A lot of Americans aren’t ready to let go of the resigning governor, stepping down later this month with 18 months left in her term, citing the “insane” business of dealing with consuming ethics complaints back home in the aftermath of her brief stint on a national stage as the Republican 2008 vice presidential nominee. Palin says that she cannot say what the next few years will bring – no more than what the next fish run holds.

But four in 10 Americans surveyed say they could vote for the Alaskan for president – with just 19 percent saying they would be “very likely” to vote for her should she run, and another 24 percent saying they’d be somewhat likely to do so.

The Gallup Poll’s Jeffrey Jones suggests that this offers Palin ” a decent reservoir of potential support to build upon. ”

At the same time, 41 percent of those surveyed this week in the wake of Palin’s surprise Fourth of July weekend resignation say they would be not at all likely to vote for her. And 13 percent say they’d be “not too likely” to vote for her.

As a benchmark on this question, consider what Gallup asked in 2005 about Hillary Clinton running for president: 52 percent of registered voters surveyed said they were at least somewhat likely to vote for her, including 28 percent who said they were very likely to do so.

“Predictably, most Democratic registered voters (70 percent) say they are not at all likely to vote for Palin,” Gallup reports. “While most Republican registered voters (72 percent say they are likely to vote for Palin, only about half of these (35 percent of all

Republican voters) can be considered solid supporters who say they are very likely to support Palin at this time.”

Should Palin shy away from a bid for the White House, Gallup’s Jones notes, “her high profile may allow her to take on a role as a major national political figure. When asked about her possibly having such a role, 39 percent of Americans say they would like to see her do this, including 67 percent of Republicans, 34 percent of independents, and 18 percent of Democrats.”

If Palin has positioned herself at odds with the national news media, a lot of people also think the governor has gotten poor treatment. The survey shows that 53 percent see the news media’s coverage of Palin as “unfairly negative,” while just 9 percent say it has been “unfairly positive” and 28 percent say “about right.”

The survey of 1,000 adults was conducted Monday and carries a possible margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.