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Although her announcement to retire as governor before her term was up at the end of 2010 came as a surprise, Alaskan observers said that had she stayed on, she would have faced falling approval numbers, continuing ethics inquiries and criticism she was neglecting the state in her quest to establish a possible 2012 U.S. presidential run, the Anchorage Daily News reported Saturday.

Palin's explanation that her resignation would prevent Alaska from having a lame duck governor didn't wash with her critics, who questioned whether the negative media attention and scrutiny placed on her in the state and nationally is what brought about her abrupt exit, the newspaper said.

"Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long-shot national political ambitions, or she simply can't handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down", Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan told the Daily News.

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