Surely by coincidence, three of the people most often listed as likely candidates for the GOP's 2012 presidential nomination - Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, and Newt Gingrich - have been spending some time in Iowa lately. Huckabee was in the state this past weekend, Palin is visiting Des Moines to promote her book this week (on News Corp's dime), and Gingrich swung by the state last week.

As we've noted, all three have benefited from their platform as Fox News employees, using their employment at the network to position themselves for possible presidential runs.

And a fourth Fox candidate, Rick Santorum, was interviewed by National Review Online last month about his increased presence in Iowa, during which he told the magazine that his role on Fox has “been big,” and “helped folks remember who I am...it's a great platform, being able to talk about the current issues of the day.”

In recent weeks, as likely 2012 candidates have begun to slowly transform into actual candidates, Fox finds itself in yet another ethical mess. While the network has claimed it will immediately end the contract of any employee that officially declares their candidacy, it's quite clear based on the actions of Santorum, Huckabee, Palin, and Gingrich, that they are at least dipping their toes in the 2012 pool - a reality acknowledged by Fox itself, which has admitted that Palin “certainly sounds like” she is running.

Now Mike Huckabee is joking to the Des Moines Register about wanting fellow Fox employee Sarah Palin's endorsement if he decides to run. If Fox had any concerns about ethics, they would immediately suspend the contracts of their employees that are exploring presidential runs.

But they don't, so they won't.