Way to go, Sarah!

It was quite amazing. Sarah Palin stole the headlines from Michael Jackson!

It was Friday, the day before a national holiday, and in the way of Americans these days, Independence Day celebrations had begun.

Crowds left town; many businesses closed early or didn't bother to open at all, making it another three-day weekend.

But in Alaska, in the yard of her home, Gov. Sarah Palin made a speech that shook both political parties and brought out more of the insulting long knives among the so-called pundits.

Even on a normal Friday, generally speaking, "news" doesn't happen and media are essentially closed for the weekend. No one expects breaking news.

TRENDING: Is this what you voted for, America?

Sarah Palin chose late morning in Alaska to drop her media bombshell; it was after 4 p.m. on the East Coast. Media were wrapped up, and most regular talk hosts were on vacation, their microphones manned by some "fill in" who never anticipated big news!

The bombshell Palin dropped on the small crowd gathered as she spoke, was that not only was she not going to run for re-election as governor, she would resign her office July 26.

That's it! Done! Over!

Her short speech was addressed to Alaskans and briefly outlined both the history and importance of the state as well as her administration's accomplishments.

If she were a candidate, it was a perfect summary of campaign talking points. It was stunning in its political import and reaction ranged from name calling, to psychological analysis to ridicule. According to some, her political career is over. They're far from kind, but the media have never been kind to Palin.

In fact, Palin talked about media attitudes – from ignoring Alaska and its people to the personal attacks on her and her family.

Clearly she's not happy with the flood of dirty journalism and bottom-feeding reporters who, from the moment she was named to the McCain ticket, spent all of their time digging for dirt about her and targeting her family and children.

She's had 15 ethics violations filed against her, only to be dismissed. She said accusers pay nothing for their mud slinging while Alaska has spent "some $2 million in taxes" dealing with it, which she considers a waste of taxpayer money. Palin's family faces more than half a million dollars in legal fees "just to set the record straight."

She spoke of "choices" and announced hers: to leave. No cushy lame-duck politician wasting taxpayer money. She says she's "not wired to operate under the same old 'politics as usual.'"

She also spoke of her family being upset that her Down syndrome baby son was "mocked and ridiculed by some pretty mean-spirited adults."

Palin said her family agreed with her decision.

She says she wants to fight for her state and for our country, but beyond that, she had no specifics.

She praised our troops "who sacrifice themselves in war for our freedom and security …" and who take a stand for worthy causes, not "this local/superficial wasteful political blood sport."

Yes, Palin's speech was quite amazing, and she is too!

It's interesting that as we celebrate our independence, headlines are about the kind of politician the Founding Fathers had in mind. They wanted "citizen politicians" who went into politics for a while and left. They didn't envision or want people getting into office and staying there forever.

Sarah Palin is a citizen politician: a woman, wife, mother and a citizen who saw things that needed doing locally, got politically involved and then elected to get them done. She moved up the ranks of Alaska politics, finally to the state house and then into the national limelight.

The politicians hated her and feared her and still do. Why else the nasty remarks about her decision? She is plain spoken and honest – attributes that don't fit in today's politics.

"Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again."

Ronald Reagan said that, nearly 43 years ago, at this first inauguration as California governor.

The media and pundits had called him names and derided him as inexperienced and naïve; he was, after all, just an actor.

But Americans saw him and listened to him. They liked it all and elected him to the statehouse, and then the White House.

He may have been famous and wealthy, but he connected with Americans as a man of the people – someone who knew them, understood them and would defend them and our country against all enemies.

Ronald Reagan believed in and loved his country and his family and wasn't afraid to say so.

Now, Sarah Pain on our political horizon. A successful local and state politician in Alaska, she was thrust onto the national stage and was met with enormous enthusiasm.

Her first national speech when John McCain announced her as his running mate was electrifying and that crowd effect never diminished. Plain spoken, direct and personable, Palin spoke to the people because she's one of them.

Such political candor and honesty are rare, but that's her style. She has a gut instinct for what's right, and I suspect her Friday decision is the correct one.

It may not satisfy pollsters, pundits or beltway pols because she didn't spell out her future plans, but I suspect in the long run the people will agree with her. If she ultimately pursues the presidency, she'll be way ahead of the pack of guys yapping at her heels all the way to the White House.