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The first leg of Sarah Palin's nationwide bus tour may have raised more questions about her political future than it answered, but one inference is no longer in doubt: She is having fun.

At just about every stop she made along her East Coast jaunt, the former Alaska governor took in the scenery, chatted amiably with locals, signed autographs and always seemed to have a smile on her face while she was doing it. And whenever members of the "lamestream media" shoved audio recorders and video cameras in her face, Palin cheerfully and thoroughly answered our questions, often lingering far longer than her small team of aides and daughter Piper would have liked.

"This week of touring was one of the best weeks of my life," Palin told Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity at the conclusion of the trip. "The fire in the belly -- it rages on."

Many of Palin's fervent supporters have taken comments like this as proof that she has already decided to run for president. More than a few Palinistas have even gleefully begun to map out strategies for the general election, concluding -- with blinders firmly secured -- that the Republican primary fight will be a mere formality on the way to Palin's inevitable world-shocking victory.

But in the very same interview with Hannity, Palin threw an ice-cold bucket of water on the idea that she has already decided to launch a White House bid.

"I also know, not only do I love my freedom, my independence, just not having a title and not being a declared candidate, and that is liberating," Palin said. "But I know that you can make a difference as an individual. I think I've proven that, and hopefully I can inspire others to know you don't need a title. You don't need to be in office in order to effect positive change."

Comments like that provide Palin skeptics with "aha!" moments that confirm their belief -- steadfastly adhered to since her 2009 resignation as governor -- that her only interest is in making money and boosting her celebrity and that the presidential feelers are mere ploys to keep the media's attention focused on her.

But perhaps there is a simple answer to whether Palin will run that neither her most ardent fans nor her inside-the-Beltway critics seem to fathom: She truly hasn't decided yet.

Each time Palin was asked The Question last week, she insisted -- with a thinly veiled exasperation missing during her answers to other queries -- that her mind was not yet made up. Several close Palin associates, in recent private conversations with RCP, have said the same thing.

Palin told Hannity that her decision was still "weeks away," and she has indicated on several occasions that she does not see much value in officially entering the race in the near future and opening herself up to more sustained scrutiny before she is compelled to do so.