...............I know I am on the tail end of this thread but I just want to add my two cents which is that if Sarah intends to run she is doing exactly the right thing and if I were her I would keep doing it right up until the last minute, just like Reagan. Here’s a few reasons:
1. Bachman is about done and Palin has not had to say one bad thing about her, Pawlenty already bailed and several other canidates are on their way out the door. Their expiration is just a matter of time. So, she is letting the process whittle down this group and staying out, or resting up if you will for the real fight coming down the road while not making enemies of the existing candidates and becoming involved in petty disputes with any of them which of course the media would fan the flames on.
2. By staying out she has saved a ton of money. All the other candidates but Romney and Perry are busted.
3. By staying out she will enter the fray fairly refreshed and with a much shorter distance to the finish line.
4. Equally important to keeping the Dims and the press guessing is keeping the Republican establishment guessing. She has accomplished that.
5. I do not believe she is stupid enough or callous enough or so self centered that she would purposefully lead millions of people on with her potential candidacy and then just bail. To be sure, if she bails, millions of people are going to, simply put, not like Sarah Palin anymore. That IS NOT in Sarah’s best interest, to say the least.
Arguably, the best thing that could happen to her is to run, put in a real good showing, but lose in a tight primary fight. Then, she remains relevant like Reagan to try again, doesn’t make millions of loyal supporters mad, and her opportunities to make even more millions in the interim are bolstered, not destroyed. Unlike Reagan she will only be 51 years old in 4 years and 55 in eight.
I agree with everything you said except your last paragraph. We cannot afford to waste four more years. We simply can’t.