Palin remains a favorite of social conservatives, who have traditionally exerted strong influence over the selection of the Republican nominee. That support and her near-universal name recognition had placed her near the top of early polls for the 2012 GOP contest. A spokeswoman said Friday that Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC, continued to accept donations, which rose after her announcement.
But Palin draws visceral contempt from many Democrats, political independents and even Republicans -- among them some McCain advisors who shared their sentiments, anonymously, in a recent unflattering article in Vanity Fair magazine.
Palin seemed to allude to those attacks at her hastily called news conference. "You are naive if you don't see a full-court press from the national level picking away a good point guard," said Palin, who was a famously aggressive basketball star in high school.
She said her decision to step down with 18 months left in her term had been some time in the making, though she never clearly spelled out why. She did not take questions.
"Many just accept that lame-duck status, and they hit that road," Palin said. "They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that."
Palin alternately expressed pain and relief at her decision to resign, saying it was "best for Alaska." She also suggested it was best for her family. "I polled the most important people in my life -- my kids -- where the count was unanimous," she said. "It was four yeses and one 'Hell, yeah!' And the 'Hell, yeah' sealed it."
Palin said her successor, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, would be sworn in July 26 at the governor's annual picnic in Fairbanks. Parnell said he learned of Palin's decision Wednesday evening.
"It's a gob-smacking, jaw-hit-the-ground, total kind of surprise," said Ivan Moore, an independent pollster in Anchorage, who said Palin had been a strong favorite to win a second term. He was skeptical of her national appeal.
"Whatever possibility she had of being President Palin, Vice President Palin or even U.S. Sen. Palin is gone now," Moore said. "She ended her political career."
Walking away from a job like governor for any reason besides poor health, scandal or political promotion is highly unusual, and Palin's action raised questions of whether some damaging revelation was in the offing.
