An Internet-based petition aims to draft South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford to run for president in four years, but the governor says he just wants the people to keep him in Columbia for now.

The Republican was first elected governor in 2002 after serving three terms in the U.S. House. He has said he plans to seek re-election in 2006.

But the Internet petition, started by Maryland student Sean Wisnieski, showcases the governor's conservative credentials and asks people to encourage Sanford to seek the White House.

"In the face of soaring deficits and skyrocketing federal spending, America needs a leader who can say 'NO!' to Washington tax-and-spenders," the Web site proclaims, proceeding to laud Sanford for cutting budgets and supporting relaxed gun control laws.

Wisnieski could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

At 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, 32 people had put their names on the petition. While the signatories include eight South Carolina residents, there also are residents of California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

In a radio interview on WRHI-AM in Rock Hill on Tuesday, Sanford spoke in the abstract about a possible run for the White House.

"What goes wrong with most of these folks in politics is either they get the big head -- which happens to a lot of them -- or they begin to see this gold rainbow to who knows where, and they begin not focusing on the job at hand," Sanford told the radio audience.

S.C. Democratic Party executive director Michele Macrina declined to comment.

Katon Dawson, chairman of the S.C. Republican Party, said when the two were in New York in August for the Republican National Convention, he was impressed by Sanford's national friends.

"Sanford's a guy that has the ability both politically and financially to raise the money to run as a pretty strong candidate, but I know that he is concentrating on being a great governor," Dawson said.

National political analysts disagreed with that opinion, noting that Sanford would have to overcome hurdles of having a fairly low national profile and lacking a natural fund-raising base.

"He'd make an interesting candidate, but, boy, does he have a lot of work to do," said Jennifer Duffy, managing editor of the nonpartisan Washington-based Cook Political Report.

"There are (Republican) candidates in this that are already out there" campaigning, she said, pointing to Sens. George Allen of Virginia and Bill Frist of Tennessee. "At this point, the other hopefuls are not far ahead of Sanford, but they're ahead."

Political science professors at the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina agreed that Sanford was probably not a viable presidential candidate but that he may be a better choice for vice president.

Betty Glad of USC said Republicans would be better served to choose a candidate from a bigger state and someone with ties to national politics.

Meanwhile, Sanford indicated he wasn't planning a run for the White House, but wasn't about to shut the door.

"My life has been a series of accidents in politics," he said on the radio program. "So positively, I'm not worried about any gold rainbow to Washington."