Palin: I'll run for president "if there's nobody else to do it"

The Alaskan conservative drops the strongest hint yet about her 2012 ambitions. Karl Rove, for one, isn't convinced

The Entertainment Tonight interview is not the first time Sarah Palin has teased a 2012 presidential bid.
(Image credit: YouTube)

The video: The ever-present murmur of speculation about Sarah Palin's presidential ambitions grew louder this week, as the Alaskan conservative admitted in a rare TV interview on "Entertainment Tonight" that she'd run in 2012 if "there's nobody else to do it." (Watch clip below.) Palin qualified that her decision would also "entail a discussion with my family [and] a real close look at the lay of the land." By some indications, the GOP establishment isn't entirely supportive; veteran strategist Karl Rove recently told a British newspaper he wasn't sure Palin has the "gravitas" to succeed in 2012.

The reaction: Obviously, "this is not the first time that Ms. Palin has teased a 2012 bid," says Ashley Parker at The New York Times. However, this statement "cracked open the door to a presidential bid just a little bit wider." But Rove makes a "very good point," says Jonathan Capeheart at The Washington Post. If Palin's unfavorable ratings remain as high as they are, she's not going anywhere "near the White House." Watch the "ET" segment here:

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