Sarah Palin was a widely unknown politician and self-described "hockey mom" before John McCain chose her as his vice-presidential running mate for the 2008 presidential election. Since then, the ex-governor of Alaska has become a household name, a woman whose every move is endlessly analyzed by bloggers, talking heads and late-night talk-show hosts alike. In the wake of her resignation, she’s continued to generate headlines after an ongoing ethics probe into her use of government trust funds became public. We asked wOw intuitive Peggy Rometo about the past, present and future of the country’s most famous Alaskan.

wowOwow: Why did Sarah Palin really step down?

Peggy: She stepped down for several reasons. My sense is that she’s a very complex and sensitive person, which makes it difficult for her to speak publicly about her family and her own emotions (and may account for the trouble she encountered in conveying her decision to resign). First and foremost, she was exhausted, and felt she was neglecting her marriage, her kids and her own health. And second, she felt she had become a detriment to her state: There was too much focus on her and her family, and not on the issues. Her lack of accountability and inability to focus caused state officials to ask her to step down, and she conceded. In the end, she felt that by staying she was not serving Alaska well, which helped her to justify her resignation.

wOw: Does she have any regrets about her decision?

Peggy: She goes back and forth. Initially, she felt sad about giving up the office she had fought so strenuously to win; now, she worries that she should have stuck it out. She regrets the example that she’s set for her kids and feels bad about letting her constituents down. At the same time, she is enjoying her personal freedom, and feels she’s done the right thing for her family and Alaska in the long run. But there is still an occasional twinge of "what if" she had waited to finish out her term and not allowed herself to be bullied.

wOw: Does she have presidential ambitions?

Peggy: I do see that she is strongly interested in running for president, but with considerations. At the moment, she’s wrung out from the mayhem and limelight of the 2008 race, and is feeling accosted by the pressure of her public role. My sense is that she’s simply burned out, and needs time to regroup. In the spring of 2010, after she’s feeling rested, she’ll consider whether or not she’ll become a candidate – which will in part be based on how much support she feels she has in the Republican Party.

wOw: Will she win if she does run for president?

Peggy: That’s the million-dollar question! And unfortunately, we’re not dealing in absolutes here. My sense is that she’ll spend part of 2010 forming an exploratory committee and getting a real sense of her prospects. If she doesn’t gain enough support, or feels she can’t win, she won’t run at all; she doesn’t want to put her family or herself through a national campaign unless she has a real shot. But what I’m seeing now is that many in her party will want her to be the nominee, on the basis that a woman can be a viable candidate in light of Hillary Clinton’s strong showing in 2008. But I believe Sarah will shock everyone by pulling out unexpectedly or declining altogether.

wOw: It was announced recently that Palin is under investigation for misuse of government trust funds relating to her personal legal bills. Is this controversy part of the reason she resigned the governorship?