Sarah Palin's India trip: Proof she's not running?

A new burst of speculation about Sarah Palin's future erupted this week, following reports that the former Republican vice presidential candidate is making a trip to India in March. Some see Palin's trip, to speak at a New Delhi conference, as a sign that she's trying to brush up on world affairs before a presidential run. Others say that if Palin were running, she would have attended the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), or scheduled a visit to an early primary state, such as New Hampshire, instead of India. What do Palin's travel plans say about her future?

This is a sign Palin will not run: Primary season is less than a year away, says Andrew Cline at the New Hampshire Union Leader. At this stage, no "serious presidential candidate" would make a foreign jaunt a "higher priority" than a trip to touch base with voters in New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first 2012 primary. "Chalk this up as one more bit of evidence that she's probably not running."

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Palin needs the foreign experience: This proves Palin has her eyes on the White House, says Jordan Fabian at The Hill. India "boasts one of the world's fastest-growing economies," and this "high-profile policy conference" will be attended by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei. This is a golden opportunity for Palin to "burnish her foreign-policy credentials," which were the subject of ridicule when she ran in 2008.

"Palin will travel to India next month"

If Palin is running, this won't help: Maybe this bid for "foreign policy cred" is a sign Palin will run, says William Browning at Yahoo! News. But it won't improve her chances. Giving a paid speech in India just doesn't add enough to her resume to offset the damage of her recent "slap in the face" to conservatives. Squeezing in CPAC, a gathering of "11,000 of her closest political friends," would have been a better use of her time.

"Sarah Palin seeks foreign policy credibility through India visit"