We can dream, right?

(Palm Beach Post) — No town hall meeting or constituent confab with freshman U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, feels complete until an audience member asks the tea party celebrity if he’d consider being the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee.

For months, West has answered the recurring veep questions the way he did at the Jan. 3 meeting of the Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations.

“If somebody were to ask, I’ve got to pray about it first. I’ve got to talk to Mrs. West and my two little girls about it, and then we’ll make the best decision for our country and also for us as a family,” West said.

But West offered a different response last week when Boca Raton public relations agent Barry Epstein popped the inevitable VP question on his internet TV show.

“I’ve always said that that’s something I’d have to pray about, I’d have to talk to my family about, make sure we make the right decision,” West began. “But if someone asks you to step up and serve your country, I’m not going to turn my back on my country.”

On Friday in Jupiter, three people at a West town hall meeting submitted written questions about accepting a hypothetical invitation to join a 2012 GOP ticket.

“If people come to me and ask me to continue to serve my country in a higher capacity, I’m not going to say no. It would be an incredible privilege and honor. I doubt that I’m on anybody’s list. Thank you for asking and if it came to fruition, yeah, I’d step up to the plate,” West said to applause.