Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
I spent Friday evening at the casino playing poker all night, so I didn't see the news about Palin's resignation until I got home around 2 am (which is when I'm writing this). This is absolutely bizarre, there's no other word for it. The Palin political saga had already been one of strange and unexpected developments, but this is truly just weird. There simply has to be something else going on to make her resign, something not being made public.
And even if there isn't, the public is certainly going to assume there is because there's no rational explanation for it given what the public knows. Some say she's doing this to set the state for a 2012 run for president, but that is absurd. Her presidential ambitions should be dead in the water at this point - and if they aren't, the Republicans don't have a prayer of beating Obama.
And this reaction from Mary Matalin strikes me as near-delusional:
However, CNN Republican strategist Mary Matalin said she thought the move was "really brilliant" on Palin's part, though she admitted she was surprised when she heard the news."Her delivery was incredible. If you're a less charismatic person, you probably couldn't pull it off," Matalin said. "[Now] she will be freed up and liberated the way Mitt Romney is to raise money and get political chips by spending it and getting political capital. And she is still raising the kinds of crowds and money she always did."
Now, Matalin says, Palin must focus on "putting up with the conventional wisdom" that this was a bad move and travel the country to drum up support for a presidential run.
"She takes that target off her back with a good record to launch from," Matalin said.
She makes that target much, much bigger. Now in addition to all of the other problems she had already, she adds "abandoned her job when it got too tough for her" to the resume. That is not going to inspire confidence in her ability to lead. She's done. Period. She's a national punchline forever. Which, frankly, is what she should have been all along.
Politics
Comments
Ding dong, the witch is dead...
Posted by: MikeMa | July 4, 2009 9:56 AM
Re the crowd (a very small one) crowing about the "brilliance" of the move as if her resignation were merely a move to win the 2012 GOP nomination: The segment of Palin's fan base we discussed in yesterday's thread appears to be splitting on the wisdom of her resignation. Palin's base was already too small to win the nomination and they have near zero power to attract other groups. So while this might increase some of her delusional followers' loyalty to her, she's losing some share of them and has certainly written-off every voter not already a member of her base. Therefore, Matalin is a moron.
Palin's finished as a national candidate unless they concoct some sort of convincing story that makes her appear to be the selfless heroine she falsely framed herself as in her speech yesterday. Given her past willingness to lie coupled to an inability to lie well, I hope some effort is made to create a such a story merely for the sheer entertainment value.
Posted by: Michael Heath | July 4, 2009 10:08 AM
As I've said elsewhere, the only reason you announce your resignation on the Friday before a holiday weekend is because you want the media to pay as little attention to the story as possible. There's got to be another shoe that's about to drop here.
Posted by: Ebonmuse | July 4, 2009 10:29 AM
So I read the now-infamous Vanity Fair article on Palin, and I'm like "Yeah, this sounds pretty bad, but a lot of it just seems like gossip. I want something really concrete to dislike about her."
Aaaand now I have it. Ditching her constituents in the middle of the term because being a governor is hard. Good lord.
My favorite part is wingnuts wringing their hands over whether this will lead to harsher treatment of female Republican politicians. You just now realized that women in politics are held to a double standard? Where have you been for the past few centuries?
Posted by: Finch | July 4, 2009 10:29 AM
Unless phase 2 of her plan is a cunning plot to increase her popularity by giving her a tv show or a movie part...
Posted by: Ramel | July 4, 2009 10:34 AM
Listening to exerpts of her resignation speech on NPR was just surreal. She claimed she was resigning so as not to waste taxpayer money?!!
The closest anyone could get to making sense of that was something about her being against the stimulus, but feeling forced as governor to accept stimulus money on behalf of Alaska, or something.
I also suspect another shoe is going to drop. But if that's really part of Palin's reasoning, then it's further proof (as if any were needed) of her unreliability, impulsiveness, and extreme lack of judgment. I wouldn't vote for her even if her politics were identical to mine. If she somehow did end up in The White House, I truly believe she could make W's presidency look mild by comparison.
