That doesn't fit now that Palin has announced that she is quitting her job 18 months before her term ends.

The pit bull has become a quit bull.

Or as people are saying, "Bailin' Pailin."

Say it ain't so, Sarah.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not the least, tiniest bit sorry to see this particular politician step away from office. When it comes to politics, Palin and I are polar opposites. Make no mistake about that.

Still, her surprise news conference was a cringe-worthy moment if ever there was one. Talk about setting women back. For Palin to up and quit the way she did with 18 months to go before her term expires, it just looks bad - not just for her but for professional women everywhere, particularly those who are juggling demands of high-profile careers and school-age kids.

You don't quit like that.

Besides, isn't this the kind of stereotypical behavior that always gets lobbed at working mothers? You know the jibes: Females are unpredictable. They put family before all else. They are erratic.

Palin's shocker announcement that she would bow out early is fuel for armchair neanderthals who like to claim that women, particularly mothers of young children, shouldn't even be considered for such positions. Although it's tempting to simply say "good riddance" about Palin's unexpected early exit, it's galling to watch as she plays right into tired sexist notions.

During her resignation speech, Palin said that she polled her kids about her plan to leave office. "It was four 'yesses' and one 'hell yeah!' " Palin said. She didn't explain who voted on behalf of her infant son. Husband Todd, maybe? But I digress . . .

"The 'hell yeah' sealed it - and someday I'll talk about the details of that," Palin continued during her remarks. "I think much of it had to do with the kids seeing their baby brother, Trig, mocked by some pretty mean-spirited adults recently."

You've got to be awfully hard-hearted to take swings at someone's toddler. And, yes, I also thought it was tacky of David Letterman to joke about Palin's daughter getting pregnant by Alex Rodriguez during a baseball game. But every smart candidate knows before they ever enter this game that politics is a dirty business. Even President Bill Clinton, who did a good job of it, wasn't fully able to protect Chelsea when he was in office.

The old double standard hasn't gone anywhere. And to some degree, Palin was subjected to it in the same way that Hillary Clinton was when she ran for the presidency.

But you always look to a time when politicians of Palin's stature and influence can help move the country forward away from this kind of thing - instead of helping reinforce stereotypes. *

Send e-mail to heyjen@phillynews.com. My blog: http://go.philly.com/heyjen.