Much chatter today about Governor Palin’s surprise announcement to step down.  Is this a move to further her presidential aspirations, or does it reflect a desire to step out of the national limelight?  Was she trying to protect her kids, whom she invoked repeatedly — and if so, if it was a purely personal decision, then why did she keep repeating the line, “No more politics as usual”?  Was holding the press conference right before the 4th of July an effort to make news or to bury it?  More theories and queries all over the blogosphere.  Here’s a good place to start.

It was hard to figure out, in part because the statement itself was so rambling.  But we’ll have a fuller story soon enough.

In the meantime, I was struck by the passage below.  Not sure what national full-court press she has in mind here, or what it’s picking away at (is the implication from the end of the paragraph that the Obama administration is picking away at national security and freedom?), but it’s not often you hear women leaders invoking basketball analogies:

Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me – sports… basketball. I use it because you’re naïve if you don’t see the national full-court press picking away right now: A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket… and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. And I’m doing that – keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities – smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it’s time to pass the ball – for victory.