Posted by: qetzal | July 4, 2009 10:43 AM
That's exactly what I thought. The decision makes no sense - even lame duck governors can get a lot done, particularly if it looks as if their star is rising in a party and anyone else in their state has aspirations of playing on the national stage.
So, I was not surprised to see this diary over on Daily Kos detailing potential federal indictments for using those "buddies" to help build their house - when those same buddies were also building the overpriced sports complex in good ole Wasilla:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/3/749722/-Brad-Blog:-Federal-Indictments-for-Palin-in-Embezzlement-Scandal-May-Be-on-the-Way
It's still all rumor at this point, but given the rashness of her actions and the incomprehensible nature of her statement (aside: even if you could spin this as a brilliant political move, her delivery only added to the "she's batsh*t insane" meme), it would not surprise me at all if it turned out to have real substance.
And Palin should be thanking her lucky stars that SNL is not filming right now - wouldn't Tina Fey have a field day with that statement?
Posted by: CPT_Doom | July 4, 2009 10:50 AM
Dear Lord, please let this flake be the 2012 GOP nominee... Amen.
Posted by: Strummer | July 4, 2009 10:58 AM
Palin claimed that she couldn't do anything useful for Alaska because lame duck governors just coast through the end of their terms. Apparently, we're supposed to hear her confess that she herself is incapable of doing more than coasting, yet somehow believe that now she's free to do something productive. You betcha.
Posted by: Scott Hanley | July 4, 2009 10:59 AM
"Batshit crazy" is much saner than this move by Sarah the Impalinator. This strikes pretty close to the Kim Jong Il/Rod Blagojevich bullseye on the Dartboard of Whack.
Posted by: democommie | July 4, 2009 11:03 AM
"Her delivery was incredible. If you're a less charismatic person, you probably couldn't pull it off," Matalin said.
Uh, what? Her delivery was rambling and near incoherent, even by Palin's usual standards. If she were a less charismatic person (or not so good looking that GOP men could drool over), yeah, the speech would have been a flop. At least Matalin got that part right.
Posted by: wheatdogg | July 4, 2009 11:04 AM
If she is indicted, no matter what the evidence against her, Palin's loyal followers will insist that the 'liberal' federal prosecutor is on a politically motivated witch hunt.
Posted by: Dr X | July 4, 2009 11:06 AM
Posted by: CW | July 4, 2009 11:15 AM
Like many others, I suspect Palin has made some huge mistake, become involved in some hideous scandal, or committed some crime that makes her position as governor untenable.
Posted by: llewelly | July 4, 2009 11:17 AM
Sadly, I fear that even if this kills her future political aspirations, we'll still be hearing from her for years. If nothing else, she'll be welcome as a pundit, along the lines of Limbaugh, Coulter, and so forth. I don't expect she'll have any trouble finding someone to ghost-write her columns for her.
Posted by: BobApril | July 4, 2009 11:20 AM
Is it possible she just got bored? Her life story is pretty much one of flitting from one thing to another. Hell, she couldn't finish an undergrad degree in journalism at a single school.
If Congress can convene a special session just for that other brain-damaged woman, then SNL can do the same for this one.
Posted by: george.w | July 4, 2009 11:25 AM
Which shows once again that having Bill Kristol's endorsement is the political kiss of death.
Posted by: Argon | July 4, 2009 11:28 AM
#16: bingo! There are too many republican operatives
representing lots of money for her to resist that siren
song, when the alternative is the dreary business of
day-to-day governance & lots of ethics investigations.
We'll be seeing her on many media outlets now,
with an orchestrated crescendo leading to 2012.
Maybe this is part of those Mayan prophecies?
Posted by: Hampster von Wheelwright | July 4, 2009 11:32 AM
Yep, that quitting in the middle of the term thing really worked out for Mittunswillard Romney.
He, and two of the three former GOP governors from MA quit mid-term, the results.
Bill Weld: Quit to get an ambassadorial gig from Clinton, blocked by a real republican, Jesse Helms (Dead Racist Asshole--NC). Left Paul Cellucci in charge.
