Alaska’s self-destructing political firecracker, Sarah Palin, generated plenty of buzz — and even more head scratching — during the July 4th weekend in my humble hometown of Wasilla, Alaska.

In a surprise announcement that’s only heightened speculation about her mental status, Alaska’s first female governor announced she will be stepping down from her job with more than a year left to her term.

Palin’s bombshell announcement has sent a shock wave through the nation from the Alaska Panhandle to the D.C. Beltway. Even after last Friday’s all-over-the-board announcement in front of her lavish Lake Lucille home, nobody really knows why she left Alaska’s top perch.

Shortly after her announcement, she packed her bags and traveled 300 miles west from Wasilla to go salmon fishing in Dillingham.

So why did Palin, one of the most charismatic figures of the Republican Party, just walk off the job? I guess fishing trips on Kanakanak Beach are more important than helping guide a state through tough economic times.

Many feel that the right-wing, gun-toting hockey mom unraveled under the overwhelming media reports that scrutinized her political abilities. Palin’s adversaries — many from her own Republican Party — even went after her family. I admit, that is a low blow — but one she should be able to handle — especially if she wants to return to the political arena . I feel, along with many others, she is just gearing up for a run at the 2012 Presidential nomination.

When asked about her future, she is as wishy-washy as the waves off the shores of Bristol Bay.

“Don’t know what the future holds,” Palin told ABC News when out on her fishing trip. “I’m not gonna shut any door. That — who knows what doors open. I can’t predict what the next fish run’s gonna look like down on the Nushagak (River). So I certainly can’t predict what’s gonna happen in the next couple of years.”

It would not be a surprise to me whatsoever if, Palin, full of glitz and glamor, threw her hat into the presidential race in 2012. But if she does make the jump to the big race, she will find out that good looks can only get you so far. After all, the presidential election is not a search for America’s Next Top Model.

Many feel she committed political suicide with her resignation, including myself and my dad, Jim Christianson, who is the president of a commercial general contracting company in Wasilla. He is very familiar with Palin, who was Mayor of Wasilla from 1996-2002.

“When it got too hot in the kitchen, she went out to cool off and let someone else do the cooking,” my dad said of Palin’s shocking announcement. “That pretty much squelches her (political) career, how can she be a presidential candidate after what happened?”

But in the same breath, my dad quickly points out that we have not heard the last of Palin.

“There’s something more to her resigning than what she said,” he said.

As a charismatic woman with a strong conservative Christian following, there’s no question in my mind that Palin will resurface in politics.

But the real question is, why would anyone vote her president when she couldn’t even hack it as the governor of Alaska, one of the nation’s least-populated states.

If she doesn’t make a presidential run, then at the very least, it’s quite obvious that she doesn’t have the drive or desire to finish the job.

Her recent actions show she would rather do the TV and book tour circuit than help the many Alaskans who voted her into office. Times are tough right now and this country needs leaders who will try to right the ship rather than jump overboard.

In my eyes, she is a quitter and her glamorous political career isn’t worth the cheap, smelly bait at the end of a fishing pole.