If there were any doubts that Gov. Mark Sanford will run for president, he certainly erased them with his State of the State address before a joint session of the General Assembly.

The Capital City was abuzz.

Veteran political observers said it sounded more like a State of The Union address.

“Did you hear that speech? “ asked state Rep. Jim McGee, R-Florence. “Looks like to me he’s running.”

House Majority Leader Jim Merrill, R-Charleston, who worked for Sanford when he was a congressman, is more certain. “He’s definitely running.”

No evidence is offered to refute the predictions, and the governor is saying nothing to discourage the speculation.

Sanford consistently downplays talk about a White House bid, noting he has all he can say grace over in trying to push his agenda through an ornery Legislature. That’s his focus now, he insists, not a run for national office.

However, the governor and his staff have had every opportunity to spike the speculation. They have declined to do so. No Sherman-esque statements have been issued, and the State of the State served only to add fuel to the talk about a presidential run.

See for yourself.

In his speech, Sanford talked about:

• The rising cost of the war in Iraq, saying it “spreads a gray cloud” over the economy

• Ballooning federal deficits and a dollar “that’s on increasingly shaky ground”

• A federal government out of control

• Rising consumer debt

• The specter of double-digit inflation

• The welfare state and its drag on the economy

• A global trading system that has become less cohesive and more threatening to American jobs

The governor didn’t home in on state matters until a quarter of the way through the speech.

That was a mistake, putting more focus on Sanford’s possible national ambitions, says Rep. John Graham Altman, R-Charleston.

Sanford’s staff says pundits are reading too much into the speech, making more of it than it is.

The governor always has been interested in the global economy and how it might impact the state, explains spokesman Will Folks, adding Sanford was on the Joint Economic Committee and the international relations panel while in Congress.

Skeptics laugh. The Sanford inner circle doesn’t sound too convincing.

During the Republican National Convention in New York last fall, there was a steady hum about future candidates. Sanford’s name was among those mentioned.

He was busy making the rounds, seeing all the right people and meeting with folks who have deep pockets. He spoke to a group called the Club for Growth, whose members meet with potential candidates, grade them and decide whether to support them with money.

One evening Sanford invited the state GOP delegation to a reception at a friend’s home on the Upper East Side. When the governor silenced the assembled gathering to thank businessman Howard Bellin for the use of his home, the host said, “I fully expect to be his guest at the White House in another four years.”

Sanford grinned.

The 2008 presidential race is a ways off. Sanford may not run. If he does, he has two hurdles to scale to be considered a viable candidate.

He must first win re-election next year by a comfortable margin.

He also needs to stop having to put big zeroes on his legislative score card. He must have some accomplishments to point to. Today, he would go to the nation’s voters empty-handed.