I believe the people of Alaska, having seen the carp thrown at her since Aug. 29th, in the form of the unending ethics complaints, will understand completely. She said it in her speech. She and her staff are spending inordinate amounts of time, and the State is paying for that time, in fighting that silliness. Just saying she's not running for re-election wouldn't stop that, in fact, they'd come at her even more, knowing that it's likely she'll run for President, and wanting to poison the water as much as possible.
She is doing JUST the right thing.
I believe the people of Alaska, having seen the carp thrown at her since Aug. 29th, in the form of the unending ethics complaints, will understand completely. Frankly, that's debatable. In the short term, you might have a point.
But in the long run, in terms of Presidential aspirations in '12, or '16, this will definitely be an albatross around her neck.
If she really has Presidential aspirations for '12 or '16, then she has to think of the long term.