PALIN RETREATS
Hard to see this as anything else. Yeah, she may still run for president in 2012 but, if anything, this makes her an even longer shot. I hate to say this — and I know it will rile some — but I see this as a retreat. She is, to be blunt about it, running away from the savaging she is receiving in the press and from liberals. It’s not exactly cowardice because the press targeted her kids and husband too - something new and despicably low in American politics. But it suggests an inconstancy that presidential candidates shouldn’t have.
She may be doing it for her family now. But if she then shows up in Iowa and New Hampshire asking people for their vote, what are people to think? It’s only going to get worse if she runs in 2012 and people will rightly wonder if she can stand the gaffe. Such doubts will keep the mega money men in the GOP from kicking in. This is not an insurmountable obstacle but it sure makes it harder in those early states for a breakthrough.
If she began her campaign in the fall, she would be eating Romney and Huckafool’s dust. Romney especially has been locking up key personalities in early states and creating a national organization. He has been visible and effective as a spokesman outside of government against Obama’s heavy handed interference in the economy. In short, he is in very good shape. Huckaloser is far behind but has a national TV show on Fox and is effectively presenting himself as Mr. Populist alternative to Romney’s establishmentarianism.
This leaves Palin in an very bad situation. If she had remained as governor, she would have had no chance as Chris Cillizza pointed out a few months ago.
Being from Alaska is a HUGE hurdle for Palin’s national ambitions from a logistical point of view. Alaska is four hours behind east coast time and takes the better part of a day to travel to or from. That means that Palin, if she is committed to running for reelection, can’t simply pop into Iowa or New Hampshire for the day — she needs to take at least two days away from Alaska (a fact her Democratic opponents are sure to take note of) to do the sort of soil-tilling in these early primary and caucus states that is absolutely necessary for a presidential candidate. If she announces some time soon that she will not be running for a second term, she will not only be more free to travel to key states between now and 2010 but will be able to devote full time to campaigning in the critical year between January 2011 and January 2012.
The logistics alone present enormous challenges for even a sitting governor from Alaska. Hence, the clean break that could be followed by a very low key effort to build a national team for a run in 2012. At least, that appears to be her intent. Here’s Michelle Malkin with some excerpts from her press conference that seems to point to some undefined effort to advance her pet issues of energy and national security:
Palin: “I love my job. I love Alaska. It hurts to make this choice. But I’m doing what’s best for Alaska.” Tears in her eyes.
Says she will be able “to effect change from the outside.” America needs protectors of individual rights now more than ever. Promises to always be there for Alaska. Wants to work not just for Alaska, for the rest of the country. Taking a fight for Alaska in a new direction. Quotes MacArthur: “We are not retreating, just advancing in a different direction.”
Lt Gov. Sean Parnell says he receives announcement with a “heavy heart.” Thanks Sarah for inspiring so many.
More from press conference: After touting Alaska’s accomplishments, Palin laments “politics of personal destruction.” Notes attacks. $500,000 in legal bills. “Life is about choices. I choose a path of fruitfulness and productivity. Life is too short to compromise time and resources…I will work very hard for others…I will support others…”
***Chuck Heath, Palin’s brother, on FNC talking about incessant attacks. Very emotional. “It’s weighed on her a long time.” Couldn’t effectively govern when having to defend herself against attacks.
I have been following politics very closely for 30 years and a decade before that as a fan and the only thing comparable to the rabid, frothing, hateful, exaggerated, off the wall kind of media attacks against Palin I have seen was toward the end of the Nixon administration. And we have never, ever in American political history seen attacks on a politician’s children as we have seen with press and media savagery directed against Palin’s kids. (Spouses are fair game - to a point.) These people are incapable of feeling shame because in order to experience that emotion, one must possess a soul and a conscience.
Jim Geraghty had the best explanation for this extravagant, unprecedented hatred directed against Palin:
Hugh suggested it tied to the contrast between her lifestyle and her critics: “She is the embodiment of the anti-choice, the opposite of every choice that lefty elites have ever made — as to going back home instead of moving to the west coast, having children, having a child with Down’s, staying married to one man the whole time, choosing rural or suburban over urban and living a generally conservative lifestyle, working with her hands . . . That everything she is is the antithesis of everything that liberal urban elites are, so it’s not just enough to say, ‘I disagree with you,’; she has to be repudiated and crushed.”