Paul Cellucci: Served out remainder of Weld's term, was re-elected in 1998. Resigned to become ambassador to Canada, which went a little less than really, really well. Left Jane Swift in da house.
Jane Swift did not resign, she was suckerpunched by Mitt Romney. Of course she was an idiot and may well have been beaten by a Democrat in the gubernatorial race, but Romney, who had owned a home in Brookline, MA for years (though he hadn't spent most of his time there) decided he could get the job if he wanted it. This was based on his "hero" status for turning the SLC Olympics around. In the event, Romney was elected, was pretty much despised by the average reasonable MA voter for his lying, conniving and bullying tactics and, when he ran in the 2008 presidential primary, garnered 52% of the vote--in a "semi-closed primary" state.
I wish Sarah the Impalinator similar political success. Maybe she can be the Ambassador to the Holy See.
Posted by: democommie | July 4, 2009 11:37 AM
I'm pretty sure this changes nothing. Palin great electoral strength is the near mythical appeal she has to the right wing base. It is the most intense loyalty to a politician I have ever seen. Her resignation doesn't change this. Just go check out the comments on right wing blogs to verify.
By the same token, finishing out her term in Alaska was not likely to win over any reluctant moderates or democrats, who still see the Tina Fey version of Palin, like before.
Posted by: Paul _S | July 4, 2009 11:37 AM
Paul_S:
You're right about her base and her inability to attract more folks by remaining in public as she stumbles from one crisis to the next. Perhaps she's retiring to spend more time with her family, or her attorneys--who knows, or cares?
She will have more time to be on television, especially the reichwing red meat shows. Given her propensity for biting the hand that feeds her, that should be interesting to watch in a gory auto accident or "quiet man goes postal" sortaway.
Posted by: democommie | July 4, 2009 11:42 AM
I think this does hurt her, with all but her most fanatical followers. It lends itself to a very simple meme: she quit, Americans don't like quitters. The attack ads write themselves.
Posted by: Taz | July 4, 2009 11:44 AM
Her delivery was "incredible"? What has Mary Matalin been smoking? I've heard better speeches, in both writing and delivery, from high school students.
Posted by: Elaine | July 4, 2009 11:58 AM
electoral-vote.com had a fantastic analysis of the resignation. Basically, this move will help Palin with republicans (of which she is still the frontrunner, although three years is a long time) because it will give her more time to campaign. But she's screwed with democrats and independents. I suggest you all read today's article.
Posted by: Brandon | July 4, 2009 12:27 PM
Among Matalin's comments (which I agree are crap), the only one that rings true regarding speculation over Palin's motives is that she is now free to address her book deal (collecting the payday, and touring the Lower 48 on publicity tours), and raise money for other Republicans.
However, considering how even longtime Palin backers were smacking their heads in disbelief over her actions yesterday, I don't know where the hell she expects to go beyond this.
Posted by: CHV | July 4, 2009 12:28 PM
You know what I want? A bumpersticker that says
Sarah!
in big letters and
(Connor)
below it in smaller letters
Anyone know where I can get something like that?
Posted by: xebecs | July 4, 2009 12:30 PM
I'm betting she quit to "hike the Appalachian Trail" a la governor Sanford. There is definitely some scandal here. If she is lucky, Michael Jackson will rise from the dead this weekend.
Posted by: kehrsam | July 4, 2009 12:31 PM
Taz (Re: Quitters):
I was reading some online message boards for some major Alaskan newspaper sites yesterday (Anchorage, Juneau) to get an impression of the local response to Palin's departure, and two terms appeared more than any: "quitter" and "Governor Martyr."
Posted by: CHV | July 4, 2009 12:31 PM
A couple commenters on DailyKos noted that her delivery and rhetoric would not be at all alien to people from a fundamentalist background like hers, and would actually be seen by them as quite convincing.
Posted by: ebohlman | July 4, 2009 12:36 PM
LOL, has anyone here noticed the SarahPAC ads on Scienceblogs? Along with the infamous Russian bride ads and pro-chelation ads, of course.
