EXCLUSIVE: PALIN RESIGNATION ‘DAMAGE CONTROL’ FOR COMING ‘ICEBERG SCANDAL’ ... MORE: EMBEZZLEMENT INDICTMENTS COMING?  —  [See update below for exclusive source details from Alaska...FURTHER UPDATE now added below: AK sources say ‘embezzlement’ scandal related to Palin's house, federal indictments may be in offing.

Kristol: A Contrarian Take  —  If Palin wants to run in 2012, why not do exactly what she announced today?  It's an enormous gamble - but it could be a shrewd one.  —  After all, she's freeing herself from the duties of the governorship.  Now she can do her book, give speeches …

Palin Will Run In '12 On More Retardation Platform  —  In Sarah Palin's resignation announcement she complained about the treatment of her son Trig who always teaches her life lessons.  She said that the “world needs more Trigs, not fewer.”  That's a presidential campaign promise we can all get behind.

Did a Scandal Sink the U.S.S. Palin?  —  Blogs and Stories  —  The suddenness of Sarah Palin's resignation raises questions about whether a coming scandal caused her to leave office.  Max Blumenthal looks at one possibility.  —  Plus: Read more of The Daily Beast's coverage of Palin's resignation and the GOP implosion.

First Signs What Happened  —  Okay, we're getting our first indication of what happened.  It seems like a colossal sulk on Palin's part, or perhaps better to say an effort on her part to ingeniously combine anti-liberal media bias agitation with Christianist politics by portraying herself as having been crucified by the liberal media.

Did an embezzlement scandal force Sarah Palin to resign?  —  Max Blumental reports on The Daily Beast that Sarah Palin may have quit her job today because she was trying to avert a major, yet-to-be-disclosed corruption scandal.  The gist of the rumor is that an Alaska building company called …

Sarah Palin, You Owe The Media An Apology  —  “I told you so” moments are pretty sweet — and thanks to Sarah Palin, now I've got one.  Ten months to the day after her speech at the Republican National Convention, I would like for this woman to eat her words:

Full Text Of Palin's Resignation Speech  —  The Governor's website posted this transcript on Friday, July 3.

Palin won't run for re-election in Alaska, source says  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is expected to announce Friday that she will not seek a second term, a Republican source close to Palin tells CNN.  —  Palin has scheduled a 3 p.m. ET news conference at her home in Wasilla.

GOP Official Who Emailed With Palin Moments Before Decision, Explains Her Move  —  The head of the Republican Governor's Association said on Friday that in emails sent to him moments before she announced her resignation as governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin discussed expanding the role she played in the Republican Party.

10 Possible Reasons for Palin's Decision  —  1. Her political standing has slipped enough that she could have lost a re-election bid if she tried to retain her current office.  —  2. Her political standing has slipped enough that even if she had run and won, she would have likely been bloodied in the race, maybe even in a primary.

HuffPoster: 'Palin Will Run In ‘12 On More Retardation Platform’  —  This is about as disgusting as Palin Derangement Syndrome can get.  —  A blog just published at the Huffington Post is disgracefully titled “Palin Will Run In '12 On More Retardation Platform.”

Surreality Only Beginning  —  As David noted below, many commentators have taken little more than an hour to proceed from slack-jawed bewilderment to belief that Sarah Palin's unexplained resignation may be a political masterstroke.  —  For the moment there's no clear evidence of or explanation …