Apparently, Sarah Palin will resign the Alaska governorship in a few weeks, and her Lieutenant Governor will be inaugurated on July 25. As yet, there's no explanation for why she's doing this, which, frankly, seems plum crazy. I can't decide if it's worse for her politically if there's a real reason--a family illness, a pending indictment, whatever--or if there's none at all.
Update: Video's below. Looks like the answer is "none at all." And she looks EXTREMELY rattled.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
It seems very strange. I think if it's a legit family situation-- not 'wanting more time with her kids'-- it won't hurt her, but otherwise I don't see how it can't hurt her.
If it is an indictment, hope it's out of Alaska -- an indictment by the DoJ would make her a true martyr in the eyes of her base supporters.
Let em...it's easier to spot the loons when they are ones yelling the loudest...
Me: Happy Birthday America!
America: Ah, you shouldn't have! Really, she would have left at the end of her term anyway...
Me: Yeah, I know, but you're such a great country and all...
My guess...she needs the money - They'll be mooooovin on up...Book deal, talk show, radio show - all increasing the glory that is SARAH PALIN. /popcorn.
No question she could make a fortune in the short term (at least) with her own show on radio or cable. But she'd be finished as a candidate, forever. Too much material, all on tape, to confront her with if she ran again. I'm convinced that's why Chris Matthews -- who I actually like -- passed on running for Senate; there's too much tape of him saying offensive, boorish, stupid things. Goes twice for Governor Palin.
She can probably make more money in entertainment than national politics, though.
But is there really a difference anymore - i.e. Bill O'Reilly/Glen Beck/Etc - those clowns make $5M/yr minimum to be entertainers/journalists (and I use that term oh so very loosely)
Although the one odd thing I give her credit for on this, is that considering how much she hates the MSM/Blogosphere etc, this is a really, really good way to screw their 3-day weekend. Wait till the end of the week's cycle then dump a massive story in their laps at 3pm EST while half are on their way to the beach, or wherever, and cause them to have to turn around and come back to cover it. Sort of amusing actually...
Leave it to Sarah Palin to punctuate the week long freak show coverage of MJ's death. We should have expected that she would seize this moment.
And Chris, Keith and Rachel are all off on vacation. . . .
And Daily Show/Colbert are off next week too....
and here I was, wondering why she did this on a Friday...
Even the movement conservatives (to say nothing of normal people) are seeing this as erratic and strange. If this ends her national political career, I applaud. Who would take seriously a Presidential candidate whose executive experience is a half-term as Governor of Alaska?
> Who would take seriously a Presidential candidate whose executive experience is a
> half-term as Governor of Alaska?
Most of the people at the 2008 GOP convention, as I recall. Don't you remember their "executive experience" argument, citing even her tenure as mayor of Wasilla as being more substantial than Obama's?
I worry more about her incoherent rambling. There were not 2 sentences here that made sense together.
It's possible that she's tired of the job. I would imagine it would have been difficult to re-orient herself to Alaska after the whirlwind time she had running on the McCain ticket. What's the old song: "how are you going to keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree?..."
Also, with apologies to Yeats:
"...Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming!
...And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches from Wasilla to be born?"
I'm confused. Why is she resigning now? Coudn't she have just said she will finish out her term and continue in office like Pawlenty? Doesn't resigning now make her less than a 1 term gov. Isn't Pawlenty and Romney 2 term gov?
On MSNBC of course Pat Buchanan is saying that this is a good thing or her.
I think Buchanan is the only one. Everyone else seems to be bailing on her. I suspect some major poo is about to hit the fan and she's trying to get out of Dodge before it does.
Even Lowry isn't having this...
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MDA4NjdlZTM3YzY2NTU4ZjU0ZjcyODUxYjE2ZjNmMGY=
The little starbursts have disappeared!
Kristol seems to think this is a good idea. He's saying she's "crazy . . . like a fox".
As far as her supporters go . . . she's lost some, but the ones that remain are as fervent as ever (or even more so). Many are claiming this is a genius move that will free her up for the 2012 race. They're also busy attacking those supporters that are expressing disappointment. Check the blogs.
Mitt Romney was a one-term governor who basically slandered his own state for the last year of his administration while he was running for president.
Pawlenty is a two-termer who turned down a third run.
Multiple Choice:
1. To get her Presidential race in gear;
2. Ethics Violations Scandal;
3. Other kind-heh heh-of scandal (revealed either by Megan McCain or Stephen Schmidt from the McCain campaign);
4. Todd Palin has tryst with Andrew Sullivan;
5. Short attention span (see previously held positions)--my personal favorite;
6. Recieved message from Jesus via cell phone--"Render unto Caeser."
7. Threats from the World Wildlife Association.
8. Just one more episode of the endless Sarah Palin--me, me, me--reality show soap opera. Sequels definitely in the works.
9. To spend time with her family, as in I just wanna spend more time with my family...
Who knows, but it does have the stink of the Exxon Valdez in the wings of cormorants to it.
oh, if only No. 4 were true!
