And then...it got even weirder

(CNN) -- Alaskan Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who will succeed Gov. Sarah Palin after she leaves office this month, called Palin Alaska's greatest gift to the United States on Saturday.

"I was very surprised at first," he said of Palin's decision to resign, which he said she told him Wednesday.

"But then as she began to explain why she was doing it, I began to see it was Sarah Palin, once again, moving to put Alaska's interest first," Parnell told CNN.

Ahem, three points to make here...

• The only Alaskans who have actually accomplished something on the national stage (as opposed to embarrassing the entire State) are Carlos Boozer and Trajan Langdon.
• Quitting as governor midway through your first term is not "putting Alaska first", unless you're a Democrat. Lisa Murkowski agrees, saying: "I am deeply disappointed that the governor has decided to abandon the state and her constituents before her term has concluded."
• Both Palin and her putative successor have alluded this weekend to the brevity of life. Umm, anything else either of you would like to tell us?