And now, I would submit a slight refining of that idea, that the seeming happiness of Palin’s life is a 24-7 irritant because it challenges the way some liberals see the world.
Liberals believe that their ideas, philosophy, worldview, and policies liberate believers, and that the conservative equivalents limit people. Liberals see themselves as rejecting outdated beliefs and obsolete ideas, overturning established orders, and discarding traditions established by superstitious and ignorant forebears who weren’t as enlightened as we are. Conservatives, in their minds, are runaway cultural superegos, always wagging their fingers about individual responsibility, dismissing excuses, reminding people that they can’t always do what they want because of the consequences to themselves and to others.
Conservatism, they suspect, will leave you in a marriage that doesn’t satisfy you, burden you with children you don’t want, repress your passions, and trap you in a empty, boring, and unfulfilled life, with no hand of government able to help.
In toto, that may be a little too pat. But I think the gist of the argument rings true. It isn’t enough for liberals and the media to oppose Palin. It isn’t enough to attack her. She must be destroyed, left emotionally drained and gagging at the obscenity of the attacks on her children because she is a danger to their one dimensional, shallow view of conservatives and Christians.
Geraghty also believes this move by Palin makes any success in 2012 a long shot:
Not finishing her first term will provide a major, major, major obstacle to any presidential bid. I thought a 2012 campaign would be a mistake; from today’s comments, it’s not clear whether Palin is still interested in that option.
But the moment she expresses an interest in a presidential bid, every rival, Republican and Democrat, will uncork the ready-made zinger: “If elected, would she serve the full four years, or quit sometime in the third year again?”
But as noted, Palin is 45. Life will go on, after this upcoming presidential election, and the next. People thought Richard Nixon was through after the 1960 election. When Ronald Reagan failed to dislodge President Ford in 1976, people thought he had blown his best chance at the presidency. People thought Bill Clinton destroyed his political future with an endlessly long-winded speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention.
If Palin decides to seek the presidency at the age that Hillary Clinton was when she ran in the 2008 cycle, she will be running in… 2024. That’s a half a generation, and several political lifetimes, away.
Perhaps by then, both conservatives and liberals will have stopped talking about how gorgeous she is.
UPDATE
Allah quotes Geraghty and Ace who believe this is a career ender.
Update: Says Ace, “It’s over. You can’t resign from a governorship and then run for higher office.” I agree. Placing your ambition over your commitment to the state looks shady, especially for someone who won’t have a single full term as governor under her belt for the primaries.
Ordinarily, I would agree with that sentiment. Except, we live in wondrously strange times in American politics and I’m not sure that many of the old verities still hold true. Allah rightly dismisses the Obama comparison Palinites could use to defend her as far as serving time in an important office. But there is the possibility that by the time 2012 rolls around, American politics will be upside down with government at all levels being in such bad odor that running as an “experienced” candidate may be the kiss of death.
Who knows?
Nice try, all the thinkers are trying to out think Sarah. Its Sarah by the way, not just Palin. Anyway lets see what happens.
Comment by MQ — 7/3/2009 @ 6:07 pm
Resignation is showing respect !
Quitting is for winners !!
Cutting-and-running is smart politics !!!
I can’t understand the new logic of the Palin defenders.
Comment by calder — 7/3/2009 @ 6:34 pm
She’s toast.
Can you just imagine what the GOP attack machine would say about her as a candidate? That she resigned rather than serve out her term?
Nixon’s speech losing in 1960 was better; at least it was coherent.
Palin’s rambling speech makes me think that there’s another shoe going to drop and soon.
Comment by Commie Stooge — 7/3/2009 @ 6:56 pm
[...] then run for higher office. Barring some strong reason, like needing treatment for cancer.’ Blogger Rick Moran at Right Wing Nut House: PALIN RETREATS. Hard to see this as anything else. Yeah, she may still run [...]
Pingback by Did Sarah Palin just commit career suicide? If the initial reaction from the right is any indication, it’s close « thump and whip — 7/3/2009 @ 7:03 pm
A friend of mine suggested she might be getting out at the right time. I suspect all governors of all states in the US are going to have to make a lot of unpopular decisions in the next year or so, and their favorability ratings are going to decline as a result.