My immediate thought was scandal, but it would have to be on a massive scale because she's had plenty of scandals that haven't stopped her one bit. Could it be that Sully was right all along about Trig??? Then I thought some kind of major medical problem (like cancer) that she has to overcome, but why announce it on a Friday afternoon where it'll get buried over the weekend? Then I thought she's enough of a loon that she's actually just doing it to campaign for the 2012 nomination -- nothing else about her makes any sense, so why not this? But again, why announce it on a Friday afternoon.
So now I'm back to scandal. Not heh-heh scandal but HOLY SHITE scandal.
> So now I'm back to scandal. Not heh-heh scandal but HOLY SHITE scandal.
I'm hoping it involves Mark Sanford.
Maybe Palin was the "spiritual adviser" Sanford took with him to see his Argentinian lovah in New York.
Could it be that Sully was right all along about Trig???
*blink* That's physiologically impossible. Bristol was already pregnant with Tripp when Trig was born.
I chose 5 with Sully playing the part of the inattentive lover causing Todd to pull a "Walkin the Appalachian’s" and flying to Aspen to track him down and confront him. While he may be married to Palin, at least he spent one semi-blissful night with his soulmate.
I love the misspelling of "Caeser." Haha YES.
Okay,
I just saw somewhere that she has only been gov for 30 F*&KING MONTHS!!!
WTF!!! I can't stand the woman and this don't make no sense to me. She is barely a 1/2 term gov.
I know during the campaign the GOP liked to make a big deal over Obama being a 1 term Senator, but damn he at least had all those years in the Illinois state senate.
Who is advising this woman?
> Who is advising this woman?
Jeebus.
I think she's just cashing in. She'll make a ton of money on the wingnut chicken circuit speaking and through ghost-written books.
Staying governor does not help her if it just demonstrates her incompetence. She probably hopes that she is remembered from when Alaska had a surplus and doesn't want to be associated with the hard choices that have to be made this year and next.
Yup! Most governors in office now are getting nailed with declining revenues, rising unemployment and alot of stuff that is beyond their control. Maybe she wants her legacy to be "sold the plane on eBay, didn't accept that bridge money", not ethics scandals, drug-dealing inlaws, etc.
I've read on HuffPost that she may be doing this to prep herself for her 2012 Presidential run - which we all know is coming. I have no idea how resigning NOW would HELP her. But I don't live in Bizarro-Palin world, so it's just something I'm incapable of understanding.
See above-- she's getting out before the cratering economy can 'tarnish' her 'record.'
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah...
Her logic is: too many governors are not effective, and I refuse to do that. Therefore, I quit!
After reading the Vanity Fair piece, my theory is that she knows that shit is about to hit the fan in Alaska, and she doesn't want to be there when it happens. Safer to remove herself from whatever problems she might actually have to devote attention to and lose political points on.
....Wow. just wow. All I can think of is how I attended a high school graduation for a family member not too long ago, and she has the precisely same cadence, accentuation and breathing pattern of those high schoolers giving their speeches.
Something is seriously unhinged in this story.
Happy Fourth of July Everyone!
My theory is that she plans to run for Prez in 2012. In the meantime she can pull in some serious "bling" "writing" a book and appearing throughout the country to rally her nutjob base.
Think of all the silk underwear her and the "first dude" can buy with the cash she can pull in. When I think of the word "ghetto" Sarah Palin and her hubby pop into my mind. I'm seeing lotsa gold chains and expensive snow mobiles in their future.
If there is no indictment or scandal looming she will try to portray stepping down as a 'sacrifice" she made to save the country from President Obama.
I love the smell of Sarah stepping down............smells like victory........or teen spirit!
um, IP, that would be SNOW MACHINES to you fool.
Signed,
Sarah P (na na na na)
Just out of curiousity ,when was her term supposed to end ?Was it 2010 ?
Yes, which is why I don't buy those thinking this is a prelude to a Presidential run. She could have finished out her term with two years left before the Presidential election. Quitting your elected position midway through with no explanation is not the way to convince people that you are ready for the top job.
Thanks for the info.I knew that she was elected in 2006 but did not know how long her term was.By the way though,I do think you are giving her too much credit in the rationality department.It is a stupid move if you are planning to run in 2012.But she may have thought that it was a smart move. Goodness knows why.But she never stuck me as particually politically savvy.
By the way ,I would like to wish MR Coates and all of the commenters here a very happy and safe Fourth of July.
She's decided to go hiking in the Appalachians?
I just watched the video of her announcement.
She seems VERY nervous.
It's almost as if she is having a breakdown.
I wonder what is going on in the background.
She was a poor speaker before.
This is terrible.
And John McCain's sanity becomes even more suspect.
So they packed up their stuff and moved to Iowa.
Hawkeye State that is, corn stalks, wrestling stars.