Posted by: Adrienne | July 4, 2009 12:46 PM
I'm betting she quit to "hike the Appalachian Trail" a la governor Sanford.
Maybe Sarah Palin was another one of Sanford's mistresses! Maybe she's going to hike the Appalachian Trail *with* Sanford!
Posted by: Adrienne | July 4, 2009 12:50 PM
To the TrueBelieveratti, there's no depth of stupidity, no vacuous incoherence, no morally reprehensible stance or act that could possibly make them stop loving her as long as she keeps waving the flag and saying; "America Is Number One! Liberals Go Back To Paris, France!"
I kid you not.
Posted by: george.w | July 4, 2009 1:01 PM
No, I can't agree with that. It was terrible even by those standards. Compare and contrast her delivery with that of her fellow fundamentalist wingnut, Alan Keyes. Now, what he says may be insane, but there is little doubt that he can deliver a speech.
Posted by: tacitus | July 4, 2009 1:03 PM
Even Baldrick's cunning plans were better thought out than this.
Posted by: chris | July 4, 2009 1:17 PM
The "Lame Duck" explanation doesn't work. Her term would have expired in 2010, which is much better timing for a 2012 bid. And she could have used that lame duck term to score political points. Just propose a bunch of really popular measures that you know the legislature will be forced to reject (eliminate taxes, free ice cream for everybody, etc.) and then blame the legislature for not carrying through with your "vision."
Posted by: Herod the Freemason | July 4, 2009 1:22 PM
I didn't watch the speech, and I have no plans to subject myself to it, but did she seriously NOT use her family as an excuse? All she would have had to say was "kid with special needs, new grandchild, blah blah blah" and I doubt anyone would have batted an eyelash. And she'd still be the hero.
She seriously said she wanted to save the tax payers money? After making them pay for her to sleep in her own damn house for years? And she expects people to believe her why?
Posted by: Leni | July 4, 2009 1:47 PM
Ever watch the game show Family Feud? There's always some idiot who gives a completely insane answer to a question but his/her family cheers anyway. The question will be, "Name a good pet for a small apartment" and some mental midget will answer, "MOOSE!" and the family will clap and yell, "GOOD ANSWER! GOOD ANSWER!"
Sarah Palin yelled "MOOSE!" yesterday and Mary Matalin is screaming "GOOD ANSWER! GOOD ANSWER!"
Posted by: EM22 | July 4, 2009 1:52 PM
Judging from comments on SarahPAC and other pro-Palin corners on the net, it seems their spin of choice for why the governor has resigned early is to blame (shock) Democratic operatives for bringing so many ethics complaints against her.
Translation: Sarah Palin is the victim of a vast left-wing conspiracy, and by leaving office she is cheating her political enemies of the satisfaction of watching her once-formidable public appeal continue to go down in flames.
Ergo, Sarah Palin is the extreme right's new Joan of Arc.
Posted by: CHV | July 4, 2009 1:57 PM
I saw that too, but it doesn't make sense either. I believe almost all the ethics complaints have already been dealt with, so the time and the money used to fight them has already been spent, and she was pretty much in the clear. Also, if she spent $500k on lawyers, then what on earth were they doing for all that money if they weren't shouldering the workload defending against the complaints?
Certainly there has been little to nothing in the news about the complaints over the past three months, so they shouldn't have been more than a tedious distraction to her.
Posted by: tacitus | July 4, 2009 2:14 PM
One of the few decent talking points she had during the 2008 election was that she had more "executive experience" than Obama. Now that talking point is out the window. No matter what she does next, it's not hard to spin this as bailing.
(I think she also had more "executive experience" than McCain.)
Looking at the speech again, I would say the delivery was not quite a disaster, but it was not brilliant at all. I think the rumors about the indictments (Housegate seems to be the favorite) might be true. If she was leaving to "cash in" on Fox or on the speaking circuit, I think she would have had a better delivery. She might not speak well off-the-cuff, but, like GWBush, she CAN deliver a prepared speech pretty well.
