularly President Obama, during the former GOP vice presidential candidate's speech, but specifics on Palin's own political plans were few. Notably, she did not rule out a future presidential run, saying in an interview the day after her Tea Party speech that she hasn't "closed the door" on the idea.

While Palin may have served her role in firing up the Tea Party crowd, she's also been receiving plenty of coverage less focused on her message than on her method of delivery. Photos and critiques have been flying since Palin was spotted with written notes scrawled on her hand during the speech -- an apparent "cheat sheet" on what matters most, in case she forgot. The list? Energy, tax cuts, and lifting the American spirit.

Sarah Palin's political action committee certainly isn't feeling the pinch of the recession. The soon-to-be-ex Alaska governor's PAC brought in $733,000 in only six months, according to POLITICO. From the article:

The majority of the money raised by SarahPAC so far has come in the form of “unitemized contributions,” meaning donations of less than $200 each. PACs are not required to name those small donors in their filings with the FEC. The remaining money came through more than 700 different $200-plus contributions made by donors from all around the United States.

Interestingly, while Republicans had hoped the PAC would be a major fundraising tool for them, the committee has only given out two political contributions for a total of $10,000 so far: $5,000 to Sen. John McCain, Palin's former running mate, and $5,000 to Alaskan GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski.