Ever since Sarah Palin gave her stunningly incoherent “I’m quitting because everyone is a meanie” speech last Friday, political pundits on both sides of the aisle have wasted no time writing endless editorials that depict Palin’s future as anything but sunny. When the conservative wing of American politics abandons their pride-and-joy, you know matters are bad.

Sarah Palin’s future seemed obvious the moment John McCain selected her as a VP candidate: she would eventually be a media figure, most likely hosting her own show on Fox or, even more likely, securing a syndication deal that would effectively make her the White Oprah. That was my prediction when she first entered the national stage and I’m not budging.

The Sarah Palin Show could be the ultimate in train-wreck entertainment.

While you were enjoying fireworks and hotdogs, political analysts across the country penned a ton of editorials that appeared online and in print, of which this is a brief collection, from both sides of the political spectrum:

Sarah Palin to TV? – Newsday

It’s not WILL she jump to TV, but CAN she jump to TV? Plus, these subsidiary questions: What would the show be about? Would it service her political future, or end it – for it is said, the person who undertakes a daytime syndicated talk show will never reach the White House, except as a tourist.

What is Sarah Palin’s Next Step? – ABC News

After reports that she may have resigned because of a supposedly pending federal embezzlement investigation, her lawyers called such speculation false and warned in a letter to the media, “This is to provide notice … that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law.”

Palin Missed the Mark – Dan Bartlett, Former Bush Aide

The former White House Communications Director and Counselor to the President said Palin draws support due to what he called her raw energy in which fans see an authenticity. “That’s why I think where she missed the mark on Friday, by leaving people guessing, I think she’s not coming forward in a very straight, direct way, really telling what her intentions are,” he said. “It’s this kind of vague language she was using. Well, is she or is she not? I think that was a mistake.”

Sarah Palin is Out of the Game – Craig Shirley, Politico

And there are certain truths in American culture and politics, including disdain for quitters and dissemblers. Simply put, Palin’s reason for quitting is not good enough. If she had a better reason, she should have told the people of Alaska. They are owed that, at the very least.

Karl Rove is “Perplexed” – Politico

Rove said, “I’m a little perplexed,” since “she’s not going to be able to escape media attention.”

And Huckabee deemed it “a risky strategy,” adding that “if she did get out because of a feeling of getting chased, that’s not going to stop if she stays in politics.”

Bailout, Palin-Style – Washington Post

But Palin didn’t just quit. She quit — and proceeded to praise herself for doing so. This took a quintessentially Palinesque form, combining an unjustified air of selflessness with an unjustified sense of self-pity. “I thought about how much fun some governors have as lame ducks: travel around the state, to the Lower 48, maybe, overseas on international trade — as so many politicians do,” Palin mused. “And then I thought: That’s what’s wrong. Many just accept that lame-duck status, hit the road, draw the paycheck and ‘milk it.’ I’m not putting Alaska through that.”

Sarah Palin: The Empress Has No Clothes – Telegraph UK

Palin supporters, whose blind faith in their heroine is beginning to make them seem like the most starry-eyed followers of the Barack Obama cult, need to take their blinkers off and consider the following:

1. It doesn’t help the cause of female politicians when they quit because they got some horrible, unfair press. It plays into the stereotype that women aren’t resilient enough to take it.

Now, Sarah’s Folly – Maureen Down in NY Times

“Several told me, independently of one another,” Purdum writes, “that they had consulted the definition of ‘narcissistic personality disorder’ in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — ‘a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy’ — and thought it fit her perfectly.”

Palin’s Prospects – Fred Barnes, Conservative Analyst for Weekly Strandard

Forget about Sarah Palin as the Republican presidential candidate in 2012 and probably ever. She may have no interest in seeking the GOP nomination. But if she does, her chances of winning the nomination have been minimized by her decision to resign as governor of Alaska. She’s knocked out one of three legs of the presidential stool and a second one is wobbly.

The Palin Puzzle - Wall Street Journal

Mrs. Palin’s explanation on Friday was hardly clear or persuasive, wandering from the taxpayer expense of various ethics probes, to the self-indulgence of lame-duck Governors who serve out their terms, to the fact that she and her family had concluded she can better serve the people out of public office. Some Alaskans, including many of her admirers, can be forgiven if they conclude she bugged out when the going got rough.