The News: Sarah Palin

I've never been a particularly huge fan of Sarah Palin. I think she was about as good a choice as John McCain could have made, but frankly, I find her to be a bit of a dim bulb. She does, however, have natural political talents and has the potential to go down as one of America's great polititians. The math works:

Charisma + Populist appeal + Lack of any real intelligence = POLITICS GOLD

That said, I was completely miffed by her decision to resign office last week and I'm not sure what to make of it. A few thoughts:

1) This is some grand, master scheme to organize a kick ass 2012 run: From this perspective, it especially makes no sense. Why risk having your name taken out of the news for such a long period of time when it is going to matter most? Granted, governor of Alaska isn't the most glamorous position, but to make a strong run against what I'm sure will be a very strong incumbent, wouldn't it make sense to still be in the game so to speak?

2) She wanted to shield her family from the constant attacks: This has been the favorite reason for those in the right-wing media (and with my family), but I'm not too sure if it passes the politician smell test. It seems almost.... I don't know... too sincere? The families are always dragged through the mud. That's how the game works and I'm sure she knew exactly what she was getting into by saying "yes" to the national spotlight. If anything, she could use it more to her advantage when trying to appeal to the common folk.

but the most interesting one:

3) A major scandal in the works: My gut tells me this isn't true. But then again, I never would have guessed the whole Sanford-Argentina thing either. Considering some of the crazy stuff that she has come forward with, if there is a scandal, I can assure you it will be a doozy. This is the only one that makes obvious sense here, but Palin has been watched so closely for so long, I can't imagine a major scandal going on without somebody knowing about it. Just doesn't seem likely.

Bottom line: I have no freaking clue what she's thinking.