It’s hard to believe that a year ago I was watching a photographer shoot Sarah Palin on her dock in front of her Wasilla home for our cover story on her. And given the weather today — it’s 100+ degrees in Washington — a pleasant Alaska summer is looking pretty nice right now. TIME’s Feifei Sun has a look at Palin’s eventful year. An excerpt:
Last July, on the eve of Independence Day, Sarah Palin announced her intention to resign as governor of Alaska in the same abrupt manner that had come to epitomize her overnight appearance on the national political scene and subsequent rollout as John McCain’s VP pick for the 2008 presidential election. Knee deep in financial troubles, embroiled in ethics complaints and in the middle of a nasty, public he-said-she-said fallout with team McCain, the Thrilla from Wasilla traded in a modestly paid government spot for the chance to “fight for what’s right” without any fancy title. One year later, Palin finds herself $12 million richer, the “Mama Grizzly” of America’s Tea Party movement, a buzzed-about 2012 presidential hopeful and front and center in the nation’s political stage.