(CNN) - Last August, then-Republican presidential nominee John McCain introduced to the nation his surprise pick for vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
At the time, little was known about the fresh-faced, first-term governor, but within days, Palin's face was on newspapers, magazines and tabloids.
Since then, Palin has become a polarizing figure in the Republican Party. Her passionate supporters are countered with equally fervent critics.
And even though it's been nearly a year since she ventured onto the national stage and more than eight months since the Republican ticket lost the election, as Palin prepares to leave office, the public's interest in her has yet to wane. Palin explains why she's stepping down
"She's kind of a shooting star that caught fire and kept burning," said Lorenzo Benet, an assistant editor for People magazine and author of "Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin."
"When she walks into a room, she definitely commands attention and she gets more than most. She's definitely a star," said Benet, who was the only national journalist to have spent much time with Palin in the weeks before she was announced as McCain's running mate.
Palin, a mother of five, "caught the imagination" of the public because there is no one else like her, Benet said. "Particularly for conservative America, there hasn't been a rallying figure of this type," he noted.
From CNN Politics
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yeah, she's become the face of American stupidity ... err ... rupugs
If we just ignore her, maybe she'll just go away? Please?
Yawn...turn out the lights, Gracie!
Oh PLEASE run her in 2012 against Obama... PLEASE NeoCons, PLEASE!
Aaaaah Schucks..... SURE it is. Sarah Palin will soon be a private citizen and she will be an "open target" not subjected to any special treatment or protection from provided staffers.
Like momma would always say..... 'BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR, YOU MAY JUST GET IT AND MUCH, MUCH MORE THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR"!!
The media is just drooling for anticipated opportunities to EXPOSE the REAL Sarah Palin once and for all.
If I was Sarah Palin, I'd stop flapping off at the mouth. Silence is golden.
She is not a star. It is the media that is trying to make her a celebrity. She has nothing to offer to the public. Let her go away. Enough already.
She doesnt have a chance in hell of ever being president...she shoulda jus stuck wit her Governors job and then fade away...
Goodbye Sarah! May you fade into oblivion.
That's a heck of an opening line, Palin Resignation Hardly A Curtain Call", you remember this article at the swearing in of the the new President in 2012. Someone with the knowledge needs to introduce a bill that limits Senators, Representatives, and Congressmen to two terms. NOT LIFE. LIKE THE LIABILITYS OF THE KENNEDYS, PALINS, KERRYS, CHENEYS, AND ETC.
more like trainwreck
I wish it was a curtain call. I'm so tired of the media treating this woman like she's someone important. She is only special in her family's eyes and the crazy right wing nuts that follow her. I frankly wish she will just dissappear. A shooting star? Yeah right. More like a black hole.
It may not be a curtain call, but it has affected her reputation. I say, for both Republicans and Democrats, think of her as Limbaugh II, and move on. She will always have her followers, like Limbaugh does, but probably no more than that. Didn't I read somewhere on CNN that only 1/3 of all Republicans thought she was qualfied for President?
Liberals are afraid of Sarah because their little girls admire this traditional lady for all the right reasons. She's able to bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan and still not let her husband forget that he's a man. She IS indeed three times anything the progressively liberal agenda has to offer..
Cnn, you and "Morning Joe" just can't get enough of her can you?
The woman is gutsy, intelligent and is the breath of fresh air that we (all of America) need. The only reason she is hounded and scorned by the majority of Liberal Democrats is due to the fact that they fear her... You heard me right, they FEAR her. She can count on my support for as long as she wants to receive it.
Good riddance to bad leaders!
She's popular for all the wrong reasons. Come on now. She's a failed beauty queen, a failed VP, and now a failed governor.
America: the only place where you can fail miserably and still be popular.
yes and she can also take credit for creating the worst open case of hatred and bigitry in our nation. she has brought out the worst in people an will continue to polarize an separate americans with all her filth speeches and ignorance of policies. if there was ever a politician that was open about white supremacy she is the one. if she were ever to be elected ,it would be the end of america as we now know it. she was the ending of the GOP and hopefully that era has passed forever.
I see that a day can still not go by without a Sarah Palin story. Why is it so important to CNN that this irrelevant and idiotic woman be kept continually in the news?
The narcissistic Obamabots are scared of Sarah Palin because she is an extremely intelligent, articulate woman who would win any election she ran in by a landslide. She's a paragon of family values and integrity as well. Palin/Octomom 2012. Have a nice day!
all i have to say.. is i really like that pic of her. her hair down is a much better look for her than that librarian updo... i bet straight haired ann coulter is so jealous, she wished her mop could look that good.. thats all.
Love you Sarah! I'd love to go moose hunting with you. Keep after those loser socialist liberals. They are running scared of you.
Boy such a gushing article who is this writer trying to suck up too. Personally I wish this woman would just go away.
Besides Michael Steele, Palin is arguably the most stupid individual in politics. Her rabid supporters, the ones with the "ooh, look at the shiny ball" syndrome, obviously share the same degree of intellect. The reason why some of us "fear" her is because we find it unfathomable that somebody so ignorant could've been a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Some rashes won't go away, no matter how many creams u apply!!!