Until Wednesday, Fox News had on its payroll five potential candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. It now has only three after it suspended Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, both of whom have acknowledged that they're exploring the possibility of making a bid for the nomination. That still leaves three other possible candidates on the air at Fox -- Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and John Bolton. Huckabee has his own weekend show, while Palin and Bolton are paid contributors. Asked by today's (Thursday) Los Angeles Times why they weren't suspended as well, a Fox spokesman said that none of the three have indicated that they plan to set up presidential exploratory committees. Last week Huckabee told The National Journal, "The day I say 'I'm running,' that's the day I don't have an income." And on MSNBC Wednesday night, Lawrence O'Donnell, host of The Last Word, remarked that he believes Palin will never give up her "million dollar Fox paycheck" to run for president.

03/03/2011