Palin to quit as Governor

Palin, 45, the Republican vice-presidential nominee last year, was supposed to serve through the end of 2010; she said she would cede control of the state to Lt Gov Sean Parnell on July 26.

Speaking outside her home in Wasilla, Palin offered conflicting signals about her intentions and her motivation.

Permanent exit?
In her tone and some of her words in an often-rambling announcement, Palin sounded like someone who was making a permanent exit from politics after what her friends have called a rough and dispiriting year.

But her remarks, delivered in a voice that often seemed rushed and jittery, sounded at times like those of a candidate with continued national aspirations, as when she suggested she could “fight for all our children’s future from outside the governor’s office.”
Palin said that she had decided not to seek re-election when her term expires at the end of next year and that, given that, she did not think it was fair to her constituents to continue in office.

“As I thought about this announcement that I would not seek re-election,” she said, “I thought about how much fun other governors have as lame ducks. They, maybe, travel around their state, travel to other states, maybe take their overseas international trade missions.”

Efficiency mantra
“I’m not going to put Alaskans through that,” she said. “I promised efficiencies and effectiveness. That’s not how I’m wired. I’m not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual.”

The news conference came at the end of a week in which a Vanity Fair article about Palin brought renewed focus on many of the criticisms of her as a candidate for vice-president under Senator John McCain of Arizona and set off a new round of recriminations among McCain’s advisers about her competence.

But while Palin has been derided by much of the Republican elite, she remains extremely popular with many grass-roots members, especially social and religious conservatives.