Poll Shows Public Skeptical of Palin's Reason for Resigning

Despite Sarah Palin's claim that she is stepping down as governor to help Alaska, in the week following her resignation announcement over half of the adults polled by CBS News, including more than a third of the Republicans in the group, believe Palin is quitting her job to advance her political career.

Nearly 40 percent of respondents in the survey think Palin will run for president in 2012, but President Obama needn't be overly concerned. Although his approval ratings among Americans recently dropped to 57 percent, he's still far more popular than Palin. Less than a quarter of the 944 Democrats, Republicans and independents in CBS's sample have a "favorable view" of the former VP candidate. Oddly, 45 percent of Republicans answered they "haven't heard enough" regarding Palin to offer an opinion or still cannot decide how they feel about her.

Notwithstanding whether the respondents approve of the short-term governor, on the question of whether she would make an effective president, more than two-thirds answered "no."