Former US vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin already chose who to root for in the on-going tussle for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party during a district convention in her home town of Wasilla, Alaska. However, the ex-governor refuses to name her presidential bet.
A field reporter for CNN caught Palin after she cast her ballot and asked her who gets her support. Palin declined to be specific and would rather keep her silence on the matter.
“I would not tell you who I voted for in this presidential preference poll,” Palin flatly told the reporter. The former running mate of John McCain during the 2008 US presidential election also expressed her interest to see the current presidential nominees go through the long process of selection.
“I do believe that competition makes all of our candidates better,” Palin said.
Palin’s husband Todd already announced that he is supporting Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign.
The interview also provided Palin a platform to hurl some comments against President Barack Obama and his administration. Palin has been a vocal critic of Obama and his policies, especially on the War on Terror campaign and the rising deficits of the government.
“I want to see the process continue, more debate about who it is who can bust through the Orwellian Obama rhetoric and pandering that we see in the incumbent.
“Remember, there are five men running for president, and I think Barack Obama is the worst choice, is the last choice. So the four in front of him, as they duke it out in the arena of ideas and solutions to propose, the more of that, the better,” Palin stated in an interview.
Although not explicitly, Palin slightly hinted of a possible presidential run in 2016. When pressed for a concrete statement about running in 2016, the former Alaska governor simply said “anything in this life, in this world is possible.”
She also added that she is seriously considering “whatever I can do to help our country to put things back on the right track.”
Her appearance on CNN caught many by surprise, since Palin is now a paid analyst for Fox News.
Palin started her political career as a councilor of the City of Wasilla in 1992. Four years later, the former Miss Alaska third runner-up caused a momentous upset by beating incumbent Wasilla City Mayor John Stein. In 1999, Palin ran for mayor and faced Stein again and won by a huge margin, 909 votes to 292.
After her second term as Mayor of Wasilla, Palin ran for lieutenant governor in 2002 but was defeated by Loren Leman in a five-nominee Republican primary. In 2006, she successfully wrested the Republican gubernatorial nomination from incumbent Governor Frank Murkowski. She went on to defeat ex Democratic governor Tony Knowles by a margin of 48.3% to 40.9%. In the process, Palin became the first female-governor of Alaska.
Palin is well known to the world as the woman who ran for vice president in 2008. Since registering in 1982, Palin has remained a solid Republican.