Sarah Palin’s stunning, rambling announcement that she will quit at the end of the month, halfway into her first term as Alaska’s governor, would seem to signal the doom of whatever presidential ambitions she had. People who can’t take the pressure of being the governor of a sparsely populated state for one full term are rarely deemed presidential timber.

Still, the extraordinary national attention her July 3 announcement received (she even temporarily pushed Michael Jackson out of the headlines) suggests she is not exactly the standard political figure. Ms. Palin seems to have the ability to send her critics into paroxysms of rage and abuse, and her supporters into gushing adulation.

In abruptly stepping down, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee left many observers scratching their heads, waiting for another high-heel to drop. Could she be serious?

Governor Palin said she was leaving because the onslaught of frivolous ethics investigations launched against her by political enemies — ironically, the result of tough (and, it would seem, poorly crafted) ethics legislation she pushed — was costing taxpayers (and her family) too much money, and diverting attention from more serious issues. She said her lieutenant governor was well-suited to step in and finish her term, without facing such distractions, while she would be freed to speak out in “the lower 48” states about important political issues.

Her family has racked up some $500,000 in legal bills, and she said the state was forced to spend millions of dollars dealing with the complaints. Given her undeniable star power, she could presumably retire those debts quickly on the lecture circuit and with book royalties, while collecting political chits campaigning for Republicans.

“My intention is to go out and to campaign for people who can effect change all across our nation,” she told Time magazine. “I can’t do that [as a sitting governor]. Other governors probably could travel around and campaign for others and speak candidly, using their First Amendment rights to express what they feel about a person, a candidate, a position. I get hit with ethics-violation charges if I do that.”

It’s hard to tell how well her celebrity will hold up. The Beltway crowd, deeming her a hick, was deeply offended by her winks and spike heels, references to being a hockey mom, and such cornball phrases as “You betcha!” Clearly, she lacks the polish of an effective national politician, as her poor performance in some network interviews during last year’s campaign showed.

To be credible on the national stage, she would need to bone up on issues and grow a thicker skin to ward off the abuse sure to come her way. Though the level of vitriol directed at her and her family has been extreme at times (David Letterman, for example, joked about a ballplayer raping her 14-year-old daughter), the criticism of her lack of preparation was just, and top-notch politicians learn to laugh rather than bristle at their critics.

Time will tell whether Americans consider her a fresh voice from the heartland, or a right-wing kook from Alaska. But, if her bombshell announcement proved anything, it is that many Americans, on the left and the right, cannot stop talking about her — and that should translate into a fair amount of media attention, at least in the months ahead. If she cannot cut it in the spotlight, people will move on to other things.