Comment by Brainster — 7/3/2009 @ 7:26 pm
Palin’s rambling speech makes me think that there’s another shoe going to drop and soon
I hate to agree with a “CommieStooge” but i think you are right - there is talk of federal indictments coming down the pipe.
And the absolute haste with which it was done - why could she have not done this a couple of weeks from now ? the Lieutenant Governer HAD NO IDEA this was happening !
It pains me as a Sarah Palin supporter to acknowledge that IF there are no scandals to follow, then she has thrown in the towel- what ever she was or wasnt i thought she was a tough woman - who didnt shrink from all the negativity.
I guess no one can quite say that they have been in her position - the vicious attacks reminds us of the true face of modern day “liberalism” - but if she didnt know what she was getting into, she deserves to go.
I hope and pray to God that they leave her IF there are no shenanigans or scandals that prompted this hasty departure.
Comment by Nagarajan Sivakumar — 7/3/2009 @ 8:25 pm
You do realize that media members accused Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton of murderers and drug dealers.
Comment by Derrick — 7/3/2009 @ 9:29 pm
What are the chances of her trying to run for Alaska’s solitary House seat in the near future? Being a representative would put her fully in the thick of DC politics as well as give her a platform to spew her agenda. Plus, the necessities of the job would keep her away from Alaska for months at a time, giving Palin plenty of time to start a national campaign. No way she runs for POTUS until 2016 though…
Comment by Surabaya Stew — 7/3/2009 @ 11:01 pm
I think she is starting a 2-3 year process of beefing up the resume to remove the “stigma” that she lacks national/international experience. Keep an eye out regarding who she meets with and where she travels over the next couple of years.
In the meantime, she can also beef up her personal bankroll with speaking engagements, books and personal appearances without worrying about any conflicts of interest as Governor. I think she also realized that pursuing these opportunities while staying in office would be a huge distraction. So in that sense, maybe she is doing the right thing?
Will leaving office early come back to haunt her? Maybe. But I think most people would agree the amount of national exposure she gets is a distraction to her duties as Governor.
Is there a “shoe to drop” soon? Well, that is a possibility too — but I would think the Left would have dug that up already and thumped the tub to death by now.
-JC
Comment by Justin Case — 7/3/2009 @ 11:15 pm
This is probably the best thing that’s happened to the GOP in months, finally they can move away from such a devisive figure (which was not all her fault) and concentrate on finding a candidate that wouldn’t be a total nightmare internationally and internally. Perhaps with her absense the battle between “rinos” and “red necks” can be postponed.
Comment by yoyo — 7/4/2009 @ 12:03 am
Irrespective, she may be truly great or a dimwit or both, there are a “majority” who hate, with visceral hatred, anyone who is not sucking on the government teat, who actually has a self directed life and demonstrable competence at something other than shuffling paper. Madoff goes to jail, Dumbobama is still president.
Comment by Robert Jackson — 7/4/2009 @ 12:24 am
One upside if this really is the end of her political career: it frees up Todd to go kick Letterman’s ass.
Comment by OCBill — 7/4/2009 @ 12:36 am
[...] Right Wing Nut House » PALIN RETREATS [...]
Pingback by Sarah Palin Unleashed; Socialist Party and Media scared and desperate « VotingFemale Speaks! — 7/4/2009 @ 7:10 am
Why is it when conservatives choose family and good moral choices over power, they are unstable, uncommitted and cannot take the heat. I disagree that Palin made a poor choice.
Comment by john — 7/4/2009 @ 9:00 am
Frankly, I think Sarah did the right thing for her state and her family. The constant smear jobs and personal attacks from the media, the left, AND the GOP chip away at her credibility — not because there is any real substance to them but from sheer attrition. Thanks to the media blitz, the first thing many people think of when they think “Sarah Palin” is “David Letterman, pregnant daughter, white trash relatives etc.” Combine that with the frivolous ethics complaints that the people of Alaska are footing the bill for and Sarah has to divert attention from running the state to deal with that idiocy and you’ve made her political opponents lives very easy. They can throw so much BS out as chaff to distract from the issues and she has to try and answer that.
With Sarah out of the crosshairs (for a while) the media might have to actually cover the actions of our president, instead of covering for him.
