Romney Cruisin’ Toward 2012?

NYT:
Guess who is conveniently leaving tomorrow on a Caribbean cruise with influential conservative leaders now that the election is over and Republicans are pondering their future?
Yep, Mitt Romney, widely believed to be planning another run for president in 2012.
Mr. Romney, who sought the Republican nomination in 2008, is one of the headliners for the National Review’s post-election cruise, which departs tomorrow for six days of sun and conversation about restoring the Republican brand in fabulous ports of call in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Turks and Caicos.
It is the same annual confab that fortuitously visited Alaska last year, stopping off to meet Gov. Sarah Palin, and, thereby, helping to send her on a trajectory, according to a recent New Yorker article, to be plucked from relative obscurity to become Senator John McCain’s running mate.
Conservative elites from that cruise, along with one organized by the Weekly Standard that also visited Alaska, came away enamored by Ms. Palin, who worked hard to court them, the article said.Ms. Palin, of course, is back in Alaska and does not have a ticket to this year’s get-together. Mr. Romney will share the stage with Fred D. Thompson and other guest speakers.
For a taste of the goings-on aboard ship, here is a description from the Web site: “This is not your typical cruise. Guests of National Review will enjoy informative seminars and extensive interaction with our guest speakers; numerous social events; dining with fellow conservatives as well as guest speakers; and a wonderful sense of sharing and camaraderie.
The cruise will include cocktail receptions, evening cigar and cognac smokers, dinners together, group excursions, and seminar sessions.”
Mr. Romney has kept busy since dropping out of the race for president, campaigning vigorously for Senator John McCain, Mr. Romney’s former rival, and raising more than $400,000 for Republican candidates and causes through his political action committee.
Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for Mr. Romney, batted away the notion that the trip amounts to early preparations for 2012, pointing out the National Review endorsed Mr. Romney during the Republican primary and that “this is as much a thank you, as it is a chance to look to some of the challenges that are facing our country.”