>> I can see a number of reasons for her making this choice effective right now; and not all of them are self-serving.
1) Handing over the office to her Lt. Gov now gives him a year-and-a-half to "show his stuff" before the next gubernatorial election. He will be the incumbent (sort of) and he will have a record to run on against whatever leftist/lib the Ds put up.
This is one for the team (R party).
2) She has been forced to spend precious time and $$ defending herself against frivolous, even insane, ethics complaints; which has forced her also to not have the time to focus on doing the business of Alaskans and Alaska.
This is one for the citizens of Alaska.
3) If she had traveled to Republican events for speaking engagements. in the lower 48 while she was still governor, her political opponents (not just the Ds, but the old boy network of wishy-washy Rs) would raise the argument that she was using her office as a stepping stone and neglecting her responsibilities to the people of Alaska.
Now she can travel and speak out on the issues that made her such a frightening opponent to the leftists/libs during the presidential campaign. <<
There you go! August 1, she’s free.
I do not know how she withstands the vileness of the media. Bush did it by not watching television.