Gov. Mark Sanford says he doesn’t have his sights set on the White House, but hardly anyone believes him.

“This guy is serious about running for president,” says Clemson University political scientist Dave Woodard.

Talk of a possible Sanford 2008 presidential bid dominated the state’s political rumor mill for months. The governor spiked that speculation with an August appearance on WRHI’s popular morning radio talk show in Rock Hill.

He told the audience he was not interested in running for the White House.

That pretty much ended the talk — or so we thought.

But — bam! — just like that, Sanford’s name is back in speculation. It shows up on a list of potential 2008 Republican White House candidates.

This time, Political Derby, a Web site that dubs itself “Home of the 2008 White House Power Rankings,” has the governor ranked 8th among 10 possible GOP wannabes.

The Derby — get it? horse race? — is the first tracking service of the 2008 race for the White House.

The rankings, updated twice a month, are compiled by an in-house “jockey” using wire reports, campaign staffer scuttlebutt and confidential tips.

This was Sanford’s first time to make the rankings, an oversight for which the Derby apologizes: “For too long the governor of South Carolina has been unranked and relegated to the ‘others receiving votes’ category. But with some serious love from the Weekly Standard (a conservative publication) and recent fund-raising reports revealing oodles of out-of-state-cash, Sanford is in the rankings for good.”

The Derby jockey offers this bit of advice to Sanford: Stop calling potential 2008 donors “idiots.”

Last month, Sanford said people contributing to him looking for a possible future inside track to the White House are “idiots.”

“Grass-roots activists have very long memories,” the Derby’s jockey advises Sanford, “and, should you change your mind, you’ll be eating that line in your opponents’ commercials come 2007.”

Ahead of Sanford in the Derby’s GOP rankings are, in order, U.S. Sen. George Allen of Virginia, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado and U.S Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee.

Sanford is ranked ahead of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.

The way Frist is going, which is south in most polls, “I see Sanford eclipsing him,” says Winthrop University professor Scott Huffmon. “There’s a sizable wing in the Republican Party who could get behind a candidate like Sanford.”

Before he can start thinking about the White House, though, Sanford first must win re-election.

Last week, family physician Oscar Lovelace of Prosperity formally announced he would challenge Sanford in the GOP primary.

Sanford’s task is to keep Lovelace’s share of primary voters below 30 percent. Anything higher could mar Sanford’s presidential ambitions, Woodard says.

One of the reasons Sanford is getting national attention is that he is seen as a true fiscal conservative, unlike President Bush, who is not.

“They see someone like Mark Sanford, and this is what they thought Bush was going to be,” Huffmon says.

“A lot of stars are in alignment for his national exposure. He’s good looking; he’s got a good pedigree, and he is a martyr for the cause. There are probably a lot of people salivating over building a campaign around him.”

So, what does the governor say? His spokesman passed along this reply:

“I’m not interested.”

Stay tuned.