The political crannies of the 'net seem to be abuzz with debates as to whether or not Sarah Palin is going to run for president. I don't know what's in her heart or plans but I'd like to suggest that the folks debating her intentions are missing a key point.
There's "running for president" the way people named Bush or Clinton run for president, which is because they think they have a good chance of winning and that's the goal. There's also "running for president" the way it's been done by Pat Buchanan and Ralph Nader and (I guess) Ron Paul and others, which is as a way to get attention and to perhaps attain other, lesser goals. None of those gents ever thought they'd win but they thought there was a value to being a candidate. Maybe it promoted their causes, maybe it promoted them, maybe there was even some money in it. So they "ran."
I think Sarah Palin is at least running for president in the Buchanan/Nader sense. She may well have it in her head that it's not impossible that could bleed into the other kind of candidacy…but she attracts crowds and press just by running in any sense. At the very least, she has much to lose by closing the door to a 2012 bid for the White House. So she's always going to leave that door as wide open as she can.