In a letter to supporters, the 2008 vice presidential nominee took herself out of the running for the Republican nomination.
Instead, Palin said she can be more effective helping other Republicans win office as governors, members of Congress and president.
It was a shorter, sweeter retreat than New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's official bowing-out on Tuesday, which came at a lengthy press conference in Trenton.
Taken together, the twin Shermanesque statements pretty much leave Republicans facing what's likely to be the complete GOP field -- dominated by Mitt Romney and a fading Rick Perry, and with pizza magnate Herman Cain rising in the polls.
Most Republicans had not expected Palin to run ever since Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann got into the race and soared to the top in the Iowa straw poll. But Bachmann's stumbles since then opened the door a bit for another female contender with strong conservative credentials.
Palin's path to the nomination would have been complicated by the presence of Perry and so many others, including Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, destined to split the conservative vote.
The man who picked her as his running mate in 2008, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said on Twitter that Palin will "continue to play an important role in our party and for our nation."
The announcement, made from her home in Wasilla, Alaska, could mark the end of Palin's meteoric political career. She was an obscure first-term governor in America's 50th state when she became the surprise vice presidential candidate on the eve of the 2008 Republican National Convention.
Her experience as veep nominee was rocky, much as Dan Quayle's was 20 years earlier when he was plucked from relative obscurity by George H.W. Bush on the eve of that year's GOP convention in New Orleans.
After a strong convention speech, she had a tough time dealing with a skeptical media. Her worst moment may have come during an interview with Katie Couric on CBS, when she reiterated that her state's proximity to Russia gave her foreign policy experience.
Here's the former Alaska governor's letter, as obtained by ABC News:
After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States. As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.
My decision is based upon a review of what common sense Conservatives and Independents have accomplished, especially over the last year. I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office -- from the nation's governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency. We need to continue to actively and aggressively help those who will stop the "fundamental transformation" of our nation and instead seek the restoration of our greatness, our goodness and our constitutional republic based on the rule of law.
From the bottom of my heart I thank those who have supported me and defended my record throughout the years, and encouraged me to run for President. Know that by working together we can bring this country back -- and as I've always said, one doesn't need a title to help do it.
I will continue driving the discussion for freedom and free markets, including in the race for President where our candidates must embrace immediate action toward energy independence through domestic resource developments of conventional energy sources, along with renewables. We must reduce tax burdens and onerous regulations that kill American industry, and our candidates must always push to minimize government to strengthen the economy and allow the private sector to create jobs.
Those will be our priorities so Americans can be confident that a smaller, smarter government that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people can better serve this most exceptional nation.
In the coming weeks I will help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House.
Thank you again for all your support. Let's unite to restore this country!
God bless America.
Sarah Palin
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