I think it's obvious she was just doing a stream-of-consciousness brain dump. She couldn't find someone to take an hour (or a day?) to whip a few coherent paragraphs together and rehearse it beforehand?
The other theory that I think has legs is that between the recession and declining oil prices Alaska might be in for some California-style pain, and Palin does not want to be around.
As far as all the "left-wing attacks" that she and her supporters complain about, remember this is a woman who spent a few months in the Lower 48 attacking liberals and Democrats. This did not endear her to the Alaska Democrats she worked with as governor before her time as VP candidate. She told Charlie Gibson she did not blink when offered the VP spot, she bad-mouths half the country while questioning their patriotism and saying that libs and Dems and non-Christians are not "Real Americans" (maybe she did not use the phrase, but that was the idea [Note 1]), and then complains about "politics as usual." So she is just another "personal responsibility" conservative who blames her bad decisions on other people.
But even if she fades from the scene, the Repubs will still find (and idolize) someone else who is Proud To Be Stupid.
Note 1: When will Republicans get in their head you cannot love your country if you hate half the people in it?
Posted by: Blue Nine | July 4, 2009 2:48 PM
Someday Sarah's fan base will look back on this as Palin's Failin'.
In the mean time she will bring a heap o' derisive laughter upon herself, her party and the wider radical right. All of them will call it a stunning success and raise a mighty noise to the sky. My crystal ball and the invisible dragon in the corner are quite positive about this.
Well, at least Alaska gets a break.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | July 4, 2009 2:50 PM
"Aaaand now I have it. Ditching her constituents in the middle of the term because being a governor is hard. Good lord."
Even Bush, who knew that politics was "hard work" stayed in and reamed the country for his full term. He didn't "cut and run." Maybe we can add that to Madam Moosejaw's list of titles?
Posted by: Badger3k | July 4, 2009 3:08 PM
I think the whole story should be an inspiration for us all: Parents, tell your children: don't be a quitter. Follow through on what you started. Don't be like Governor Cut-and-Run.
Posted by: John Houde | July 4, 2009 3:22 PM
It can't be a ploy for a Presidential run, even she isn't THAT stupid. And the 'she's got a gig on FNC' doesn't fly, because however insane and vile the Fox people are, they are professionals and have the basic skills -- adlibbing, reading a script, dealing with guests, even those who differ, and handling the sudden emergencies that happen during live broadcasts. She doesn't, no, she doesn't, and her voice is hardly 'air quality' for a National Broadcast.
My guess is a scandal, very possibly involving drugs (selling -- or covering up for sellers) because she could dance her way out of a sex scandal, and even the 'embezzlement story' that's making the rounds would be more easily defended if she stayed in office.
But drugs -- which is the only Republican 'hot button' issue she's never crusaded on -- would be different.
Whatever, I'd advise whoever is in charge of housekeeping at the Governor's mansion to 'count the spoons' very carefully.
Posted by: Prup (aka Jim Benton) | July 4, 2009 3:44 PM
So there are several possibilities:
* There's a big scandal coming & better to resign now than later in disgrace.
* She's doing it to prepare for the 2012 presidential race (in which case, she's out of mind and likely stupid besides).
* She's a flake and quit because the job got too hard, boring or annoying.
I'm guessing the first or third is most likely.
Posted by: Ace of Sevens | July 4, 2009 3:45 PM
Can you imagine if a hypothetical Sarah Palin opponent did such a thing? She would never stop harping on it. Not that other politicians wouldn't do the same. That's what they do. They "harp" on whatever they can think of. But still, the hypocrisy...
Posted by: 386sx | July 4, 2009 4:59 PM
Some scandal is the most likely reason(though being a total flake probably has something to do with it,too). The scuttlebutt I've heard from various sources have to do with her husband Todd getting his grubby hands into some source of income that didn't belong to him.
Anne G
Posted by: Anne Gilbert | July 4, 2009 5:13 PM
Bear with me while I commit some heresy. She's crashing the gates of the Republican party. I've been saying for over a year now, the split between the evangelicals and the neocons is now inevitable. They have diametrically opposing views on some issues, and there simply isn't room for both of them in the Republican party. The last remaining question is who gets the name in the divorce? This is her play to take the evangelical wing and the Republican name with her.
