Sarah Palin not ready to endorse ‘with the field as it stands’

In the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses, the presidential candidates who make up the 2012 GOP field won't be able to look to Sarah Palin, who ran for vice president in 2008, for a boost in the state.

In a Fox News appearance Sunday, Palin said that she would not endorse anyone "with the field as it stands."

"My endorsement is going to be with sincerity and enthusiasm and I am just not there yet . . . with the field as it stands," Palin said. "And there's no need to endorse until that enthusiasm is within me, in my gut."

"As soon as I feel that that person who understands the fiscal crisis especially that America faces and knows what to do about it then I will feel that enthusiasm and I will endorse, but I'm not ready yet," she added.

Palin downplayed the influence her endorsement would have on the race, but despite the drop in attention she has received in the media since announcing that she wouldn't run herself, any of the campaigns would welcome an official nod from the tea party favorite.

Palin also left the door open for the possibility that she wouldn't endorse any of the candidates currently in the race--perhaps throwing her support to an as-yet unknown latecomer or third-party candidate. When asked any of the candidates now in the field met her criteria, Palin responded, "I honestly don't know yet."

"As the process continues more vetting will take place and we'll all be able to make a choice," Palin said.

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