At this point, no one is expecting that Sarah Palin will announce a presidential bid and magically put together an operational campaign in time to be ready to compete in Iowa. And now it looks like Palin is gradually letting everyone know. Last night, while on the air with favorite journalist Greta Van Susteren, she acknowledged what a bunch of political observers had been saying about her all year: she may lose influence if she runs.

Somebody like me--is a title and is a campaign too shackling? Does that prohibit me from being out there, out of a box, not allowing handlers to shape me and to force my message to be what donors or what contributors or what political pundits want it to be? Does a title take away my freedom to call it like I see it and to affect positive change that we need in this country?

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Erik Hayden