Here's the other thing, she might just pull it off. Everything that every pundit (actual and shade-tree) is claiming as a negative for her isn't. Not to the base she's trying to reach. We may be witness to the birth of the Republican grassroots who are going to topple the party's current leaders with a brutal efficiency that the Democratic grassroots could only dream of.
This prospect scares the crap out of me for two reasons. 1) Quit laughing. This group never stops. Never. God is on their side and any setback is only a test of their faith (e.g., Abortion isn't the real target, sex is. Reed's outright stated they want Griswald overturned, and their current crop of legislators is starting to openly promote the idea. Think about that. The idea of outlawing contraception for everyone is starting to edge towards mainstream discussion. Because people were laughing at the absurdity of the idea someone would even suggest it 30 years ago. Stop laughing. They're playing for keeps.). 2) A two party system requires two parties to keep it healthy. It's bad enough now, and if one of the longstanding brands goes the way of the Whigs, the process of the replacement second party's emergence could get very ugly.
Posted by: usagi | July 4, 2009 5:23 PM
Those assuming there must be a scandal brewing forget we're not dealing with a rational person here.
Allow me to offer another diagnosis: Alaska's Not Big Enough For Her Anymore Syndrome. As someone who comes from a "pissant backwater state" (NM in my case), I've seen this before - small-town politician gets a taste of the Big League, and can't handle being sent back down to the minors. As a related ailment, I'm sure Palin believes her only problem is a lack of support from the party insiders. (Cause it can't be any failing on her part, right?) So the (perceived) only way to get back in the national spotlight is to quit and find a bigger stage nearer to the center of power.
Additionally, as others have pointed out, all the current big names in the GOP are pundits, not serving politicians. This way for the next four years she can say whatever she wants, doesn't have to worry about "results" or "accomplishments" or anything tedious like that, and in four years can sell herself as a populist outsider.
Just to be clear: I'm not saying any of these conclusions are in any way rational. But... see my opening sentence.
Posted by: WScott | July 4, 2009 5:43 PM
Re:ebohlman at #29
I would agree with the notion that Palin would do well with fundamentalists. I've heard a fundamentalist pastor whom the congregation just adores. He typically speaks extemporaneously. I've never seen him use notes. He gave a sermon (more a homily, actually) the other day, which sounded completely incoherent to me. Yet I heard several people in the congregation later marvel at what a wonderful sermon he gave. These people aren't looking for rational thought in a speaker. They aren't put off by a lack of full sentences or even coherent ideas. They are looking for keywords and phrases to lift the spirit. They are looking not for speaking ability to feed the mind, but emotive ability to feed the soul. Palin should fit right in with that crowd.
Posted by: Scott | July 4, 2009 6:37 PM
What about that possibility of a sex scandal? I wonder. It's okay for a male politician to skate through an extramarital affair. Are there any examples of a female politician surviving such a thing? Remember, this is the evangelical party, where women are only nominally better than property. Just a thought.
Posted by: Scott | July 4, 2009 6:46 PM
Maybe she saw how well not working was working for Joe the Plumber, and decided to go galt like him. With any luck in a few years the two of them can be sharing a house on the same reality show as Perez Hilton.
Posted by: Joseph Hewitt | July 4, 2009 8:15 PM
Liberal bloggers beware:
Yeah, good luck with that.
Posted by: Chayanov | July 4, 2009 10:09 PM
Well this is my take. Perhaps pure speculation. Palin wants to actually leave politics and tend to her family. And I mean this completely in a non-sarcastic or mocking way.
Palin was played as an object and a symbol. She was recruited to pander to two different mutually exclusive constituencies, pissed off Hillary supporters and religious righters. She has figured out that there is no way that she actually has real support among the power brokers in the Republican Party to actually become President, and after what happened over the past year, she is burnt out.
