Sarah Palin Is Here to Stay

From Chris Cillizza, "Palin's 2012 Two-Step" ...

For those people who doubted whether the Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's (R) resignation decision yesterday was freighted with 2012 presidential implications, we present two pieces of evidence.

First, Palin released a statement on her Facebook page today that not only castigated the media for how they covered her announcement ("How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it's about country," she wrote) but only sounded a distinctly presidential note.

Said Palin:

I am now looking ahead and how we can advance this country together with our values of less government intervention, greater energy independence, stronger national security, and much-needed fiscal restraint. I hope you will join me. Now is the time to rebuild and help our nation achieve greatness!

Those lines would fit almost perfectly into a stump speech in Iowa or New Hampshire -- two states you should expect to see Palin in sometime soon.

The second piece of evidence regarding Palin's national ambitions came later today when her private attorney -- Thomas Van Flein -- released a four-page statement seeking to quash rumors that the Alaska governor's decision to resign was motivated by ethics problems.

Read the whole thing ... but the bottom line, according to Cillizza, "Sarah Palin is here to stay -- whether you like it or not."

Well, some aren't liking it, obviously.

Check the headlines at Memeorandum, especially, "Options Abound for Palin After Alaska Governorship." But see also:

* CBS News, "Palin A “Shooting Star Crashing To Earth”?"

* Jonathan Martin, "Palin Hammers Media, Hints at National Ambitions."

* Ben Domenech, "Why Did Sarah Palin Resign? Three Possible Reasons and More."

* The New York Times, "If White House Is Her Goal, Palin's Route Is Risky ."

* Phoebe Connolly, "SARAH PALIN INSISTS YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE INTERNET ON HOLIDAY."

* William Jacobson, "It Always Has Been About Trig."