Comment by Nick Dilmore — 7/4/2009 @ 9:03 am
Good God, this has been going on since Jefferson was accused of fathering black children when he was running for office. Politics is a nasty business, and that’s a good thing. If Sara can’t handle Letterman how will she stack up against Putin? Will she fall apart when Dear Leader makes some remark about her family? I want a leader that can walk on the hot coals of the media, left and right.
Comment by grognard — 7/4/2009 @ 9:08 am
All the spin is making my head spin. She resigned because the big bad press said things about her, or that elitist liberals were scared of her own elitist attitude?
If that is true, she has no business in public service.
Comment by johnny — 7/4/2009 @ 9:21 am
People keep underestimating Sarah. I believe she’s gearing up and it may not be for 2012. I find it peculiar that she resigns on the weekend of the 4th. The media and the beltway elites (GOP and Dems) will never figure her out and that’s what frustrates them. True leaders know when to retreat and gather strength for the next battle. Her next move is unknown, and that’s key in defeating your enemies. Let’s wait and see…
Comment by Edgar — 7/4/2009 @ 9:33 am
I hope we’re finally seeing the GOP going the Whig way. The GOP is mostly a collection of professional pundits and has-beens that seem to continually seek the center of some bedroom. They’ve become the problem. If this is the tolling of the bell on the GOP then Godspeed.
Comment by cedarhill — 7/4/2009 @ 9:35 am
Palin is finished, thank jeebus! Her reasons (excuse) being that change (I thought that was a dirty word among the GOP) could no longer be made from the governor’s desk. She stated that she no longer wanted to be a lame duck at the expense of the taxpayers?!?!? Ok, first off, lame ducks aren’t quitters. Lame ducks complete the job they were elected for unless the position is abolished but not because David Letterman makes fun of you and your kids.
Prediction: Palin is in trouble and the news will be coming soon. Obstruction, graft, infidelity…or maybe a combo plate of all three?
Comment by Allah&PalinSittinInATree — 7/4/2009 @ 10:02 am
Well, cedarhill, keep thinking that. You and your kind of haters will have the biggest surprise one day not too far distant.
The GOP is FAR, FAR from dead. Just because Obama drew all the idiots out to the polls does not mean the GOP is dying. We are all out here, we are the same as we’ve always been, and, we knew fully what Obama was about, but several million more idiots voted for the latest fad (not to mention 95% of the black vote, talk about “post racial”, ha). MLK and his vision of a color-blind society? Just a dream…
The tide will turn, it always does, idiot.
Comment by Anonymous — 7/4/2009 @ 10:04 am
Maybe she really is quitting because she thinks it best for Alaska.
Comment by Mark — 7/4/2009 @ 10:18 am
Hey Anonymous,
Read before you prematurely blow, ok? I know, it’s tough but try. The GOP does not appeal to all conservatives nor Libertarians. That’s why you got only 46% last year instead of 49.5%. As long as the religious, fetus-freaks who prefer the “shoot first, justify later” mode of operation rule the party, your beloved GOP will soon be a third party. It’s a new day in America and “rule by fear” politics is over. You guys should have paid a bit more attention to that lesson on evolution in high school….assuming you actually attended.
Comment by Allah&PalinSittinInATree — 7/4/2009 @ 10:18 am
David Letterman tells an off-color joke and Palin resigns?
Thank God the North Koreans, the Iranians, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah and the rest of the folks she’d have had to face as president don’t have senses of humor.
Comment by michael reynolds — 7/4/2009 @ 10:25 am
Dude, she’s done.
She said “I prayed on it”.
That is the kiss of death for a presidential bid.
Its fine to do Jesus Take the Wheel as long as no one catches you doin’ it, but the majority of the ‘lectorate isn’t going to buy lettin’ Jesus drive.
Game ovah.
Comment by wheelers_cat — 7/4/2009 @ 10:31 am
I mean, lettin’ Jesus drive is what landed us in Iraq.
Comment by wheelers_cat — 7/4/2009 @ 10:35 am
The defense of Sarah Palin by labeling her a victim of ridicule is pretty tough to swallow. She dished out an awful lot herself on Obama (”palling around with terrorists”), and never made any attempt to quell the overt hostility at her rallies (remember “Off with his head!” and the like?). Obama never stamped his feet and quit the race. He paid it little attention and let his supporters do the talking. Palin let herself be baited into p*ssing matches with Letterman, obscure, leftist bloggers that no one had ever heard of or read, and of course, the ‘mainstream media’. Because Katie Couric really did a whole lot to goad her into making really strange, incoherent statements.
