Sarah Palin Makes Surprise Visit To Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A surprise visit amidst speculation that she'll make a run for president. Sarah Palin's bus tour rolled into Baltimore Monday.
WJZ was there for the high-profile visit.
Mike Schuh reports Sarah Palin spent less than an hour at Fort McHenry. She doesn't usually speak to reporters but Monday she spoke to WJZ and told us she's considering running for president.
Sarah Palin's One Nation bus tour across the East Coast made a surprise stop at the national park.
"Governor Palin, what brings you to Baltimore?" asked WJZ's Adam May, in a rare interview.
"Very happy to get to be here," Palin responded.
"Have you ever been to Baltimore before?"
"I have been to Baltimore. Yes, I've never been [to Fort McHenry] though, so it's going to be great to see what inspired our Star-Spangled Banner," said Palin.
Political experts believe Palin is using this tour to set up an announcement that she will run for the GOP nomination for president.
May: "When are you planning to announce that you're running for president?"
Palin: "When I decide if I'm ever going to run for president."
May: "And what's going to go into making that decision?"
Palin: "You know, it's a continued process of contemplating what it is that we have in front of us as a family and what the field looks like and it's going to be a changed up field between now and when deadlines finally arrive for declaring."
The governor observed a moment of silence for fallen soldiers. She picked up a 40-pound cannon ball and posed for pictures with some of her fans.
"We got surprised with seeing Sarah Palin which was a highlight of our trip this weekend," said one fan.
But more than 60 percent of Marylanders did not vote for the vice-presidential candidate in 2008.
"I'm not that impressed. To tell you the truth, I'm just not a fan of hers," said another person. "There's no big game up here. She could have caught a Kodiak bear down there in the harbor for all I care."
Many Maryland voters wanted more than a quick stop at one of our nation's most historic sites to change their minds.
Governor Palin also sang the praises of Texas governor, Rick Perry. He has not officially announced that he will also seek the GOP nomination. If Palin is running for president that would be a rather unusual move to speak so highly about a potential competitor.
Sarah Palin is running a very close third among Republican contenders in the most recent polls, but the field of candidates continues to grow.
In two days, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is expected to announce his bid for the nomination.
Tea Party favorite Michelle Bachman and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum are expected to join the field soon.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is also considering a run, though he hasn't announced his candidacy yet either.
One of the state's which nominates candidates early, New Hampshire, is set to hold its first debate in about two weeks.
Palin tells her employer "Fox News" she doesn't feel any pressure to announce whether she's running, saying "I don't think I owe anything to the mainstream media."
