Play Video AP  – Sarah Palin is resigning as governor

Palin links resignation to 'higher calling'
By MARK THIESSEN, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 18 mins ago

JUNEAU, Alaska – Outgoing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Saturday laid the groundwork to take on a larger, national role after leaving state government, citing a "higher calling" with the aim of uniting the country along conservative lines.

A day after surprising even her closest friends by announcing she would step down as Alaska governor more than a year before her term was up, the controversial hockey mom was still keeping details of her future plans under wrap. But in a statement posted on Palin's Facebook account, she suggested that she had bigger plans and a national agenda she planned to push after she resigns at the end of the month.

"I am now looking ahead and how we can advance this country together with our values of less government intervention, greater energy independence, stronger national security, and much-needed fiscal restraint," she said.

Palin also cast herself as a victim and blasted the media, calling the response to her announcement "predictable" and out of touch.

"How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it's about country," the statement said. "And though it's honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make."

Palin's personal spokeswoman, Meghan Stapleton, confirmed to The Associated Press that the Facebook posting was written by the governor.

The abruptness of her announcement and the mystery surrounding her plans has fed widespread speculation. But Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein on Saturday warned legal action may be taken against bloggers and publications that reprint what he calls fraudulent claims.

"To the extent several websites, most notably liberal Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore, are now claiming as 'fact' that Governor Palin resigned because she is 'under federal investigation' for embezzlement or other criminal wrongdoing, we will be exploring legal options this week to address such defamation," Van Flein said in a statement. "This is to provide notice to Ms. Moore, and those who re-publish the defamation, such as Huffington Post, MSNBC, the New York Times and The Washington Post, that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law."

He also told the Anchorage Daily News that Palin wasn't in any criminal legal jeopardy.

"I can say definitively I am aware of no criminal investigation whatsoever involving Sarah Palin. Zero," he said.

Palin has kept a low profile since her abrupt announcement Friday at a hastily called news conference at her home in suburban Wasilla, outside Anchorage. All of her public communication since then has been on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, or through statements released by her office.

At the same time, Palin informed her spokesman David Murrow early Saturday that someone using the name "exgovsarahpalin" on Twitter was spreading a false rumor that there was to be a party at her suburban home in Wasilla, outside Anchorage. Palin was afraid her home would be mobbed, and security was dispatched, Murrow said.

With only a few weeks before she steps down on July 26, and Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell takes her place, the governor spent the Fourth of July weekend in the state capital, Juneau, but was only spotted briefly on the sidelines of the city's parade.

She had been invited to ride in a convertible, as she did last year, but never told organizers whether she would attend.

Juneau parade director Jean Sztuk said officials drew up banners in case Palin showed and was willing to take part.

As the last of the parade's clowns and marching bands headed past her, Sztuk gave up on Palin. "What governor wants to be at the end of the parade?" she asked.

Her low-profile and vague Internet messages left mounting questions about her plans for the future shrouded in mystery. Will she lay the groundwork for a 2012 presidential bid? Will she find a high-profile place in the private sector, maybe on the speech circuit? Will she drop out of the limelight and focus on her five children?

Her constituents, for one, wanted to know, especially in Juneau, where she has struggled to win over residents.

"I think she owes it to Alaskans to tell us why," said state Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau, the son of Alaska's first governor, Bill Egan.

Egan, hosting a 50th anniversary statehood ceremony, said he was disappointed Palin decided not to finish out her term, which was scheduled to end in 2010.

"It's sad she abandoned us at this critical time," said Egan, who was appointed by Palin to an open seat on the last day of the legislative session in April, after a protracted battle with Senate Democrats.

Palin's departure can't come soon enough for Laurel Carlton, a waitress at the Capital Cafe in the Baranof Hotel, where the city's political movers and shakers meet every morning before walking a few blocks to the Capitol.

"I think she has a game plan that's not Alaska, and hasn't been for awhile," Carlton said.

She noted Palin has a book deal, and seems headed for the national stage.

"If you're really not going to stay and do your job every day, you should leave anyway, and so the sooner the better so somebody can step in and actually do the job," Carlton said.

And as far as Carlton is concerned, Palin doesn't need to explain why she's leaving.

"We don't care. We just want her gone," she said.

Palin, whose popularity in Alaska has waned amid ongoing ethics investigations, gave many reasons for stepping down: She didn't want to be a lame-duck governor; she was tired of the tasteless jokes aimed at her five children, including her son Trig, who has Down syndrome; she felt she could do more in another, still-to-be-defined role.

Sen. John McCain didn't rule out a return to politics for his former running mate, saying Saturday he believes "she will continue to play an important leadership role in the Republican Party and our nation." He gave no other details.

Even Parnell, who plans to run for re-election after finishing out Palin's term, said he was shocked at first when he learned of his boss' decision.

