Sarah Palin believes she can beat Obama in 2012
Her comments in an ABC News interview, combined with excerpts from an interview with the New York Times, were among the first formal indications that Palin could be a major contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.
Palin told ABC News that she's "looking at the lay of the land" for a possible presidential bid and "trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family."
Asked whether she could beat Obama, Palin, 46, the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee, replied, "I believe so."
She separately told the New York Times that she is considering a run for the presidency.
Palin resigned the governorship of Alaska in 2009 after serving little more than half her term in order to publicize her book, Going Rogue.
She has stormed the country as a popular speaker who energizes crowds, especially those of the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party that threw out party stalwarts in the nominating process for congressional elections earlier this month.
She is a well-paid commentator on conservative Fox News cable channel. On Sunday, the TLC channel launched a reality show called "Sarah Palin's Alaska" that shows her climbing glaciers, fishing in Alaskan waters with bears as her neighbours and cooking with her children.
In the most recent Gallup poll of Republicans about the 2012 presidential candidate, Palin tied with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for second place with 16 per cent support. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney still claims top billing with 19 per cent, as he has done through several recent polls, Kazinform cites Trend News. See www.en.trend.az for full version.
