July 3 (Bloomberg) -- Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican Party vice-presidential nominee, said she is resigning her office by the end of the month.

“This decision came after much consideration,” Palin told reporters today gathered at her home in Wasilla, Alaska. “I really don’t want to disappoint anyone with this announcement.”

Palin, 45, did not give specific reasons for her decision. In her remarks, though, she said that since last year’s election, she has been subjected to the “the politics of personal destruction” through more than a dozen “frivolous” ethics complaints.

She took no questions and declined to address whether she might seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Palin was little known outside Alaska when Arizona Senator John McCain last summer picked her to serve as his running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.

She was first elected to a four-year gubernatorial term in 2006. Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell will assume the governor’s office.

Split Reactions

Political observers were split over whether her decision to resign would serve Palin’s purposes should she decide to seek the presidency.

Palin “made the right decision if she is serious about running” for the White House in 2012, said Washington-based independent political analyst Charlie Cook.

“She could be a good governor or she can be a serious candidate for president, but she can’t do both well,” Cook said.

Matt Mackowiak, a Washington-based Republican consultant, said Palin can now “focus exclusively on political matters, international travel and boning up on policy.” While she will lose “some of the gravity” that comes with being a governor, “that is far outweighed by her inherent star power and the logistical freedom that she gains,” he said.

Rich Galen, a Republican political strategist who once advised former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, questioned Palin’s move. “This hardly seems like a well thought-out strategy,” he said.

Resigning as governor is a “nutty” decision if Palin plans to run for president, said John Weaver, a former senior aide to McCain. The best preparation for a White House run is to “be a good governor and get re-elected -- not be the point guard who walks off the court,” he said.

‘Constant Surprise’

John Feehery, a one-time aide to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, called Palin “a source of constant surprise.”

“Only time will tell if she is a meteor flashing through the sky or a bona fide political star,” said Feehery, a Republican strategist.

Palin’s approval ratings in Alaska have fallen since she became a national political figure. In May, a poll by Hays Research Group in Anchorage found 54 percent of Alaskans had a somewhat or very positive view of her, down from 86 percent a year earlier.

Vanity Fair

Palin’s announcement came amid a fresh round of public recriminations between McCain’s inner circle and the Palin camp over the 2008 campaign -- instigated by an article in the August issue of Vanity Fair. The nearly 10,000-word piece quoted numerous McCain advisers, mostly speaking anonymously, who disparaged the Alaska governor.

In response, Palin champions, including conservative commentator Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard, accused some of McCain’s top campaign advisers of being dishonest and self- serving -- in effect trying to blame Palin for McCain’s loss in November.

Palin’s selection as McCain’s running mate last summer gave the GOP ticket a temporary boost before President Barack Obama won the November election by a comfortable margin.

As the campaign unfolded, she demonstrated a strong appeal to rank-and-file Republicans. Interviews she did with ABC news anchor Charles Gibson and CBS anchor Katie Couric, however, raised questions about her knowledge of national and international policy.

Trooper Case

During the campaign, a panel of Alaska legislators investigated Palin’s dismissal of the state’s public safety commissioner who had refused to fire a state trooper involved in a divorce and custody battle with a member of the governor’s family.

While finding the public safety chief’s firing was legal, the panel criticized Palin for demanding the trooper’s dismissal. The investigation became known as “Troopergate.”

Palin has had 18 ethics complaints filed against her, all but three of which were lodged after she returned to Alaska from the campaign trail in November. The Alaska Personnel Board, which reviews such matters, has dismissed 15 of the complaints, finding the governor did not violate any state ethics rules.

The complaints have included allegations that she misused her office for out-of-state travel and that she accepted apparel gifts from a snowmobile manufacturer that sponsors her husband, Todd Palin, a snowmobile racer.

“Political operatives” who “descended on Alaska last August digging for dirt” after her selection as McCain’s running mate were behind the charges, Palin said.

The complaints have been dismissed “but it hasn’t been cheap,” Palin said. Remaining as governor while defending ethics charges would be “wasting public dollars and state time,” she said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Edwin Chen in Washington at echen32@bloomberg.net; Simon Lomax in Washington at 4305 or slomax@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 3, 2009 19:27 EDT