On April 16, Palin will be attending the Vanderburgh County Right to Life dinner in Evansville, IN, as well as a breakfast the next day for S.M.I.L.E., a nonprofit organization for people with family members who have Down syndrome. Palin’s spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton, said Palin will be taking a “36-hour vacation” to attend the events in Indiana. Palin’s political action committee will pay for the travel.

Palin was replaced as the keynote speaker at the Republican dinner in Washington by Newt Gingrich. The event’s organizers grew tired of waiting for her to commit to the party’s big spring fundraising gala.

Stapleton said Palin would not agree to political events until after April 20, when the Alaska legislative session ends. “She is focused on Alaska,” Stapleton said today.

And while Palin’s camp claimed no hard feelings about being replaced by Gingrich, Stapleton said, “She probably would have said yes if they could have waited.”

Stapleton could not explain why Palin would say yes to a political event in Indiana and not attend a political event in Washington. However, she did note that Palin wanted to honor her son Trigg, who has Down syndrome, at the S.M.I.L.E. event in Indiana.

It’s possible there could be a huge increase in political travel by Palin after the legislative session in Alaska ends. “There are thousands of requests” for appearances across the country, Stapleton said.

Palin has to run for re-election in 2010 and is expected to be in Alaska conducting the people’s business. She has to balance her events outside the state and WILL have to limit them.

A short 36 hour midweek trip to Indiana is probably a better move than a Washington “elite” dinner in DC. There will be plenty of time for those when Palin relaunches on the national political stage.

The Indiana event will also feature Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.