She says she wants to protect her family. That means she could run as a family values candidate.

Not a bad platform amid a Republican Party without a clear leader. Fighting among factions inside the GOP have pitted radio personality Rush Limbaugh against Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele; potential 2012 candidates against Washington; and out-of-power lawmakers against each other. All are struggling to cobble together unified opposition to the White House and a Congress that Democrats gained solid command of last week when Minnesota certified the election of Al Franken as that state's next senator.

Two potential GOP hopefuls saw their pathway close to the White House. Nevada Sen. John Ensign stepped down from the Republican leadership last month after admitting he had an affair with a woman on his campaign staff who was married to one of his Senate aides. Days later, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said he carried on an affair with a woman in Argentina.

Palin tried to put herself above that mess. The former basketball star borrowed a sports metaphor to explain the decision.

"A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket — and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can win. And I'm doing that," Palin said during a sometimes breathless 17-minute statement at her lakefront home in Wasilla, Alaska.

It's not obvious that going back into the locker room is her best play.

"A good point guard wouldn't walk off the court midgame and expect a better contract two or three years down the road," said Weaver, who left McCain's side before Palin was chosen as his party's No. 2. "She's not going to be a help for Republicans. ... I think people would be playing with fire (to count on her to help the GOP)."

But politics is an unpredictable game.

Despite the misstep, Palin enjoys an ability to connect with voters that cannot be taught. She drew larger crowds than McCain and became an overnight celebrity whose star power has stayed. She would have tremendous sway in Iowa, where the nation's first caucuses are held, and in South Carolina, where social conservatives drive the nominating process.

"She has a national base of social conservatives she can count on for anything," said Rich Killion, an adviser to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, another likely 2012 candidate. "But I can't get over how she convinces a general election audience how quitting on her constituents is a good thing."