On the one hand, as bmaz @ Emptywheel has noted, “Her term was up in 2010; [leaving Palin] plenty of time to honor her duties and still run for national office in 2012.”And Josh Marshall adds that “this clearly happened so quickly that Palin hasn’t even had a chance to come up with a coherent cover story for her resignation.” There’s even vague speculation about a possible indictment forthcoming.

I wouldn’t rule that out. In the Age of Sanford, who knows if we’re about to find she’s hiked an Appalachian Trail or two in her time (either morally, or in terms of more mundane political/financial corruption)?

But then again, it could easily be the other way around — perhaps Palin realized that as long as she’s stuck doing a job she couldn’t care less about, the only possible developments would be unwanted controversies (issue-related, scandals, or otherwise). In that sense, not having an official position is the best possible preventive measure.

And remember, we’re dealing with someone who’s infamous for narcissism and having a short attention span. I was struck by this bit of pre-resignation spin reported stenographed by CNN: “She thinks she has accomplished goals she has set forward.” In other words, she’s nationally famous now — even in a “famous for being famous” way, a post-millenium equivalent of Charo or Kato Kaelin — so why waste a moment more in a remote backwater state, and being expected to work on top of it?

And to those who count her out as a presidential contender in 2012, or even hint that she’s “out of politics for good,” all I can say is that six years after Richard Nixon made a similar statement that the press wouldn’t have him to kick around any more, he was elected President. And if there’s one thing we know about Sarah Palin, it’s that she’s a runner.

Who cares if even conservatives like Charles Krauthammer suggest that Palin ““is not a serious candidate for the presidency…. You cannot sustain a campaign of platitudes and clichés over a year and a half if you’re running for the presidency.” Just goes to show that Krauthammer is always wrong — George Bush got away with it for eight years even after he got the job!

(Cross-posted at Firedoglake.)

Savoring her final solo appearance as a vice presidential candidate, Palin lingered for several minutes in front of local and national media, taking question after question despite multiple attempts by her staff to end the press conference. . .

An hour later . . . a local reporter asked the governor how she envisions her role in national politics if McCain loses the election. Palin did not hesitate to muse about a future that might not include being vice president come January.

“You know, if there is a role in national politics it won’t be so much partisan,” she said. “My efforts have always been here in the state of Alaska to get everybody to unite and work together and progress this state.”

“It would certainly be a uniter type of role,” she added.

Tonight is the first night of the Palin 2012 campaign, and in her typical hamfisted, buzzword-heavy style, she’s already beginning the image makeover I envisioned yesterday.

I wouldn’t be surprised if after spending the last two months evading impromptu TV interviews where she might be asked embarrassing questions about the issues, Palin is all over the airwaves tonight now that the subject will be something she cares more about — herself and her political future.

Update 1: (7:35 pm PT) Will Palin be the one who gives the formal concession announcement as McCain sulks silently in defeat?

Update 2: (8:35 pm PT) Okay, scratch that thought.

(Sarah Palin at a voting booth in Alaska; Associated Press photo via CNN.)

Palin seems to think differently, though.  Via Progressive Alaska, the second investigation into the trooper brouhaha — you know, the one Palin initiated herself to obscure the first one — has seen fit to announce its findings on election eve.   Not surprisingly, it clears Palin in every conceivable way.

But since (to put it gently) the election isn’t exactly hanging in the balance over this issue, why was it so important to get the announcement in before tomorrow night’s vote-counting?  To put it simply, because the end of the 2008 race marks the first day of the 2012 campaign… for Palin, anyway.

Particularly if McCain/Palin and other Republicans absorb their expected collective defeat early in the evening, there will be hours of pundit speculation that could shape the early conventional wisdom about possible Republican contenders for the ’12 nomination.  Tonight’s report is a bit of housecleaning to give Palin’s advocates one more talking point — if anyone mentions the ethical cloud over her record as governor of Alaska, they can now claim that it’s been dispersed.

And Atrios and Josh Marshall‘s skepticism notwithstanding, I wouldn’t discount Palin’s chances of mounting a comeback in four years, even if she and McCain lose in a landslide tomorrow.  I wrote four years ago about the GOP’s dim prospects in 2008 because they lacked a candidate who could pull of the Reagan trick of putting an unthreatening face on the permanent Republican agenda of shoveling more money to rich people/corporations — someone who pretend to be “just folks” but also had high name recognition so their personality could overshadow their (plutocratic) policies.

Palin is not only aware of this role, she’s openly auditioned to fill it, simultaneously cultivating the support of GOP opinionmakers along with her faux-outsider image (as documented extensively by Jane Mayer in the New Yorker).

So what if she’s seen as a know-nothing object of ridicule who helped drag McCain down to defeat?  Thanks to Bill Kristol and Tina Fey, she’s got the name recognition she’ll need, and four years is plenty of time for a Nixon-style reinvention.  If she’s willing to do the homework of developing at least a superficial knowledge of the issues. she can position herself as being wiser but still in touch with her “hockey mom” roots.

Granted, though, that’s a big if.  Her current running mate couldn’t be bothered with learning anything beyond slogans about economic policy even as the Wall Street meltdown all but handed Obama the presidency, and the GOP nominee before him — the one who’s in the White House now — well, we know all about his dislike of thinking about anything.

If Palin’s as narcissistic as McCain and Bush, she may very well flame out before the presidential cycle gets serious in 2012.  But if her searing ambition is matched by any kind of work ethic, I’d say we haven’t heard the last of her.

But I guess the polls really must be tightening a bit now, because they’re going there:

I think this is the first ad I’ve seen all year with a punch line.

A bit of added irony: consider the station putting out the clip.

Finding Number One

For the reasons explained below, I find that Govemor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides

“The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.”

…

CONCLUSION
…
The evidence supports the conclusion that Governor Palin, at the least, engaged in “official action” by her inaction if not her active participation or assistance to her husband in attempting to get Trooper Wooten fired [and there is evidence of her active participation]. She knowingly, as that term is defined in the above cited statutes, permitted Todd Palin to use the Governorʼs office and the resources of the Governorʼs office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired. Her conduct violated AS 39.52.110(a) of the Ethics Act. That statute provides that:

“The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.”

Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired. She had the authority and power to require Mr. Palin to cease contacting subordinates, but she failed to act.

…
For all the above reasons, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power as Governor in that her conduct violated AS 39.52.110(a) of the Ethics Act.

Makes you proud, don’t it.