Palin defends decision to resign

Alaska governor Sarah Palin defended her unexpected decision to resign just as she tries to elevate her national profile before a possible 2012 presidential run.

Mrs Palin, last year's Republican vice presidential candidate, spoke in the remote Alaskan town of Kotzebue, 30 miles north of the Arctic circle, after signing a Bill to bolster law enforcement in the state's villages.

She was greeted with cheers by about 300 people and briefly took the floor to dance to the beat of Inupiat Eskimo drummers.

She defended her decision to step down after a year in which she has been bombarded with a series of ethics complaints that have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to investigate.

"You would be amazed at how much time and resource my staff and I, the Department of Law especially, spend on this every day," she said.

"It is a waste. We are spending these millions of dollars not on teachers and troopers and roads or fish research and other things that are needed in Alaska."

Mrs Palin stunned the political world when she abruptly announced on Friday that she would step down on July 26. She spent the long holiday weekend fishing with her husband and children and attended an Independence Day parade.

Her first official appearance was at the Bill signing. She also gave several interviews while wearing waders from her family's fishing spot before flying to Kotzebue.

She has not said what she will do next, but a book deal is in the works. When asked if she would run for president, Mrs Palin responded: "That's certainly not within my immediate plans."

However, she was quick to criticise Barack Obama over his economic policy.

There has been speculation that she has some legal issue that is not yet known to the public. However, her lawyer said yesterday that she had no legal problems and was simply tired of the hostile political climate, legal bills and other distractions.

Mrs Palin says the state will be better off with Lt Gov. Sean Parnell as she gets consumed by a political climate that she considers vicious.

"Obviously conditions had changed so drastically on August 29, the day I was tapped to be VP," she said.

"The opposition research and the games that began there - which I think is the new normal in Alaska politics, until I hand the reins over to Sean Parnell - have been so distracting."

"I had promised no more politics as usual," she said. "I had promised no more ineffectiveness and inefficiencies. We will progress the state better with Sean in the governor's seat and me fighting for Alaska on the outside of government because of the conditions that have changed."

Mrs Palin's resignation has set up a free-for-all for her job when her term ends in 2010. Mr Parnell will serve out her final year and a half, but nearly a dozen people have filed letters of intent to run in 2010.

While it remains to be seen whether Palin will seek the presidency in three years, a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted on Monday found 19% of voters said they would be very likely to back her in 2012 and another 24% said they would be somewhat likely.

The telephone poll was based on interviews with 1,000 adults.