As for the Letterman thing and people making sexual jokes about her - if she wanted to avoid that kind of thing, she should have never sexualized herself in the first place, which she most certainly did. One of her biggest draws was that people found her “Milfy”. She was certainly using to her advantage until people started making jokes about it - you can’t have it both ways. That’s why politicians, especially female ones, usually don’t go down the “sexy candidate” road. It’s a can of worms not easily closed.
At worst, she has proved most of her detractors right in leaving her post. At best, it’s an opportunistic and selfish money-grab that has little to do with actually furthering her agenda, whatever her agenda is.
Comment by extremecentrist — 7/4/2009 @ 10:37 am
Good for her. John Galt must have gotten to her.
Comment by forthemwhatcare — 7/4/2009 @ 10:38 am
Being somewhat contrarian by nature I’m not ready to call for taps signaling the end of Gov. Palin’s political career. But prediction is shaky enough even when the salient facts are known, so I won’t hazard one.
What bothers me most about the governor’s resignation is the fact that she is seen as the proxy (Joe-the-plumber writ large) for conservatism. Anyone who rises to prominence as a symbol of the right can expect the potentially ruinous assaults by the media and the largely corrupt legal system, themselves now state-run proxies of the left. Political intimidation is meant to induce fear. That fear, I believe is very real, and I think it does much to explain the growing timidity of the Republican party. In today’s America political correctness is more about cowardice than comity or principle.
So if Sarah Palin is, indeed, out of the picture, who will replace her? Is there a farm team for new conservative leadership?
Which, perhaps ironically, brings me to the tea parties. These widespread public assemblies have two advantages: they are large and amorphous, meaning they are not clearly defined groups with formal structure that can be individually identified and singled out for Alinsky-style destruction or “reform”; and they are numerically large, which weakens the credibility of ridicule. Join them, support them. Too many proud nails may overmatch the liberal hammer. And they may contain the seeds of new leadership.
Comment by Wynne — 7/4/2009 @ 10:50 am
[...] Moran: also calls this move “a retreat”, and has some great excerpts you’ll want to read. Says ordinarily he’d agree that Palin [...]
Pingback by The Anchoress — A First Things Blog — 7/4/2009 @ 10:54 am
Did you hear/read the same speech? She was very clear on why she was leaving. She was(with all the false claims) wasting the peoples money and time. In this day of the lack of money she is honoring(I know that’s strange that someone in government would care, but she does)her oath to protect the people. It got to the point she could not do it, so she found someone that could. It was very clear, and frankly I applaud her for this selfless act, or how about this, for doing her job correctly! I don’t think the left had a big effect(the horrible name calling)on her plans, even know they would love to think it was. You guys that think she should follow some rules of the past, are you blind to what is happening to our country? All rules are off the table this is war! Also I think when she listened to those troops she visited, I think they had a profound affect on her. This woman is a problem solver period. I am begging God to put her in charge of this country, the sooner the better!
Comment by jann — 7/4/2009 @ 11:05 am
Well, it seems pretty clear to me. The Tea Parties and 10th Amendment movement are the two fastest growing and passionate groups around, plus they are intertwined. Sarah will finish her book, make paid speeches,and campaign and raise money for like minded Congressional and state level candidates. The Tea Party and 10th Amendment folks will coalesce around her and help engender a bottom up clean-up of the GOP. The elites of Imperial Washington will become irrelevant, and pundits like Rick Moran will have to get a real job.
Comment by Jack Okie — 7/4/2009 @ 11:14 am
Palin had a severe uphill climb to be viable in 2012. First, although she’s tried to stay out of the public eye in 2009 to begin the process of rehabbing her image, the press continued to dog her. She and her family have been rendered a national laughingstock, thanks to the liberal news media. Second, it has become apparent that the rift between Palin and the D.C. Republican “insider” crowd cannot be healed. The Vanity Fair article and various other skirmishes we’ve seen over the past six months prove that. As much as I loathe the “insider” crowd (gee, what a nice job they’ve done so far–our country elected an f’ing socialist and gave the Dems a filibuster-proof senate majority to boot), they have influence, and they made it clear she was persona non grata.
