HEDLINE
Sarah Palin
In late March  a senior official from the Republican Governors Association headed for Alaska on a secret mission. Sarah Palin was beset by such political and personal turmoil that some powerful supporters determined an intervention was needed to pull her governorship  and her national future  back from the brink.
 Like so much of the advice sent Palin's way by influential supporters  it appeared to be happily received and then largely discarded  barely slowing what was  in retrospect  an inexorable march toward the resignation she announced 10 days ago.
 Palin had returned to her home state from the presidential campaign as one of the hopeful prospects in her struggling party  even if she had much to prove to her detractors. Standing before the Legislature in January  she vowed to retake her office with "optimism and collaboration and hard work to get the job done."
 Almost as soon as she returned home  the once-popular governor was isolated from an increasingly critical Legislature. Lawmakers who had supported her signature effort to develop a natural gas pipeline turned into uncooperative critics.
 Ethics complaints mounted  and legal bills followed. At home  Palin was dealing with a teenage daughter who had given birth to a son and broken up with the infant's father  a baby of her own with special needs and national news media eager to cover it all.
 Friends worried that she appeared anxious and underweight.
 Yet to the dismay of some advisers  Palin dove into the fray  seeming to relish the tabloid-ready fights that consumed her as the work of the state at times went undone.Her growing list of detractors quickly signaled they were not impressed with her celebrity status.
 "We had business to do " said state Rep. Nancy Dahlstrom  a Republican who had worked on Palin's 2006 race for governor. "It's not all about adoration."
In late March  a senior official from the Republican Governors Association headed for Alaska on a secret mission. [TGT] was beset by such political and personal turmoil that some powerful supporters determined an intervention was needed to pull [TGT] governorship  and [TGT] national future  back from the brink.
 Like so much of the advice sent [TGT]'s way by influential supporters  it appeared to be happily received and then largely discarded  barely slowing what was  in retrospect  an inexorable march toward the resignation [TGT] announced 10 days ago.
 [TGT] had returned to [TGT] home state from the presidential campaign as one of the hopeful prospects in [TGT] struggling party  even if [TGT] had much to prove to [TGT] detractors. Standing before the Legislature in January  [TGT] vowed to retake [TGT] office with "optimism and collaboration and hard work to get the job done."
 Almost as soon as [TGT] returned home  the once-popular governor was isolated from an increasingly critical Legislature. Lawmakers who had supported [TGT] signature effort to develop a natural gas pipeline turned into uncooperative critics.
 Ethics complaints mounted  and legal bills followed. At home  [TGT] was dealing with a teenage daughter who had given birth to a son and broken up with the infant's father  a baby of [TGT] own with special needs and national news media eager to cover it all.
 Friends worried that [TGT] appeared anxious and underweight.
 Yet to the dismay of some advisers  [TGT] dove into the fray  seeming to relish the tabloid-ready fights that consumed [TGT] as the work of the state at times went undone.[TGT] growing list of detractors quickly signaled they were not impressed with [TGT] celebrity status.
 "We had business to do " said state Rep. Nancy Dahlstrom  a Republican who had worked on [TGT]'s 2006 race for governor. "It's not all about adoration."