"But then as she began to articulate her reasons, I began to understand better," he said. "And nobody — unless they've been in her position and understood what she has gone through and dealt with and who she is as a person — really understands."

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Associated Press Writer Rachel D'Oro in Anchorage contributed to this report.




Article: HERE

Sarah Palin's shock resignation has once more started rumours in the U.S. that she feared a criminal investigation.

This, according to news website The Daily Beast, is said to revolve around an alleged scandal centered on Alaskan building contractor Spenard Building Supplies, with close ties to Palin and her husband, Todd.

Her decision to quit mid-term as governor of the state has been seen by many as defying political logic.

The former Republican vice-presidential candidate's abrupt announcement rattled her party but left open the possibility of a presidential run. She and her staff are keeping quiet on her future plans.

Speaking from her home in suburban Wasilla, the 45-year-old confirmed she would step down on July 26.

However, she refused to elaborate on her plans in what was described as a rambling press conference.

She said she had decided against running for re-election as Alaska's governor, and believed it was best to leave office even though she had two years left to her term.

'Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road. They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that,' she said.

However supporters and critics alike say her resignation is an inexplicable move for a high-profile Republican widely seen as a contender for a White House run in 2012.

A half-term governor campaigning for president?

Andrew Halcro, a Palin critic who lost the 2006 gubernatorial race to her, said: 'If she is thinking that leaving her term 16 months early is going to help her prepare to maybe go on to bigger and better things on the political stage, I think she's sadly mistaken. You just can't quit.'

The announcement caught even current and former Palin advisers by surprise. Former members of Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign team, now dispersed across the country, traded perplexed e-mails and phone calls about the vice presidential nominee's decision to step down.

Palin has proven formidable among the party's base. But the last week brought a highly critical piece in Vanity Fair magazine, with unnamed campaign aides questioning if Palin was really prepared for the presidency.

The backbiting continued with follow-up articles elsewhere recounting the nasty infighting that plagued her failed bid.

Her advisers sniped with other Republicans, underscoring the deeply divided Republican Party looking for its next standard bearer.

Meghan Stapleton, Palin's personal spokeswoman, shot down speculation that ranged wildly from Palin dropping out of politics altogether to eyeing runs against fellow Alaska Republicans Rep. Don Young and Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Palin's comment about serving outside government refers to the present, she said.

Stapleton, however, said it's too early to say whether Palin would seek the presidency.

In the meantime, the governor will continue to work to bring "positive change as a citizen without a title right now," she said.

"Her vision is what's best for Alaska, which translates into what's best for America," Stapleton said.

Murkowski, whose father was the governor when he lost to Palin in the 2006 Republican primary, was dismissive of the announcement.

"I am deeply disappointed that the governor has decided to abandon the state and her constituents before her term has concluded," she said in a one-sentence statement.

At the news conference, Palin alluded to how she could help change the country and help military members - an indication that she didn't think her time on the national stage was over.

On her Twitter page last night, Palin wrote that she was remembering America's service members on the eve of Fourth of July.

"Thinking of our vets who kept us free & our troops keeping us free today: THANK YOU!" she wrote on the social-networking website.

Palin's decision not to seek re-election is a familiar one for those considering a presidential campaign. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney chose not to seek another term as he geared up for an unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid. 

Palin, 45, also has the potential to make far more money in the private sector than the $125,000 or so she has been making as governor.

She already had a deal with publisher HarperCollins to produce her memoirs, with publication planned for next spring. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Six-figure book deals are common for high-profile political figures.

Campaign trail: Palin with John McCain in the run-up to last year's US election

Palin emerged from relative obscurity nearly a year ago when she was tapped as then Republican presidential candidate McCain's running mate.

She was a controversial figure from the start and soon became the butt of talk-show jokes. Comedian Tina Fey famously imitated her elaborate updo and folksy "You betcha!" on "Saturday Night Live."

In Alaska, she saw her popularity wane this year after returning from the presidential campaign. She's become a polarizing figure, and multiple ethics complaints have been filed against her with the state personnel board.

All but two of the 15 complaints have been dismissed with no findings of wrongdoing, although one complaint led to Palin's agreement to reimburse the state about $8,100 for costs associated with trips taken with her children.

The state says it has spent nearly $300,000 to investigate the complaints, and Palin says she has racked up more than $500,000 in legal fees fighting them.

During the presidential race, Palin was the subject of Democratic criticism, particularly after it emerged that the Republican Party had spent over $150,000 on a designer wardrobe, hair and makeup services for her - a stark contrast with her down-to-earth image.

In the wake of the presidential race, Palin has remained in the public eye.

A public feud with Late Show host David Letterman emerged after he joked that one of her daughters had been impregnated by New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez. Letterman later apologised for the joke.