Palin: Alaska tour is thanks, not goodbye

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By Matthew Daly ASSOCIATED PRESS

UNALAKLEET, Alaska -- She was greeted like a rock star in Unalakleet, a fishing village on the Bering Sea. She danced with Eskimos in Kotzebue. And she watched grizzlies at a wildlife sanctuary on the Kenai Peninsula.

In all, Gov. Sarah Palin has been on eight trips outside her Anchorage base since announcing her resignation two weeks ago. Is this farewell tour the start of a possible presidential campaign for 2012?

Mrs. Palin insists it isn't, although she still won't say what plans she has after she steps down as Alaska governor on July 26, with 18 months left to her first term.

"I am Alaskan. I've grown up here, and I'm going to remain in Alaska," she told the Associated Press in an interview. "It's not farewell. It's more like thanks for letting me be here, and I'll see you soon."

Mrs. Palin largely has avoided the media limelight in the past two weeks and dodged questions about her future plans. But she hints she has a bigger role in mind, and she plans to launch her new platform by speaking her mind on the social networking site Twitter.

Mrs. Palin said she is eager to begin life as a private citizen.

"Once I am 'Sarah Palin, Alaskan,' I can really call it like I see it," she said.

Mrs. Palin waves off any talk of running for president.

"I look forward to continuing to work for Alaska and for energy independence and for the contribution that Alaska could and should be making to allow our nation to be more secure and more prosperous," she said.

Some have speculated she plans to build on her near-celebrity status as a conservative talk-show host, perhaps for Fox News, or launch a lucrative speaking tour. If her reception Friday in Unalakleet is any indication, she has a strong base of support.