Palin to Newsweek: 'I Can Win'

In a move that signals she may be closer to making a run for the presidency, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said, “I believe I can win a national election.” Palin made her remark in a 4,000-word cover story in Newsweek.

“The people of America are desperate for positive change, and deserving of positive change, to get us off of this wrong track,” she told Newsweek in a long conversation in Iowa after attending the premiere of the documentary about her, “The Undefeated.” “I’m not so egotistical as to believe that it has to be me, or it can only be me, to turn things around,” she said. “But I do believe that I can win.”

She added that her daughter Bristol has made up her mind about her mother running for president. “I think Bristol has made up her mind, and Bristol wants me to run for president,” she said. “But we’re still thinking about it. I’m still thinking about it.”

Paradoxically, one thing that would keep her out of the race is her family. “If it came down to the family just saying, ‘Please, Mom, don’t do this,’ then that would be the deal-killer for me, because your family’s gotta be in it with you,” she told the magazine.

However, she also hinted that her family would not try to dissuade her from entering the race. “My kids know that life isn’t supposed to be easy, and it’s certainly not fair,” she told Newsweek. “And they know that, even on their end, they have to make some sacrifices for the greater good.”

Palin’s husband Todd, who sat in on part of the interview, said, “Do I want her to run?” “It’s up to her. I mean, we’ll discuss it. But she’s definitely qualified to run this country. And she’s got a fire in the belly to serve,” the magazine reported.