Palin “quitting” as governor was probably the right move to make (at least for Alaska). Various left-wing groups filed ethics complaint after ethics complaint. This led to the state wasting huge amounts of money investigating them. In addition she had to pay out of pocket to fight them, running her attorney’s bill up. Further she had become estranged from state democrats after the 08 election when the national party order defeat her at all costs. This led to a problem with the legislature, she wasn’t able to work at all with them. As for her quitting as councilwoman, that was so she could be mayor, and I believe she quit as mayor in order to serve on the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission, which she resigned from in protest of a sticky ethics scandal.
As for her never solving a financial crisis, has she faced one?
And the attack on Palin(by Noonan) of Palin not being “read” or a “thoughtful” person, thrust of her argument: Most of our presidents who have been thoughtful people have been failures and done such tremendous harm in their pursuit of some ideal that we are still experiencing problems today based on those decisions.
She completed both of her two - 3 year terms as Mayor and lost a bid for Lt. Governor. That's when Murkowski offered her that Oil and Gas Commission jig.