You asked four questions, two of which (2 and 3) were essentially loaded questions which you already know the answers to. I chose to answer the fourth question as that was the one I thought most pertinent to the discussion.
As to the first: what should she have done?
1. Not let the Democrats drive her from office.
2. File a counter suit against the woman who was filing all the bogus charges against her (BTW, that woman essentially won,not in the actual complaints, but she drove Sarah from office).
3. Sought additional financial assistance from others to pay her legal bills (her defense fund raised over $100,000 in a fairly short time)
Lets weigh that choice against the one she made.
Blogger lawsuits gone? check.
Hand picked replacement doing well? check.
Secured family's financial future? check.
National insurgency to take back America on track? check.
Developing a network of donors/activists/politicans for possible 2012 run? check.
Delivered smackdown to daughters grubby ex-bf? bonus check.
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It seems to me that Palin is miles ahead of where she would be had she chosen to finish her term as Governor. Conservatives should be grateful for her efforts and her willingness to directly take on both the Obama administration goons and the liberal media elites. Do you really disagree?