The video: In her least coy comment on the subject to date, Sarah Palin told Fox's Greta Van Susteren that she would run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination if no other candidate "were to step up with the solutions" the country needs to "get the economy back on the right track" and fight "those on the extreme left who seem to want to dismantle some of our national security tools that we have in place." (Watch video below.) But Palin — who recently made appearances in Iowa, a key early-primary state — also says that "anybody can make a huge difference in this country without a title...just being out there as an advocate for solutions that can work...."
The reaction: Palin's hints are "meaningless," says Stephen Stromberg in The Washington Post. She needs to keep people guessing about her "presidential ambitions" to preserve her "unusual marketability" and let her "play kingmaker." But the reality is "she couldn't win"; too many Americans find her unqualified. Make no mistake — Palin's latest is a "straightforward statement of interest in the presidency," says Allahpundit at Hot Air. But the GOP's 2012 nomination won't come down to issues like the economy and national security. The Tea Party has Republicans so scared they'll probably all stick to Palin's "true conservative" line. Watch Palin's comments below:
