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Palin's move stirs questions on motives

Today she will step down from job as governor of Alaska

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: July 26, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Gov. Sarah Palin has gained fame -- and to some, infamy -- since she embarked on a vice-presidential bid less than a year ago.

Her surprising departure from Alaska's top office is gaining her something else: questions over her motives and next big move.

She leaves office today with her political future clouded by ethics probes, mounting legal bills and dwindling popularity.

A new Washington Post-ABC poll puts her favorability rating at 40 percent, with 53 percent giving her an unfavorable rating.

The Republican governor also faces an array of queries about why she is quitting more than a year before her term ends, and what she plans to do after she steps down.

Palin has said little about any major moves, but has hinted that she has a bigger role in mind.

She is scheduled to speak Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, and has said that she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates from coast to coast, and build a right-of-center coalition.

Above all, she plans to continue speaking her mind on the social networking site Twitter.

"Ain't gonna shut my mouth / I know there's got to be a few hundred million more like me / just trying to keep it free," Palin said in a recent Tweet, quoting from the song "Rollin' " by the country duo Big & Rich.

Such folksy offerings endear Palin to millions of fans, including more than 100,000 who follow her on Twitter. But are they enough to launch a political movement?

Jerry McBeath, a political scientist, said that the answer isn't clear. "In the context of 305 million Americans, 100,000 is not a lot of followers," he said.

McBeath, the chairman of the political science department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said that Palin "needs to do something beyond tweeting -- or twittering, whatever it is -- to establish a continuous national presence."

A more conventional politician would write a syndicated column or host a radio or TV show, McBeath said, but added: "I don't know if Sarah Palin wants that."

"I think she believes she has something to say that is of value to voters who share her views and believes that part of her calling is to continue" speaking out on Twitter, he said.