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NEW YORK – For more than a year, Sarah Palin has been one of the most famous political and cultural figures in the country. even by that standard, though, last week was an extraordinary one.

On Thursday came word that the former Alaska governor was working on a TV series about her home state, currently being pitched by one of television’s top producers. A day before that, her publishers announced she was embarking on a second book, a follow-up to her blockbuster “Going Rogue.”

And a day before THAT, she was the prize guest on Jay Leno’s second day back as host of “Tonight” show, along with Olympic champion Shaun White and “American Idol” star Adam Lambert. She ruminated on politics, praising the Tea Party movement, and on journalism, discussing her gig as a Fox analyst. then she went behind a curtain and returned to perform a full standup comedy routine.

“The truth is, though, I’m glad that I’m not vice president,” she said. “I would not know what to do with all that free time.” Ba dum bum.

A little politics, a little journalism, and a whole lotta celebrity, all in a week’s work. (Her foray to an Oscar gift suite made news, too.) but toward what end? A 2012 presidential bid? A daily talk show? An Oprah-like dominance of the pop culture sphere? Everybody’s dying to know Palin’s plans, and that makes her celebrity all the more potent.

But beyond that, many see her as just the most prominent example of a phenomenon that is larger than even her: the gradual blurring of the worlds of politics, celebrity and the media.

The shifting boundaries of politics and media have been apparent for some time. The networks, especially cable news, have opened doors — sometimes revolving ones — for former speechwriters and campaign operatives. more recent, though, are the trips through those doors of the candidates themselves. Former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has his own show on Fox, for example.

CAPITAL CULTURE: Palin straddles increasingly blurred worlds of politics, media, celebrity