On this Friday afternoon, July 3rd, 2009 while many were packing their bags to go to the beach & enjoy traditional fare of hot dogs, hamburgers, baseball games and fireworks, Sarah Palin called a press conference to announce that she will be stepping down as governor of the state of Alaska at the end of this month.  I fear that many will be arriving at their desks on Monday wondering just WHAT in heavens name was she thinking & leaving the governorship mid-term for what?

I wish I could provide clear answers to those questions that are popping in your head right about now, but the fact is, Governor Palin did a very poor job at best of answering those questions herself.  She said something about being fishermen and only dead fish float with the current, and the right thing is not to stay in office while pursuing other things, and well, a lot of words and allegories, but no solid reasons were given.   

So, I imagine that Republicans & Democrats & normal people alike will all be scratching their heads and then spinning their versions as to just "why" she is stepping down.  There are two scenarios that I must address.  The first is if Governor Palin has higher national political aspirations with the Republican party, no Republican leaders seem to be aware.  And if she does embody these aspirations, clearly, a candidate for higher office has a much greater launching pad while being governor.  It will be considered a serious mistake in judgment to tender this job.  In addition, hasn't Governor Palin read the news?  There's over 9% unemployment right now in our nation and good jobs like governorships are hard to come by, as are the paychecks that accompany them.  It really does seem impetuous to make such a decision without consulting the party.  Words like unstable, unpredictable, flighty, irresponsible will no doubt be tossed around shortly.  It's an honor to be a governor of any state in this great nation & to sacrifice a job like that as if it were dispensable makes Gov. Palin look like a quitter with no respect for her responsibilities or constituents.  None of these are great qualities that we look for in our Vice Presidents and Presidents. 

The second scenario is that Governor Palin has some brilliant strategy up her sleeve that she is keeping to herself & her family like an astute poker player.  Could that consist of some role in an Evangelical organization where her values and family situation mesh well?  Could it merely consist of the most important job in the world for a woman such as raising the two infants in her household?  Could that be traveling the country & perhaps even the world (including Russia which you can see from Alaska on a clear day) to educate herself about issues important to constituents and/or Washingtonians? 

Her lawyer vehemently denies the veracity of any other scenario such as Gov. Palin being driven from office by an unknown scandal or financial impropriety, so let's just take that at face value for now.  No one is sure what the real reasons are at this point, despite the hollow posting on Governor Palin's Facebook page which followed up the press conference.  Even the Republican party leadership was caught off guard and will be guessing for days to come. 

All in all, the most refreshing aspect of this Palin Bomb was that it was a complete relief to have a United States governor resign for reasons other than prostitutes & mistresses.  There probably is no scandal here & it's not worth looking too deeply.  The one thing that is for sure is that if you don't want a lot of media at your doorstep, the best time for an announcement like this is the Friday before a long summer weekend when everyone else already has their agenda set-in this, Palin was a genius and Saturday Night Live is about to have a field day!

 Kimberly Wilcox is currenty freelance writing about financial politics, as well as Healthcare policy, specifically, Chemical Injury and its medical & lifestyle consequences.  She is a lifestyle coach to others with chemical injury, chronic fatigue, autism, Gulf War Syndrome & Fibromyalgia, as well as to professional athletes desiring peak performance without use of illegal PED's.  She is an expert on Green Living and her new book will soon be published about the Green Life that she has been forced to live for the last decade.