clipped from: www.foxnews.com 
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shocked the political word Friday afternoon by announcing that she will step down at the end of the month and transfer power to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell -- a move that throws into doubt her political future and a potential run for president in 2012.
Palin, last year's Republican vice presidential nominee, made the surprise announcement from her home in Wasilla, flanked by her husband, Todd, and family and state commissioners.
"I never believed that I nor anyone else needs a title to do this, to make a difference," she said. "I'm determined to take the right path for Alaska, even though it is unconventional and it's not so comfortable."
Parnell will be inaugurated at the governor's picnic in Fairbanks at the end of the month, Palin said.
The announcement came on the same week that one of her top public health officials says she was forced out of office because Palin felt she wasn't in step on social issues.