Gov. Sarah Palin Resigning

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is going to resign her office later this month.

Palin held a news conference at her Wasilla home this morning to make the surprise announcement.

Palin said, "It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its  accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success."

Her husband flew in from fishing grounds near Bristol to be by her side for the announcement.  Her own brother said that he didn't know about her plan before she make it official.

A spokesman for Palin say that Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated in Fairbanks on Saturday, July 26.

There has been widespread rumors that the former vice presidential candidate wants to run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination but Sarah Palin would not say exactly why she decided to step down.

Palin was an unknown on the national stage when Sen. John McCain selected her as his running mate for his unsuccessful campaign against Barack Obama.

She was a frequent target of comedy shows like Saturday Night Live.

Gov. Palin got a rock-star welcome on a June trip to the New York area. She visited Westchester, Long Island and found time to go to a Yankees game. She also joined thousands at a fund-raising walk to autism research.

She had a very public fight with David Letterman after the visit when he made a joke that her daughter was impregnated at the Yankees game.  Letterman eventually apologized on his show.

Chuck Heath Jr, Palin's brother, told Fox News that he thinks she is stepping down because she was spending too much of her time defending herself from false accusations and that she couldn't dedicate enough time to her office and her family.

Palin has been dogged by ethics inquiries for the past several months.  Her office announced the 15th dismissal of an ethics complaint against her or one of her staff just last month.