AK-GOV: Palin Will Resign

We have now had two days to take in the news that rocked the political world on Friday, that not only would Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin not seek a 2nd term, but she would resign before the end of the month. When she first made the announcement, I couldn't think of a good rationale for it but I figured something might hit me in the next day or two. It hasn't. Assuming Palin wants to run for President in 2012, the last thing she needs to worry about is running around the country giving speeches and raising money-everyone knows she can do those things. The question is whether or not she's capable of holding the highest office in the land-something that she could only answer by effectively governing Alaska while spending her spare time boning up on foreign policy. One could make a very compelling argument that she shouldn't seek a 2nd term in 2010-it's virtually impossible to run an effective campaign in the lower 48 without shirking your reponsibilities as Governor of Alaska. But if that was her plan, why cut her term a year and a half short and add "quitter" to the list of criticisms that could come your way?

The part of the story that gets little attention, not surprisingly, is the impact on Alaska's Gubernatorial race next year. Palin would have certainly won re-election handily, but instead she hands over the reins to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell (R). Parnell ran for Congress last year, but lost by a very narrow margin in the Primary to Rep. Don Young (R). Still, Parnell is generally well-respected and I can't see much of a reason why he won't win a full term next year-last year certainly provided plenty of evidence that the state doesn't like voting out its incumbents.

Overwhelming►STRONG ADVANTAGE FOR PARNELL.