This is a woman who a year ago had actually just given birth to a baby with Downs Syndrome. Just now she snapped back to reality in to realizing that she was played as a cultural symbol, and that she has neglected her family and let them be used as symbols and targets of derision.
If this isn't really whats going on in her head, it should be.
Posted by: Sheldon | July 4, 2009 10:22 PM
Sheldon, if what you posit is indeed true, it would be a huge worldview turn-around for her, since all of her past has shown a very ambitious attitude, and a cut-throat way of handling those she no longer needs. And she certainly had the opportunity to consider her family's best interests, when she "unblinkingly" chose to accept the VP nomination.
I'm afraid your speculation flies in the face of Sarah Palin's actual performance, so far.
Posted by: trog69 | July 5, 2009 12:29 AM
I'm not a Republican, nor a conservative, nor a fan of Sarah Palin in any way -- and I'm actually offended that she did this. Quitting a job you don't like is one thing, but quitting an elected office, barring a dire personal emergency, is a major breach of your constituents' trust. The last politician I remember doing something like this was former Rep. Susan Molinari, who in 1997 quit the House of Representatives in midterm to take a TV job for more money. But, appalling as that was, she at least had the presence of mind to cover up the venal irresponsibility of that act by saying she wanted to spend more time with her family.
I don't know that Palin has any presence of mind to speak of. It's quite possible that there's some kind of scandal in the works, but the way she's handled the whole thing is a masterpiece of ineptitude in its own right.
Posted by: Julie.k.stahlhut@alum.mit.edu | July 5, 2009 12:39 AM
If Palin has indeed quit so she can start spending more time in the national conservative spotlight, we need to watch who is funding her activities. Romney can fund himself, but Palin does not have personal wealth to underwrite a 3-year campaign.
I have no desire to see a Palin/anyone ticket in 2012. It might seem amusing right now, but remember that a lot of people early on laughed at Reagan's presidential ambitions. Self-appointed rightwing kingmakers working in the shadows may view Palin as the next GW Bush -- a malleable, charismatic candidate who will rally the base and allow them to regain power.
Posted by: Gerry L | July 5, 2009 1:51 AM
Well, the FBI has categorically stated that Palin is not under investigation, so that just about rules out the "major scandal" explanation (in the criminal sense anyway).
I think that leaves me in the "screw it, I don't need this stinking job any more" camp as an explanation. She's ditching the Alaskan people the same way that she's ditched political allies throughout her career once she no longer needs them.
Posted by: tacitus | July 5, 2009 2:19 AM
"She's done."
I think the turkey's burnt to a crisp. Next pig! Lipstick!
Posted by: MadScientist | July 5, 2009 2:39 AM
Tacitus:
Look for Palin to start spending a lot more time in Virginia with her new SarahPAC, and touring the country on a media blitz following the debut of her forthcoming book for which I envy no editor for having to weed through all the "You betchas!" and "Darn tootins!" in her manuscript.
Posted by: CHV | July 5, 2009 12:26 PM
tacitus:
I'm not a legal eagle, but are there other possibilities besides the FBI conducting an investigation? I don't think the U.S. Attorney's office works exclusively with the FBI, but I don't know that.
Posted by: democommie | July 5, 2009 4:36 PM
I would now like Devid Heddle to explain to us why she should have been a heartbeat from the presidency, or admit that his beliefs are total crap like we've been trying to tell him.
Posted by: chuck johnson | July 5, 2009 5:38 PM
democommie: You could be right. I am not an expert either so who knows?
Chuck: Starbursts?
Posted by: tacitus | July 5, 2009 6:03 PM
Simple: she's really a Democrat who boinked an intern.
Posted by: shawn wilkinson | July 6, 2009 4:28 AM
In the upcoming Alaska legislative session, SP was about to have her veto overridden regarding the stimulus money.
This, after her nominee for AG was UNANIMOUSLY rejected (first time ever in Alaska).
Even though her chances now are quite slim, if she stayed in the Alaska job any hope she ever had of making it on the national stage would be over.
Slim>none.
Posted by: Dr. Steve | July 6, 2009 8:21 AM