Ah, That Scamp Sarah Palin

So what's she up to now?

Listen to people who love her and they'll tell you she's brilliant - she's selfless - she's stepping down to save her state needless expense and distraction, she's putting her now-mighty media presence to work for the causes she believes in. This won't derail her White House hopes, they say. It's a master stroke.

Listen to the people who aren't fans (in varying degrees) and they'll tell you she just skewered her political ambitions (tough to convince people you're for real when you didn't even finish your term as governor), that there's a backstory we haven't heard yet and when the shoe drops it's going to be a big one. They'll tell you it was getting too hot for her in Alaska. They'll shake their heads at what they say was a pretty unfocused explanation of her resignation.

Listen to Manisha Thakor, my professional buddy and financial analyst who can always be counted on to have a different slant, and she'll tell you that Sarah Palin may just have made a great choice - big bucks and more privacy while she works on her book, versus constant battles and mounting legal bills as governor. Maybe it was just a lifestyle choice.

I don't know. I have heard that Palin's gunning for Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore. I've interviewed Shannyn. She doesn't sound like a conspiracy theorist and she's not, as soon to be ex-Governor Palin has labelled her, an "enemy of the state". She's a watchdog and a whistleblower. Those are time-honored jobs that only the bravest and thickest skinned among us take on. She has questions about how Palin has run Alaskan government and about what she believes are serious ethical violations.

Sarah Palin, as we know, doesn't like criticism. And the angrier she gets, the more I think she must have something to hide.

I don't take Sarah Palin seriously, to be honest. She's cute. She's perky. She's may have the ambition of a lioness, but she comes across like the kid who accidentally wandered into the physics class. She'd like to be there, but she just doesn't get it.

She shoots stuff and she speaks a dumbed down version of political rhetoric, both of which I find offensive.

But I know lots of people adore her folksy, "I'm one of you" delivery. She's so non-threatening (unless you disagree with her about something).

I hope she writes her book, makes a lot of money and has a comfortable life. I don't wish her ill, though I do hope she becomes more open minded. And I sincerely hope she stays out of politics.

I don't want my politicians to be like me. I want them to be smarter.