WASHINGTON—Sarah Palin rumbled through Washington on the back of a Harley motorcycle as she and her family began an East Coast tour on Sunday, renewing speculation that the former Alaska governor would join the still unsettled Republican presidential contest.
Wearing a black leather jacket and surrounded by a throng of cheering fans, Palin and family members jumped on bikes and joined thousands of other motorcyclists on the Memorial Day weekend ride from the Pentagon to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Palin didn’t mention politics as she visited with participants, but she smiled broadly when many in the crowd urged her to run.
When one man asked her if she was running, she smiled and answered, “Don’t know.”
Palin, the party’s 2008 vice presidential candidate, remains one of the biggest questions for Republicans, who have not yet settled on a frontrunner to challenge President Barack Obama’s re-election. While many of Palin’s likely rivals have worked to build campaign organizations in early nominating states, such as Iowa or New Hampshire, Palin has taken no concrete steps to begin a presidential campaign.
Given Palin’s star power, she might be able to wait longer than others. But the clock is ticking, the party establishment isn’t happy with its options and one of the earliest tests of campaign infrastructure, the straw poll in Ames, Iowa, is scheduled for August.
Palin showed no hints she would join the field on Sunday although she again demonstrated her ability to build excitement and practice the person-to-person, retail politics that she clearly loves. In heels and black flair slacks, Palin shook hands and posed for pictures with well-wishers.
“How do you wear all this leather and stay cool?” she asked one woman. Palin asked others to show off their tattoos as she took off her own leather jacket and worked her way through a crush of fans, photographers and reporters.
Just before she, husband Todd and daughter Piper rolled from the Pentagon’s parking lot, she gave a thumbs up to a military police officer who asked if he could snap a picture while taking a break from directing traffic.
IN PHOTO -- Sarah Palin, former GOP vice-presidential candidate and Alaska governor, rides on the back of a motorcycle at the beginning of Rolling Thunder at the Pentagon on Sunday, during the Memorial Day weekend in Washington. --AP
