Someone Held a Gun To Her Head

Sarah Palin resigns! What's the first thought that comes into your head? It's obvious: she must have been busted doing something really bad, because you just know that you'd have to chop that woman's fingers off with an axe, to get her to let go of power. You'd have to chop off her cold, dead hands...

Though no evidence of Palin's pawprints on a state-sized scandal have come to light so far, there's much to consider in her bizarre resignation speech. It's been reported that her family didn't even know what the Wasilla was happening until she started speaking... and speaking as if she was tripping on acid, speeding on speed, zooming on Zoloft...

And yet I am surprised at the number of blogging heads who seek a hidden, deeper meaning in Palin's strange afternoon. For example, the feeling that she's acting upon this secret plan to put herself closer to the center of political action, meaning, Washington, D.C. Or that she's resigned because she really means that bullshit line about how "we know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time, on another scale."

Effecting political change outside of conventional politics -- let's see... well, she is handy with a high-powered hunting rifle, and... political power grows out of the barrel of a gun... so maybe she's going to shoot the President?

UPDATE: To be fair, lots of veteran TV reporters said, in essence, 'WTF'?

It's mystifying. It was a bizarre statement. It didn't make a lot of sense and it doesn't seem to be the kind of thing someone would do if someone was running for President -- Cokie Roberts, ABC

This is very unusual, even bizarre. Governors just don't stop in the middle of their terms when there's no clear reason -- someone on CBS

...if she were trying to do away with the kind of speculation that she says has so irritated her, this not the way to do it -- someone on NBC

Even if this was part of a calculated plan, it's the sheer recklessness of it: I'm Sarah Palin, and I abandoned a high-ranking position of power not even half-way into my first term, in order to push my own power-mad agenda. I want you to trust me to be your President.

And I want to run awaaaaay.