[RogerFGay]

... and a successful author, etc. It’s one thing to lose as someone else’s running mate. When she loses on her own, all that popularity will quickly dry up. Her publishers know it. She likely knows it. She’s be derailing her own gravy train, and she would then be without influence.

[unique]

BINGO!

Especially is she loses the nomination as a Republican.

Plus, if she announces that she isn’t running the same thing will happen.

I hope she doesn’t run. She cannot win.

[kevkrom]

... and a successful author, etc. It’s one thing to lose as someone else’s running mate. When she loses on her own, all that popularity will quickly dry up. Her publishers know it. She likely knows it. She’s be derailing her own gravy train, and she would then be without influence.

The counterpoint to that argument is that she only has influence now because she's a potential candidate. If she takes that off the table, she'd have no influence or "gravy train".

[reasonisfaith]

It seems your understanding of the circumstances might be very inaccurate.

Let’s start with this concept: There are two possibilities regarding Palin’s “popularity.” Either she likes the popularity for its own sake, or she would prefer, when she’s done with politics, that it go away.

Do you think you understand Sarah Palin well enough to know which of these possibilities is in fact true?