"It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind..."

--- With that in mind Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin said in an impromptu speech today, that she would not run for re-election and was resigning from office at the end of the month.

"Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional Lame Duck status in this particular climate would just be another dose of politics as usual, something I campaigned against and will always oppose," Palin said in a statement during a national press conference.

Palin did her best to explain her reasoning for leaving more than a year before her term ends. See if you can follow the logic in this sentence:

"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," she said.

Palin further added that her decision came after much "prayer and consideration." She did not want to waste time on "political blood sport" and cited public criticism of her actions and her family since the 2008 campaign.

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated at the governor's picnic in Fairbanks at the end of the month, Palin spokesman Dave Murrow said.

Palin was first elected in 2006 on a populist platform. But her popularity has waned as she waged in partisan politics following her return from the presidential campaign. Her term would have ended in 2010.

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