From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

As is often the case, there is a lot of national confusion about what Gov. Sarah Palin is doing. National bloggers made much in recent days of the fact that Palin hadn’t joined the new Republican group, the National Council for a New America.

Here’s how Politico blogger Ben Smith put it yesterday: “The governor's absence from the new group produced, alternately, suggestions that she's 'snubbing it' and attacks on its leaders for leaving her out. Earlier this afternoon, a spokesman for Rep. Eric Cantor, who's spearheading the council, said he hadn't heard from Palin.”

Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton then said Palin would indeed join the GOP group. That inspired an Associated Press story declaring that “Palin has joined a list of Republicans who will take part in listening tours across the country.”

So, I asked Stapleton, is Palin heading out on a listening tour?

No, she said, Palin's not going on tour and has no events scheduled with the group.

OK.

What is Palin doing this weekend? The Chicago Tribune's political blog and others are reporting as fact that the governor is going to be Fox News’ guest at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. I asked Stapleton if that’s so.

The response:

“The governor may be on the East Coast this weekend to attend state events and meetings. If she is there, the governor may accept one of the standing invitations for dinner.”

The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute certainly seems to think Palin will be on the East Coast this weekend. The Alaska House, a nonprofit arts and culture center in New York, has been advertising for weeks that invitees can come “sample wild Alaska seafood” with Palin on Friday night at an ASMI event there.