Four-term former Gov. Terry Branstad announced his retirement as president of Des Moines University Friday, declining to name himself as a gubernatorial candidate for 2010.

Former Gov. Terry Branstad announces his retirement from Des Moines University and answers questions about a potential gubernatorial bid.

Former Gov. Terry Branstad announces his retirement from Des Moines University and answers questions about a potential gubernatorial bid.

Stepping down allows the Republican to “fully explore” the possibility of entering Iowa’s gubernatorial race, he said. It also gave him space to deflect questions from his conservative critics.

“I’m not going to get into ‘tit for tat’ with anyone else of either party,” he said, declining to answer a question about same-sex marriage.

But despite his pledge to remain above the fray, Branstad had sharp words for Democratic Gov. Chet Culver, the incumbent.

“I am sick about what’s going on today,” Branstad said, noting that his interest in running is “strictly in response to the current situation.”

He called the state budget a “fiscal debacle.”

He said Democratic criticism that he raised Iowa’s sales tax as governor was taken out of context, because it did not account for other taxes that were cut during his 14 years at the state’s helm.

Culver made a veiled reference to that criticism in a television ad released the morning of Branstad’s announcement, after a Research 2000/Daily Kos poll showed him trailing the former governor by five percentage points.

In response to the ad, Branstad scolded Culver for not focusing on his job. “I think he ought to be focused on policy and not politics,” he said.

Asked if he has a timeline for making the ultimate decision to run for governor, Brasntad deflected, implying that he would begin campaigning across the state before actually declaring his candidacy.

“I have always been a grassroots person,” he said, committing to visit all of Iowa’s 99 counties. It wasn’t clear whether he would try to make all of those campaign stops before officially entering the race.

When asked whether he will begin attending forums and debates alongside others who have already declared themselves candidates for governor, he demurred. He seemed intent on lingering in the “exploratory” phase of his candidacy for as long as he can, signaling that it could be a while.

That is sure to draw the ire of other Republican candidates for governor, who have been sparring for months over policy questions that Branstad continues to deflect. Whether it also frustrates GOP activists and primary voters enough that they begin to demand more clarity from their party’s frontrunner remains to be seen.