The President and Palin to Visit Michigan on May Day

Two of the world's most polarizing politicians will both be in Michigan on May 1.

Sarah Palin and President Barack Obama will be about 50 miles apart as each gives a speech on that day.

Palin will speak May 1 at the Americans for Prosperity's "Defending the American Dream" event at Mt. Zion church in Clarkston. President Obama will give the spring commencement address at the University of Michigan on the same day.

Scott Hagerstrom, the chairman of the Michigan chapter of AFP, said he felt lucky to get Palin, since he was told she gets 2,500 requests a year.

Hagerstrom said one of the reasons he wanted Palin to speak was "her willingness to take on the status quo."

"People are tired of politics as usual," he said.

The AFP event starts at 8 a.m. and goes until 4 p.m. Palin will speak before noon, Hagerstrom said. Tickets range from $59 to $99.

Big-name politicians can earn millions for speaking engagements. CNN reported that Bill Clinton made $51 million for his speaking engagements from 2000 to 2007.

Politico reported that Palin's fee is $100,000 for one event.

Palin has become a favorite of the Tea Party movement.

Ken Matiyow, a Tea Party activist from Shelby Township, said Palin's good looks help her popularity.

"She is so attractive and so popular, the Democrats and liberals are really ticked off she isn't one of them," Matiyow said.

Matiyow said talk show host Rush Limbaugh was right when he said liberals attack those people that they are the most afraid of.

"She does not believe that America is a racist, sexist, homophobic, environmental-destroying, wa-mongering country, which is how Barack Obama and his supporters see this country," Matiyow said.

Not all share his view on Palin.

"I just wish she had stayed in Alaska," wrote Gladys Barrington of Kalamazoo in a message. "She is all talk and no action. ... I think this whole Tea Party thing is a bunch of hooey."