So I in January or so I remember hearing how the leadership of the republican party was supposed to come out of their governor's offices. Huntsman resigned to work for Obama. Sarah Palin resigned for whatever reason that you all can discern from that video. Your guess is as good as mine. Sanford is about a week from bolting the country. Jindal was bailed on after one really bad speech. Schwarzeneggar has California about a week from being repossessed like an car that hasn't had its payments made. Judging by these standards of excellence having Rush Limbaugh lead your party may not be a bad idea by comparison.
I hope she runs in 2012 on an independent party ticket.
That way, the GOP candidate will be screwed and Obama will destroy.
She is epic fail personified.
I think she's leaving because of money.
Sullivan, expert on all things Palin, culled this quote from her remarks:
"Life is too short to compromise time and resources... it may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: "Sit down and shut up," but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out. And a problem in our country today is apathy. It would be apathetic to just hunker down and "go with the flow."
We can surmise then that it was the product of too much being loomed upon by the Eye of Vladimir Putin.
The Palin (Lame Duchess) Amendment: every political office holder should resign a year and a half before their term ends to avoid becoming "apathetic to just hunker down and 'go with the flow.'"
That way the American electorate can be assured that about 1/3 of their elected office holders will not have been actually elected by them; perhaps the Iranians will adopt this policy.
The one way this could work out well for her:
If she's going to get Michael Steele's job.
Yikes - that's a scary thought...if you consider the Chairman, or Chairwoman's job it Raise Money from the Base (check), Rally the Base (check), and get Republicans support in elections, she might do well. She is the pied piper of Wingnuttia.
In the long run we are all riders on the storm, and in the short run we must all become immune to the toxins in power as we ride.
Happy 4th fellow riders.
Okay, so she's quitting because staying in office would be like quitting???
I smell a whopper of a scandal coming.
It's GOT to be a pretty major scandal (because as was said above, she's plowed through plenty smaller scandals), and I cannot wait.
If she had any ambitions for national office, this kills them. She can't run for anything of any responsibility in future without being tatooed with accusations that she'd quit when she got bored or when people said mean things to her. And mainstream people will not vote for that. You cannot be the first female president with that on your record. It's just a no-go.
The only plausible non-scandal thing it could be would be if she's decided she just wants to make money, and screw the difficulties of being the governor of Alaska for the next two years. But again, she's so young. Why not fill out her term, even if the economy causes some trauma? She can just rail against deficit spending and whatnot and be a regular right-wing asshole -- a poor economy for the remainder of her term wouldn't affect the love for her on the right one iota. She's SO young - why cut off, forever, her chances for national office, even if she does want to make a lot of money right now? Two years is nothing on her lifetime political horizon.
It's a BIG scandal.
And yes, she was VERY nervous. Her normal speech pattern is odd, but not that disjointed. She was fronting.
Y'know, I'm still doubting this theory, but maybe she DID go hiking in Appalachia after all!
Naaaaaaah...
Hard to understand this. I don't think it's usual at all for a governor to leave before their term expires unless political controversy forces them out; the simple decision not to run again shouldn't be enough to do it. And this is very rushed - just a little over 3 weeks notice.
There's a statement from someone on NBC that she isn't planning on running for Pres in 2012 (and this would hardly help if she was - from my point of view it makes her look irresponsible).
Speculations:
1. The constant media circus, particularly surrounding her family, was just to much for her and she decided she doesn't want to deal with it any more.
2. She's realized that her national image with anyone outside the staunch Republican base has crashed and burned, that as such any Presidential ambitions are toast, and she's decided in light of that it's just not worth it to keep going.
3. The statement about no further ambitions in dissembling to get people off her back, and she'll "change her mind" and decide to run for President sometime in 2011.
4. There's something going on with her family or personal life we don't know about. (If it was a political thing, we'd know already.)
She's toast. That's the end, she'll never be able to hold office again.
I haven't the slightest idea what is going on in her head (though from the press conference the answer seems to be "crazy").
I wonder how her loyal salt-of-the-earth followers will feel when they realize that she is equating diligence, responsibility, employment, and commitment with weakness and apathy.
The only way this decision allows her a future in office is if she can talk the GOP into becoming an explicitly anti-government party rather than the wink-wink version. She could then say, "I'm so committed to tearing down the government, I gave up my job as governor of Alaska! Mitt Romney served his full term, so that must mean he LIKES government!"
Well, there is a track record here. Her husband was a secessionist, after all.
folks don't front. you didn't understand her rambling nonsense anymore than I did.
she was incoherent even for her.
To bastardize the Grateful Dead: What a short, strange trip it's been.
Maybe she's living on reds, vitamin c, and cocaine. All I can say is ain't it a shame.
Heh. But no. Not a shame at all.
The woman has the affect, social maturity (or lack thereof), and intellect of a high-school cheerleader. That she managed to get herself elected governor in the first place doesn't say much about the citizens of Alaska ... but quitting on a job she's no longer enjoying and/or has made a hash of is just what I'd expect from a teenager - or maybe someone even younger: "I'm not having fun anymore, so I'm gonna take my toys an' go."
Don't let the door hit you in the curvy little butt on the way out, Sarah.