Palin: White House run 'not on my radar'

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is promoting a new book, says she has no plans to run for president but she won't "predict what will happen in a few years."

In an interview with ABC's Barbara Walters, the 2008 Republic vice presidential nominee was asked whether she is considering running for president and said it "isn't on my radar screen right now."

"(But) when you consider some of the ordinary turning into extraordinary events that have happened in my life, I am not one to predict what will happen in a few years," she said.

Palin said she would play a major role in national affairs "if people will have me" and gave President Barack Obama a grade of four out of 10.

"There are a lot of decisions being made that I -- and probably the majority of Americans -- are not impressed with right now," she said. "I think our economy is not being put on the right track, because we're strayed too far from, fundamentally, from free enterprise principles that built our country. And I question, too, some of the dithering, and, hesitation, with some of our national security questions that have got to be answered for our country."

In addition to high-profile appearance with Walters and Oprah Winfrey, Palin is using the Internet and visits to smaller cities to promote "Going Rogue," her book about her life and her time as a vice presidential candidate.

"Keep your powder dry, read the book, and enjoy it!" Palin said on her Facebook page. "Lots of great stories about my family, Alaska, and the incredible honor it was to run alongside (Republican) Senator John McCain."

Palin appeared on Winfrey's show Monday, in an appearance taped last week, and traveled to Grand Rapids, Mich., Fort Wayne, Ind., Washington, Pa., and Roanoke, Va., The Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported Monday.

"I've decided to stop in cities that are not usually included in a typical book tour," Palin said on Facebook, her primary mode of public communication since resigning as governor last July.

The book is critical of the media and of the McCain camp's reported attempt to control Palin and her family during the 2008 campaign, The Daily News reported. Anticipating it would be a best-seller, publisher HarperCollins printed 1.5 million copies of the book, which goes on sale Tuesday.