Sarah Palin, Tea Party favorite: I'd run in 2012 if "nobody else wanted to step up"

New York Daily News ^ | Thursday, September 23rd 2010 | Aliyah Shahid

[presidio9]

The former half-term Alaska governor said she "would offer [herself] up in the name of service to the public" and run for President in two years if "nobody else wanted to step up" during an interview on Fox News on Wednesday night.

Her latest statements have added further speculation that Palin is winking and nudging her way toward a 2012 run, especially with last Saturday’s visit to Iowa for a GOP fund-raiser.

Iowa, of course, is a key early presidential voting state, with the caucuses there a critical first step on the road to securing a party's presidential nomination.

During the interview with host Greta Van Susteren, Palin said a reason to run would for President is if no one comes forward with "solutions that are needed to get the economy back on the right track."

She said that included "fighting those on the extreme left who seem to want to dismantle some of our national security tools that we have in place."

But the former vice presidential candidate, whose recent endorsements have helped several GOP contenders win their primaries, has been coy about an official announcement. Palin said she wasn’t lured by a presidential title or personal power.

"I also know that anybody -- anybody -- can make a huge difference in this country without a title, without an office, just being out there as an advocate for solutions that can work to get the country on the right track," she said. "And that’s where I am now."

[WAW]

That ‘concerned troll’ bs yesterday was entertaining...

I am not ‘concerned.’ I am patient.

I have no problem with the idea of Sarah Palin, candidate. That statement has not changed and is not equivocated.

I see no problem and no contradiction in waiting to see what others have to say and see how the field shapes up.

Last season, a lot of folks jumped early to Romney...And I was patient...

A lot of folks jumped in with Ron Paul...And I was patient...

A lot of folks jumped in with Thompson...And I was patient..

So, if you’re concerned with my idea of being patient...So, be it. Feel free to feel concerned. My decision process is my own and I feel very comfortable with it. And I make no pretence at telling you how you should decide.

Please give me the same manner of respect.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Respect is earned here. You are new, and therefore your credit account is low.

[WAW]

I have been lurking here for a long time.

And it is my belief that respect is mutual. Give some, expect some. Give none, expect none.

[Babu]

... what we definitely do not need is somebody saying, "Well, I guess I could if nobody else wants to." The Presidency is not for those who would take it under those circumstances.

Begging to differ ... I think you misunderstand where she is coming from. I think it is quite healthy that her ego is NOT such that she just HAS to be president to feel fulfilled. But that she is willing to serve in that capacity if she feels in her heart the country needs her services. This is how I feel she approaches it. And IMHO, if she decides to run, and were to succeed, she would dive into the job 100%. She has proven that in the past when she has taken on goals.

George Washington did not want to be president, because he did not have an outsize ego. But when the country called, and he felt his service was needed, he gave the job his very best effort. This is the attitude of a principled citizen statesman, as opposed to an out of control egotist, which is what we have in most politicians, unfortunately. The result is that today, the "leaders" in Wash. D.C. are destroying the currency, the Constitution, and the economy.