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Palin fuels presidential bid speculation

Updated: 2011-06-30 11:06

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Republican Sarah Palin said on Tuesday she is still considering a potential 2012 presidential run, though her daughter said she has already made up her mind and is keeping the decision secret for now.

Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2008, attended the premiere of a flattering documentary about her, The Undefeated, at the opera house in this small Iowa town.

Palin has carefully left the door open to a campaign. Her appearance in Iowa was likely to encourage those who think the former Alaska governor still might jump into a wide-open race.

After watching the movie, Palin spoke to the crowd of 300 who attended the premiere and said the documentary helps set the record straight about her background, which she believes has been distorted by the US news media.

Her visit came a day after Michele Bachmann, a Republican member of the US House of Representatives who is often compared to Palin, launched her own presidential campaign in Iowa, and at a time when many candidates, even President Barack Obama, are touring the early voting state to seek support.

The Midwestern state holds the first contest on the road to the Republican 2012 presidential nomination.

Palin's daughter Bristol, a mini-celebrity in her own right, added to the political buzz by saying on Fox News that her mother had made up her mind already about whether to seek the nomination and that she would like to see Sarah Palin run.

"She definitely knows," Bristol Palin said when asked whether Sarah Palin had made up her mind. She said the decision would remain within the family for now.

Palin brushed aside her daughter's comments as she arrived for the premiere, saying: "It's a tough decision, it's a big decision to decide whether to run for office or not. I'm still contemplating."

And after the movie, Palin said she still has plenty of time to decide whether to make the commitment.

However, she did add, "You don't need a title, you don't need a political position" to be involved, a potential signal that she may be leaning against a run.

Palin launched a "One Nation" bus tour in late May of the eastern United States and plans are said to be in the works for another tour at some point. But she has almost no campaign infrastructure, while the race to be the Republican candidate to challenge Obama is now well under way.

If Palin were to run, she and Bachmann would likely be competing for the same social conservative voters who are powerful in Iowa, whose caucuses next February are the first voting contest of the 2012 nomination battle.

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About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.