Now, turn to Alaska. Palin won the governorship in 2006 by breaking from the corrupt Alaska Republican “insider” crowd. Now that her 2008 VP run has weakened her image, they see her as vulnerable and were probably considering a primary challenge to her. Meanwhile, the Dems are bankrupting her by filing dozens of frivolous ethics complaints against her. My guess is that Palin was starting to feel boxed in.
So I really think she decided to go John Galt. Quit the governorship, write a book, do paid speeches, maybe get a Fox News contract, and talk about issues she cares about. That way, the pressure’s off her and her family, and she can earn some money and maybe rehab her image. Frankly, it’s probably the right move for her and her family.
Comment by Outlander — 7/4/2009 @ 11:34 am
Maybe this is the best thing for Alaska and her. She can make money to defend against all the attacks and the new governor can do what’s best for the state. Otherwise, everytime she left Alaska it would be “She’s not doing her job” hysteria from the hypocrits who ignore all the senators, etc. who take off 2 years to run for president.
As for people like extremecentrist blaming the Letterman thing on how she looks where does one begin? Expect statutory rape jokes because you have children? Make sure you’re ugly if you are a female politician? What an idiot.
Sarah, for all her inexperience and mistakes, was the only ray of light or hope in the McCain campaign. The few positions she took in the campaign I liked and I am sure that she would make a better president than the Carter the Second we have now. What the future holds for her is unknown but I suspect it will be better than the future of her detractors.
Comment by Harry O — 7/4/2009 @ 11:39 am
As someone who’s not your biggest fan relative to other right wing bloggers, let me nevertheless say well done. You’re one of the few that didn’t immediately try to figure out what her political calculation his here, and actually considered that she might be putting her family ahead of her near-term political ambition. As Mark Steyn wrote on The Corner, politics away from the national spotlight sometimes attracts normal people.
It wouldn’t look good at all, but I really don’t think she’s running in 2012. I’m sure there will be a “Draft Palin” movement by at least a vocal few, but I don’t think she’ll take the bait this time.
As an aside, I believe our 2012 prospects took a big hit in the last two weeks, between this news and Sanford’s “Don’t-Cry-For-Me-Argentina-Gate.”
Comment by thirteen28 — 7/4/2009 @ 11:58 am
Rick -
I see your still clueless. Hopefully Sarah Palin will energize conservatives and wrest control of the GOP from Dem Lites like you.
Comment by bc3 — 7/4/2009 @ 12:02 pm
to paraphrase Kenny Rogers
“You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money
when youre sittin at the table.
Therell be time enough for countin when the dealins done.
Now evry gambler knows that the secret to survivin
Is knowin what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
cause evry hands a winner and evry hands a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep.”
‘they’ were out to utterly destroy GOVERNOR Palin, any way possible
she could have fought back, but that would have meant going down to the level of her attackers
like remind people Letterman’s child was born to his mistress, out of wedlock
Obama was born 6 months after his father’s bigamous marriage, which was essentially a sham and void from the beginning
Comment by cindy — 7/4/2009 @ 12:27 pm
I’m just asstunned as most but after sleeping on it. I’m crystal clear about what she is going to do.
work on her issues, work on her issues, work on her issues. you really dont have to be president to do it, with her appeal…think Al Gore.
An it makes sense that one would give up the governorship, too many complaints etc would follow and she would be restricted.
Comment by kman — 7/4/2009 @ 12:34 pm
I live in Alaska, and here’s what didn’t make sense to me about her speech. Yes, she’s been dogged by ethics complaints, some legit and some farfetched. But supposedly almost all of them have been settled, mostly in her favor. So now that she won, she’s quitting? The rulings in the complaints settled most of the prevailing questions about whether and how, according to our laws, the governor could campaign for national office, start a PAC & legal defense fund, use state resources and time for campaigning nationally, etc. Some were about her use of emails–a legitimate question to ask of any public official.
So why quit now under the emotional pressure of that, now that’s it almost over?
Furthermore, she used the figure of $2 million in state costs fighting ethics complaints. In fact, last week the state office that investigated the complaints finally released their figures, and they said the complaints had cost not quite $300,000. Of that, almost $200,000 was for the complaint Palin filed against herself last year in response to the Legislature’s inquiry about Troopergate. She wanted the Personnel Board to investigate it, not the Legislature. (Hence the decision–illegal, as it turned out–to tell all Todd and all of the state employees who were subpoenaed by the legislative inquiry not to respond.)
