Amid media circus, Palin lays out policy positions

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

In the last week Sarah Palin has commanded the attention of the national press corps simply by taking in a few tourist sites on the East Coast. Whenever she stops her "One Nation" bus, reporters lucky or canny enough to keep up with her have asked about her political intentions. Will she run for president? Is she thinking about running for president? If she ran for president, how would she campaign?
One thing many viewers have probably missed in all the horse-race speculation is that Palin is perfectly willing to discuss her positions on key issues, if anyone wants to ask. In fact, in recent days, weeks, and months, we've seen a lot of policy commentary from the former Alaska governor.

For example, during the bus trip, Palin took a stand on an issue that is crucial for candidates considering a run in the Iowa caucuses. "I think that all of our energy subsidies need to be re-looked at today and eliminated," Palin told RealClearPolitics. "We've got to allow the free market to dictate what's most efficient and economical for our nation's economy." What that means is Palin opposes the infamous ethanol subsidy that some presidential aspirants are afraid to question, lest they lose support in heavily agricultural Iowa.

Palin has also been speaking out in support of Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan -- another question that Republicans, and certainly all Republican presidential candidates, have had to answer. Palin supports the Ryan plan and even adds that she'd like to include Social Security in the deficit-cutting mix (something Ryan left out). And when Palin criticizes President Obama's inaction on the deficit, even David Brooks, the New York Times columnist who once said Palin "represents a fatal cancer to the Republican Party," observes that, "Sarah Palin is right about that. He has no plan."