SARAH HAS ONLY BEGUN TO FIGHT

Quitter.  That’s what Sarah Palin’s enemies, and many of her friends, are calling her in the wake of her surprise announcement Friday (7/3) that she’ll resign as governor of Alaska.

A big scandal must be looming, some speculate.  Sarah or a member of her family must be seriously ill, speculate others.  If either is true, we should learn more in a few weeks.

Viewed from the perspective, so common in Washington these days, that the only thing more important than holding public office is seeking a higher one, Sarah Palin’s decision makes no sense.  But if her priorities are different, it makes perfect sense.

And though her resignation damages a future career in elective politics, it doesn’t preclude it.  To run for national office, Ms. Palin must leave Alaska, because it is logistically impossible to run from there.  And there are arguments for doing so sooner rather than later.

I think protecting her family was foremost on Sarah’s mind.  By resigning, she dims the fishbowl in which her children have been living.  And she removes a huge drain on the family finances. 

Since Sen. John McCain selected her to be his running mate, 15 ethics complaints have been filed against her.  All have been found to be baseless, but she and her husband have incurred nearly $600,000 in legal fees defending against them, a crushing burden for a middle class family.

With her resignation, the ethics complaint harassment goes away.  If former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani can command six figures for a speech, so can Sarah.  A half dozen such speeches, and the legal bills are gone. 

Sarah has a book coming out early next year.  If it sells well, the Palins will be on easy street.  Ms. Palin now will have leisure in which to write it, and will be able to promote it vigorously in the lower 48, something that would be impossible to do if she were still governor.

Financial security comes at a cost. The political downside to Sarah’s resignation is obvious.  A thin political resume — two terms as mayor of the small town of Wasilla, two and a half years as governor — isn’t going to get any thicker.  But had Ms. Palin served two full terms as governor, her detractors would still claim she was too inexperienced, too ignorant, too hickish to be president. 

The only way to dispel that notion — for those who are willing to have the notion dispelled — is for her to give speeches and interviews across the country that leave most who hear her thinking: "Wow, this is a smart lady who really knows her stuff."  She might as well get on with it.

If Ms. Palin nurtures presidential ambitions, her time horizon might be longer.  Incumbent presidents typically are re-elected.  It’s too early to tell if the peculiar circumstances required for an incumbent to be defeated will prevail in 2012.  Sarah is young enough to think about 2016 and beyond (when her children will be mostly grown), a luxury potential 2012 rivals such as former Massachussetts Gov. Mitt Romney don’t have.

But Ms. Palin may wish to advance her causes in other ways.  She was a television journalist before going into politics.  Consider Glenn Beck.  He has the third most popular show on cable television, despite having an atrocious time slot.  He’s more responsible than anyone else for the burgeoning TEA party movement.  And he’s become a millionaire 20 times over.

Fox currently has the ten most popular shows on cable.  If Fox wants the top 11, all the network need do is give Sarah the noon time slot.  President Palin may be more the fantasy of her supporters (and the nightmare of her detractors) than it is her own.

Sarah Palin’s been a good governor.  I think she’d be a good president.  But that’s conjecture, and I understand why so many on the Right as well as the Left disagree. 

But what is beyond conjecture is that Sarah Palin is the best campaigner in the Republican Party.  In a mostly critical open letter to her, Jonah Goldberg of National Review wrote:  "If money could buy what you have, Romney would have bought it all by now."

Mitt Romney can’t buy what Sarah Palin has.  Nor can Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, or (my current preference) Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.  But they could put it on their ticket.

As a point guard, Sarah Palin was more comfortable attacking her opponents’ basket than defending her own.  Becoming a private citizen makes it easier for Sarah to transition from defense to offense, as indicated by the shot across the bow her lawyer gave bloggers and news organizations spreading the false rumor the FBI is investigating her. 

This is one "quitter," I suspect, who has just begun to fight.

Jack Kelly is a former Marine and Green Beret and a former deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration. He is national security writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.