The Legislature could have chewed her up and spit her out if it had wanted. They had a report that pointed to violations. They did NOTHING about it. Nothing.
So I’m afraid I don’t find some of her reasons fully founded. She’s entitled to a personal decision to leave a job she didn’t enjoy anymore. But I honestly don’t think she did it to save the state money and time.
Comment by Bluedog AK — 7/4/2009 @ 12:48 pm
grognard Said: … If Sara can’t handle Letterman how will she stack up against Putin? Will she fall apart when Dear Leader makes some remark about her family? I want a leader that can walk on the hot coals of the media, left and right.
Actually, I thought she did handle Letterman. Who was the one squirming and hedging, and finally sort of apologizing? Not Palin.
You choose your battles carefully — it’s ludicrous to compare a late night television jackass like Letterman to Putin or Kim Jong Il, who have bigger fish to fry than gratuitously attacking her family, or even a jackass like Obama, who’s not doing such a great job himself in foreign policy, among other things. Apples and oranges.
Walking on the hot coals of the media, left and right, isn’t beyond her mettle, but maybe she really did put her family ahead of other people’s expectations and perceptions. It’s not like the media, or even the GOP, would ever give her a fair shake.
Comment by cheeflo — 7/4/2009 @ 1:02 pm
Remember all the debate about Palin’s qualifications just to be Vice President? When comparing Palin to Obama then, Palin clearly had an edge over Obama. Senator Obama did not even finish his first term as a Senator, so I think we can cut Palin some slack here.
Comment by Blue Collar Todd — 7/4/2009 @ 1:14 pm
I initially thought the same thing. Then after thinking it over a bit and reading/listening to what the Gov said, this all makes perfect sense and Ace/Ed Morrisy, etc are dead wrong on this one. We are so used to the typical POL running for the next office all the while being paid for the current job they ARE NOT doing. Obama ran For Pres for 2 years and didn’t earn a dime of the Senate paycheck he was receiving. This was an absolute Brilliant/Unconventional move on the Gov Part.
Theodore
Comment by Theodore — 7/4/2009 @ 1:25 pm
Anonymous? Chicken.
Hater? Good, I love folks that name call.
It is time for a new focus, a new direction and a new voice. We need to sweep the remnants of the GOP and just replace it or co-opt it. Don’t ever forget Romney put in a form of Obamacare in MA. Or that McCain promoted BOTH amnesty AND cap-n-trade. Hardly a party cheering about.
I hope Palin is the start of the new party.
Comment by cedarhill — 7/4/2009 @ 3:41 pm
Wow. palin, competent? Start of new party? LSD in the water? Why do I do this to myself? You f-ers are crazy. Stone cold crazy. She babbled and rambled, nothing new. She’s arrogant with nothing to be arrogant about.
It’s shady as hell, the way she did this.
And regardless, she’s shown an instability and inconsistency that would have made her a joke and a laughing stock instantly say forty years ago, from all sides, from all people.
No one, no one would be going on about how this is a political stratagem or something to seriously consider, let alone defend. Okay, even then, a few might have taken palin seriously after this, but only people who were universally agreed by, say, oh, 99% of the country, to be marginal and disturbed types.
Please, people. Get the help you need. Mental illness is no stigma. And treatment is available.
God bless.
Comment by DuWayne — 7/5/2009 @ 5:11 am
This woman can’t get anything right. MacArthur never quoted “We are not retreating; we are advancing in another direction.” That was Major General Oliver Smith who said, “Retreat Hell! We’re just attacking in another direction.”
She is quitting because she has smelled money in the air. Why spend the next 2 years pandering to a job that she knows well she is incapable of effectively shaping up. Why not take the food while still it’s hot and arrange several book deals worth millions. What official in the right mind would quit her/his job in the middle of term because the opponents are putting a heat on her? And her half-baked analogy can be presented in different fashion; how about you governor Palin actually crossing the half court line, make some moves, create an opportunity then pass the ball. You are dribbling on your half side of the court around the free-throw line then except us to believe you are “generous” enough to pass the glory to someone else to score? Do you see us as naive as a kindergartner? How about this analogy: a player plays half the season then all of sudden announces she is quitting her team so they benefit from her absence. Why? Because she is incompetent or just can’t face the opponent eye-to-eye?
