Sen. Jim DeMint, who is hosting his Palmetto Freedom Forum of the top GOP presidential candidates in South Carolina this evening, says he doesn’t think 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin will enter the race.
"It doesn't appear” that the former Alaska governor will enter the race, the South Carolina Republican said during a CBS interview this morning. "She's done a lot, I think, to engage the American people and stir things up, which we really needed to do, to get American citizens more involved in the process. It made a big difference in the last election. My hope is it'll make an even bigger difference in the next election, as people take back their government."
DeMint, a tea party favorite whose endorsement is expected to carry a lot of clout, demurred when asked to name a frontrunner.
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"It's still very early," he said. "We've got all the top candidates in South Carolina today, and we're gonna give them a chance to define themselves on their terms, to talk about the American vision, to talk about what they would do differently than Barack Obama. So, I think we'll learn a lot from the candidates. This is not a gotcha meeting with sound-bite answers. We're gonna give each candidate over 20 minutes on the stage by themselves to talk about their vision for America."
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