Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin gave her final speech as Alaska’s governor Sunday before stepping down from her post, telling a Fairbanks crowd that she is resigning "to chart a new course to advance the state." “Now people who know me, they know how much I love this state … I feel it is my duty to avoid the unproductive, typical, politics-as-usual, lame-duck session in one’s last year in office,” Palin said, just moments before Lt.