As candidates edge away from exploratory committees and closer to declaring a run for president, the soul searching gets more intense. Today a source tells Politico that while Jim DeMint has recently told The Hill that he's "talked about" running, it will "literally take an act of God" for him to actually make the leap. That's a strongly worded statement coming from the Senator's camp.

If DeMint does decide against running, it would presumably disappoint the Tea Party faithful whom he aggressively courted as a "best friend in Washington." As The Hill noted, it also leaves South Carolina up for grabs among the currently unsettled GOP field--DeMint's popularity there would give him an "inside track" to win local voters in a competitive primary. Still, judging from these statements below, it doesn't seem like he's a candidate yet.

From Politico's Glenn Thrush:

"The senator said he would pray about it because it will literally take an act of God to get him into the race," a source close to DeMint said Wednesday. "He has been extremely effective in the Senate in terms of advancing conservative principles and helping elect conservative leaders, and that is where his passion is."

From DeMint himself to The Hill last week:

"It’s humbling and out of respect, my wife and I have talked about it,” DeMint said late last week of a possible White House bid. "Out of respect for the people who have asked us to think about this, that’s what we’re going to do. I don’t want to imply that I’m changing in mind, but I want to consider what all these folks are doing."

In summary: he's respectfully considering it because people keep asking him to, but won't heed the Tea Party's beck and call for higher office. For now.

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Erik Hayden