Palin hints again at presidential aspirations: 'The field is not yet set'

Former Alaska Gov. and newly minted documentary star Sarah Palin graces the cover of the most recent issue of Newsweek, and argues in the accompanying article that she could be a winning Republican candidate in the 2012 presidential race.

"I believe that I can win a national election," Palin told Newsweek's Peter Boyer. “The people of America are desperate for positive change, and deserving of positive change, to get us off of this wrong track. I’m not so egotistical as to believe that it has to be me, or it can only be me, to turn things around. But I do believe that I can win.”

In fact, in addition to the assertions Palin makes in the Newsweek feature, some wonder about other statements she has made and whether she is hinting that she will run. Politico's Jonathan Martin pointed out a Facebook post in which Palin calls for "a strong chief executive [who] has been entrusted with real authority in the past and has achieved a proven track record of positive measurable accomplishments."

Indeed in the Newsweek article, she didn't shy away from the already crowded GOP field for 2012, suggesting there would be room for more.

"Thank goodness the field is not yet set," Palin said. "I think that there does need to be more vigorous debate. There needs to be a larger field. And there’s still time. There’s still months ahead, where more folks can jump in and start articulating their positions.”

Palin's daughter Bristol had said, while on her book tour, that her mother had already decided whether she would run for president. Palin, however, denied that and said that Bristol wanted her to run, but that she herself had not yet made a decision.