Palin resignation cuts losses, observers say

JUNEAU, Alaska — Ever since Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin returned from the presidential campaign trail, many Alaskans felt her heart wasn't in the job.

Lawmakers complained she didn't take an interest in the state's politics, and she limited her access to Alaska's media. One lawmaker quipped after her state of the state address in January that the only eye contact she made in the legislative chamber was with the television camera.

In Alaska, Palin has become a polarizing figure, and the focus of multiple ethics complaints filed against her with the state personnel board. She has taken a beating from Senate Democrats over many of her recent appointments, including an attorney general candidate who became the first Cabinet appointment ever rejected by the Alaska Legislature.

And things weren't likely to improve if she stayed in office. She faces a potential veto override of nearly $29 million in federal stimulus funds for energy efficiency programs. She rejected the funds, fearing there were strings attached to the money that could bind the state to federal building mandates. Legislators said they could find no such strings.

It's easier to govern in Alaska when oil prices are high, but they are down from last year's historic highs and the budget is much tighter. And this year, Palin's signature project, getting a natural gas pipeline, moves into a critical phase: whether North Slope leaseholders will commit to shipping gas in the pipeline, which is still at least a decade away.

Palin has said stepping down as governor was about doing the right thing for Alaska — not wanting to be a lame duck governor if she knew she wasn't running for re-election in 2010. She also has hinted that her decision was a strategic move aimed at gearing up for a run for president.

But with all the thorny issues enveloping her in Alaska, Palin's quitting may be more about something simpler: cutting her losses.

"The drumbeat of adverse news coverage from Alaska would likely have continued and intensified had she remained governor," said Juneau economist and longtime Alaska political watcher Gregg Erickson. "It would have become an increasing liability to her national campaign."

He added that while Palin has received an adulatory reception from social conservatives in the Lower 48, in Alaska she's become a lightning rod for criticism and controversy.

Many political observers in Alaska say the governor was a disengaged presence around the state Capitol since she returned from the presidential campaign trail, and it was obvious her heart wasn't in the job.