Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s announcement of her resignation cannot be read in terms of the conventional wisdom of politics – i.e. that she’s getting out ahead of some damaging political revelation she knows is right around the corner, or that she’s finally fed up with the constant personal attacks on her and her family, or even that she’s running for president in 2012 and wants to be free of the constraints of office.

A close reading of her actual words in her announcement reveals otherwise. The key fact about Palin is that she is not a conventional politician. She actually means what she says, which is why her statement must be read in light of that fact, not with the assumption that she must have unstated motives. Her complete statement was posted on her official web site and it bears serious study, particularly this passage: