Palin fans not sure she's ready

NEW ORLEANS – Sarah Palin dominated a sleepy Southern Republican Leadership Conference here Friday, stealing a show that had largely been ceded to her by other Republicans of national stature.

When Palin was introduced, a few thousand of her conservative admirers held up cameras to capture her image and when she concluded her remarks in the Hilton ballroom on the banks of the Missippippi River, many in the crowd surged toward the stage to shake her hand — as those remaining in the audience chanted her first name.

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In between, the crowd of southern GOP activists rose to its feet repeatedly to cheer her unrelenting attacks on President Obama, Democrats and the news media – all delivered in her rapid-fire, segue-free and attimes disjointed style.

No other speaker in the first two days of this quadrennial party pep rally aroused nearly the fervor that Palin stirred, especially among her female supporters. Some wore broaches bearing her name, others held up lipstick in solidarity when she was introduced and at least one was spotted toting a life-sized Palin cut-out through the Hilton lobby.

But the SRLC, held two years before the presidential year, is traditionally an important cattle call for aspiring GOP presidential candidates, and the wide admiration for Palin among the rock-ribbed Dixie Republicans gathered in the room wasn't matched by a confidence that she was ready to run.

"I honor her a lot. She has a lot going on, but in actuality I'd like to see her run in 10 years," said