Former Alaska Gov. and widely speculated 2012 Republican presidential candidate Sarah Palin returned to Iowa during her book tour for America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag. On Sunday, Palin stopped by a Borders Bookstore in West Des Moines, and she is scheduled to return to the state on Thursday to sign more copies of her book at a Walmart in Spirit Lake, located in state Republican’s home base of northwest Iowa.

Access to Palin was strictly limited throughout the event, with a host of restrictions put in place. Fans were barred from bringing personal belongings to the signing table besides a copy of her latest book; pictures with the Republican celebrity were not allowed. Autographs were not personalized, and outside of an impromptu meet-and-greet with fans after the event, reporters were not allowed to ask questions. When a reporter from the Des Moines Register questioned Palin about her presidential plans, her only response was to say “Oh my goodness,” and return to signing a book for a supporter.

The event proved Palin’s star status in the Republican party, with more than 530 people attending according to the Register. While that indicates that she has a strong base of fervent supporters to tap if she enters the Republican nomination process, it may also foretell future problems in running a successful caucus campaign. This lack of personal touch is likely to play poorly and is against the expectations most Iowans have developed for the caucus process. Her star power may allow her to bypass the small, local coffee shop appearances that define most campaigns, but she will likely still be expected to take questions from the media and undecided Republican voters. She has also largely bypassed meeting with members of the state party infrastructure, traditionally one of the key building blocks to launching a successful campaign.

Republicans weighing future presidential bids often utilize book tours as a convenient excuse to visit Iowa or New Hampshire before they have officially started running a campaign. In addition to her two stops this week, Palin visited Iowa last December when her first book, Going Rogue, was released. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich signed copies of his latest book earlier this month, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has been to the Hawkeye State twice in 2010, with the first visit as part of his book tour. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, on the other hand, decided to skip an Iowa or New Hampshire visit on his ongoing book tour, which is heavily concentrated in Florida and California, though Huckabee did return to Iowa recently for the first time since the spring, appearing at an event for his ally Bob Vander Plaat’s new conservative organization.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum is spending Monday and Tuesday in New Hampshire. He has been one of the most frequent travelers to the presidential states; this marks his seventh visit to the Granite State, and he has already been to Iowa on five separate occasions in 2010 alone. Politico reports that Santorum plans to return to Iowa once again before the end of the year. While the former Pennsylvania senator has not officially begun a presidential campaign, he has not minced words that his repeated trips to the two states are due to their positioning in the nominating calender.