From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

Palin's next scene on the national stage could come as early as February, at a major conservative convention in D.C.

The event is called the Conservative Political Action Conference, and Palin was supposed to be the keynote last February, before she became a household name.

When Palin couldn't make it, Vice President Dick Cheney stepped in.

"I wonder if it would have made a difference in the campaign, because CPAC is a well-attended event and it certainly would have put her on the national stage many months prior to the election," Director Lisa De Pasquale said in a phone interview this morning.

The convention isn't affiliated with the Republican Party, but big-name Republicans make a point of stopping by. It’s where Mitt Romney conceded to John McCain this year, and where John McCain drew boos from self-described Reagan conservatives when he talked about immigration.

Now the 2009 convention is just two months away, and Palin's expected to be there, Pasquale said.

"It probably will be her next big speech."

Palin spokesman Bill McAllister said in an e-mail that Palin has been invited but hasn't confirmed. The CPAC says Palin confirmed she'd attend back in April, but has not confirmed a date or time that she would speak at this year's event.

As local blogger Celtic Diva noted over the weekend, news that the CPAC was planning for Palin to attend surfaced in November but drew little attention.

Roughly 7,100 came to this year's conference. About half are college students, according to the CPAC.

The group invited Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan to be the keynote speaker, but everyone's asking about Palin, De Pasquale said.

McCain, meantime, was not invited to speak at this year's convention.

Why not?

"That I'll leave to our chairman," De Pasquale said.

She said the conference is about up-and-comers and people the sponsors want to hear speak. "It just hasn't come up," she said of a McCain invite.

The CPAC doesn't pay speakers, De Pasquale said.

She said the group also doesn't pay for speakers' travel or lodging.

So who would pay those costs?

"As she hasn't confirmed, ipso facto, we haven't crossed that bridge yet," McAllister said in an e-mail.