I must say, I'm disappointed.

Sarah Palin was never my top choice. But I felt she could fill out a ticket as V.P., or take some other cabinet position in another Republican's administration, the best-fitting job I think would have been energy secretary. Then she could gradually build up her credibility and run for President in 8 or 12 years.

But THIS move...

To me she just "Ross Perot"-ed herself. Perot was a credible candidate until he couldn't seem to commit to running. And if elected now as President, I could see her saying early on: "Welp, this just isn't for me..." and resigning.
I want a candidate who can commit. She could have just stuck it out for another 18 months as Alaska governor and completed one term, and then she'd have credibility for what she accomplished in her term.

The second thing that's unappealing about her resignation is that she looks weak, and resigned because she couldn't take the heat of political/personal attacks.
I certainly think she was treated unfairly, but, again, she only had to endure it for another 18 months. And she'll still be the butt of an endless stream of harassment lawsuits and late-night jokes regardless. So why not go out in 18 months standing tall ? Her decision makes no sense to me.

For me, it damages her stock.

Again, I like her, but I'm disappointed.
And regardless, Romney was always my first choice anyway. I could picture a Romney-Petraeus ticket in 2012 that could still blow away anything the Democrats could come up with.