And how about some courtesy for the teleprompter she was fawning over during her speech. Poorly constructed content while knowing the speech would be highly targeted by press then deliver it with such terse style of prose… argh! Why would she pick a conspicuous date of 4th of July when the majority of country preparing for a long weekend of celebration? Why make such important announcement under the secrecy so no press core be able to cover your “I quit my job” prattle? And do that on the back lawn of her house with only a dozen family and friends cheering on the background? What was the whole baby squalling and bird chirping on the background about? Professionalism means nothing to some people. Just imagine if she would have been elected as a vise president of the US and had found Washington too much her because the Democratic majority in the House and the Senate were giving her a hard time — would she quit then too? Buckle under the pressure because people are being “mean” to me? And for the record, this whole playing a victimhood card doesn’t play it anymore. Who insulted her children? Bunch of tabloid gossip magz? A late night comedy host? That’s just pathetic.
And you know what? She will run for presidency and there will be millions of people who, once again, fall for this cheap political stunt over and over again while disregarding her pronounced incompetence in governing even her own state. Maybe she is planning to become a role model for all the Times-Tough-So-I-Become-A-Pro-Quit-My-Job enthusiasts at the Bailing-Palin institution of hard-working tenet. When are you people are going to wake up and call the spade a spade? Palin is absolutely void of any sense of diplomacy; if you can’t work your own party insiders to your advantage, you can be assured that nothing you set your mind on would get done because the world just doesn’t revolve around your aspirations no matter how meritorious your goals are. You need others to move forward; this whole curmudgeon attitude of My Way Or The High Way is so elementary schoolish.
She is utterly incompetent on the national stage. You talk about Romney, even if you agree or disagree with his policies, I can be assured that his level of expertise and managerial skills can handle the position of POTUS — Palin just doesn’t have it. The principles she touts are merely a bunch of buzz words to her and she has no strategy to actually put them into implementation therefore, like Bush, she would have no other choice to just leave everything to bunch of sleazy cronies. We cannot afford another 8 years of Bush^(-infinity). Don’t do this to your country.
Comment by Evlon — 7/5/2009 @ 6:57 am
@Evlon
“This woman can’t get anything right. MacArthur never quoted “We are not retreating; we are advancing in another direction.” That was Major General Oliver Smith who said, “Retreat Hell! We’re just attacking in another direction.””
Correcting the record. Ref. for example, http://www.quotes.net/quote/7454
Comment by Wynne — 7/5/2009 @ 10:25 am
I’m firmly believe she’ll be ready by 2012…….
to run a sub 3:30 marathon. Now THAT would be an accomplishment!
Comment by c3 — 7/5/2009 @ 8:47 pm
“But I think the gist of the argument rings true. It isn’t enough for liberals and the media to oppose Palin. It isn’t enough to attack her. She must be destroyed, left emotionally drained and gagging at the obscenity of the attacks on her children because she is a danger to their one dimensional, shallow view of conservatives and Christians. ”
‘Liberals and the media’? Your list is too short. The Peggy Noonans, Kathleen Parkers, and other ‘conservative’ pundits despise her for precisely the same reasons that liberals and the media do…she doesn’t come from their elite echo chamber, where saying “Burkean” is a ticket to entry, and you don’t need to ask to know where they got THEIR degrees. They share with their counterparts the same sneering mockery of the flyovers, gun nuts, speakingintongues God-botherers…whose kids can’t get into college so they enlist in the Marine Corps or make their living with wrenches and hammers, who don’t pretend to have the Vision Of The Anointed that Sowell so brilliantly defined. No, it’s as much on the self-proclaimed right as it is on the left. Whatever her faults…whether or not Sarah Palin has made a fatal political mistake…the fact of the matter is that she, her husband, and her children, have been the target of a relentless, vile smear campaign the likes of which this country’s politics have not seen. At least those on the left who participate gleefully have the balls to put their names on it.
Comment by Bob C — 7/6/2009 @ 8:29 am
Every serious candidate for president should sit down and watch the 1964 movie “Best Man”. American politics ain’t pretty.
Comment by Richard — 7/7/2009 @ 9:42 am