Palin's resignation sent rumors flying. She's been called a "loser," a "quitter," and told by the Democratic Party she's "leaving the people of Alaska high and dry..." The anti-Palin blogosphere is having a field day.

But, all and all, why did she resign? Before going deeper into the politics of it, let's first take Palin at her word. She told us she has a few reasons for stepping down, listed here:

1. Tired Of Wasting Time/Money On Ethics Complaints Sarah made it quite clear in her resignation speech that she was tired of spending her and her staff's time on defending herself from untruthful attacks, "setting the record straight." Here's what she says: "Every one - all 15 of the ethics complaints {against me} have been dismissed. We've won! But it hasn't been cheap - the State has wasted thousands of hours of your time and shelled out some two million of your dollars to respond to "opposition research" - that's money not going to fund teachers or troopers - or safer roads. And this political absurdity, the "politics of personal destruction" ... Todd and I are looking at more than half a million dollars in legal bills in order to set the record straight. And what about the people who offer up these silly accusations? It doesn't cost them a dime so they're not going to stop draining public resources - spending other peoples' money in their game."
2. No Lame Duck! Palin also made it clear that once she had decided she was not going to run for re-election that she was not going to be a "lame duck," spending the state's time and money on frivolous and unhelpful things.
3. Feels As Though She's Accomplished Many Things Definitely much more than most governors in their first half of a term! In her speech she cited many accomplishments, here are a few:

• AGIA Gasline Project, "the largest private sector energy project ever," as stated by Palin.
• Bipartisan Ethics Reform
• "Took government out of the dairy business and put it in private sector hands"
• Built a Sub-Cabinet on Climate Change
• "Made common sense conservative choices to eliminate personal luxuries like the jet, the chef, the junkets... the entourage.
• Said "no" to pay raises (herself and the lieutenant governor)

That's what Palin says about her resignation. Now let's take a look at the rumors of a "bombshell investigation," as said by her opponents. Here's what the FBI had to say: "There is absolutely no truth to those rumors that we're investigating her or getting ready to indict her," Special Agent Eric Gonzalez of Anchorage said. "It's just not true..." there is "no wiggle room!"

So much for the bombshell.

In my mind, I think governor Palin's choice was a brilliant tactical move. Here are some reasons why:

1. She Can Speak Out and Focus On Issues She Cares About As most of you probably know, Governor Palin is working on a book. According to state ethics guidelines, as governor the things she can write about are very limited.
2. She Saves Herself and Alaska Money As said before, attacks on Governor Palin have caused half a million dollars in legal bills for their family and even more for the state.
3. She's Headline News! Now that the stunning news of the resignation has broken, governor Palin will be in the news for quite awhile. The more left-wing commentators scream about her, the more her sympathy vote will grow.

Of course, does all of this lead to 2012? That's a topic for another post.

The latest political bombshell: the resignation of Alaska governor Sarah Palin. The move came Friday before a small crowd of reporters and family, early in the Alaskan morning. Palin's husband, Todd Palin, is quoted as saying she will soon be able to concentrate on "doing the things for Alaska and the country".

During her resignation announcement speech, governor Palin noted that her administration has done tremendous things for her state in a short time, citing the oil and gas pipeline and others. She added that nowadays, after her run as vice presidential nominee with John McCain, she spends most of her time and her staff's time defending herself and "setting the record straight." Recently she has had 15 ethics complaints filed against her, all of them dismissed.

Palin spoke heavily about how she could not get things done efficiently anymore now that tens of thousands of dollars of state dollars were being spent on defending herself from untruthful and unjust lies. Once her resignation is official and lieutenant governor Sean Parnell is sworn in, the governor will more time to focus on her family and some much needed free time out the state's rough and tumble politics.

But is her resignation a sign of buckling to pressure, or just honestly "I'm fed up!". While it might be a little bit of both, you must admit the unfair media coverage and vicious onslaughts of personal attacks have probably been at least noticed by the Palin family.

Or is this somethings different? Could it be a shrewd political move? Could Sarah Palin be eyeing 2012? We'll just have to wait and see.