Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced Friday that she was resigning her office later this month, a stunning decision that could free her to run for president more easily but also raises questions about her political standing at home.
Palin disclosed the surprise news Friday afternoon from her home in Wasilla with her husband, Todd, and Lt. Governor Sean Parnell, who the governor said would take over the state on Saturday, July 25th.
By not running for re-election, Palin liberates herself from the political constraints that come with running for president while still in elected office.
It seems like a joke that someone who was governor of Alaska for such a short time could conceive of a presidential run, but Barack Obama didn't even complete his term as senator, so the bar has been reset when it comes to political experience.
Update: Since I posted this the whole announcement has gotten a lot weirder and murkier, so I don't know what's going on. Let's hope she doesn't decide to go hiking with Todd on the Appalachian Trail.
Update II: CNN video of the Palin resignation speech below the fold....
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... and google ads puts a "Support Sarah PAC" banner ad at the top of the page...
she'll get a show on Fox starting in the fall. being in the lower 48 will make it easier to build a national organization, to appear at fundraisers, and being an entertainer means no questions about governance. With a solid organization behind her, she can make a good showing in the Republican primaries in 2012.
It sure does seem like a bit much. To an extent, innate acumen can compensate for low experience and vice versa. Obama is inexperienced but smooth. Lincoln was quite inexperienced, but a genius. But Palin?
I wouldn't rule out voting for her completely. If she just didn't /do/ much other than roll back activist government, it might be cool. If she actually tried to do ambitious things she might well prove about as adroit as Bush the Lesser.
I just watched the vid Half Sigma has linked to. Pretty weeirrrd dude.
This strikes me as fishy. Generally, resigning before a presidential bid doesn't happen at least during the primary campaigns, and even then it's generally a sign of weakness. And it's a Friday afternoon, the traditional dumping ground for bad news, which indicates an attempt to keep the resignation low profile. I don't have any informed guesses as to what's actually going on, but the situation reeks of damage control, so I expect the other shoe to drop soon.
True, but one caveat is that the politician should be able to speak English in full comprehensive sentences.
I'm sorry, there's no comparison. Obama has orders of magnitude more experience that Palin when it comes to actually brokering compromises in the political landscape. He also knew what the job was before he ran. Some of his choices recently seem somewhat Bushist, but many are in fact coming through on his promises. My take on Sarah is that she'll say anything she's told to say, and get it wrong even so because she doesn't understand it. I don't believe for a minute she thinks her statements through before opening mouth like Obama does. So no, the bar being reset solely on the basis of term in office is not in play here.
It is probably better for the state that she resign. From the various stories, she seems to be someone who uses power to get even and not for the good of the people she is representing. As for president, NO Way IN ----, would I ever vote for her.
I wasn't a big fan of hers, so I'm not sad to see her go. Hopefully the Repubs find somebody who can beat that corrupt, lying weasel Obama. Obama, being both clever and evil, will be tough to beat.
I hate to see Sarah picked on, people are idiots, and we know that because they put the moron Obama puke in office. gag, gag, gag. This country is going to hell in a rowboat thanks to the friggin Obama, King of Shit hill.
Come on people, post my comment, everyone else said something negative about the moron Obama. I like Sara Palin, she is one heck of a lot smarter then obama, he is more evil and sneaky, backed by a lot of evil people in this country and SATAN. We aren't going to live much longer because of him, we are getting closer and closer to death at the hands of Obama. So, all of you Obama worshippers, you had better kiss your sorry asses good bye, you are not long for this world.
With your SciBlings talking about all the questionable ads on your sidebars these days, I thought I'd point out that this ad for SarahPAC is on your sidebar as I type this:
http://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/imgad?id=CKmi4uOxr8iWtAEQoAEY…
Sirs, may I humbly add my voice to Karen Wade's heroic one-woman chorus of urgent, deeply reasoned insights. Let us heed her cry: evil, mortality and indeed rowboats are all surely among us today. I beg you, while time yet remains, give Madame Wade's unsettling revelations a wider forum. Let this oracle enlighten us, perhaps as a dissident guest poster on these hallowed pages (a privilege I once enjoyed and for which I remain eternally indebted).
Your servant ever, C. Snicker Esq.
She cost McCain the election, her folkyness, accent and winking do not ring true, her intellect is below par (our vivid memory of the last one who delegates and follows because of their lack of intellect), but lets face it with the right type of marketing (vote folky, vote god) it can be sold to US, history tends to repeat itself. God help us!
I'm not concerned about us getting closer to death under Obama, since death would at least be a sweet release from all the hysterical morons shrieking "ZOMG NIRTH CERTIFICIT TELLYPROMPTER ANTICHRIST TERROR ACORN EV0L SATAN RAPTUREREADY PURPLE MONKEY DISHWASHER" that generally molest common sense and leave it for dead in a ditch during these discussions.
"one caveat is that the politician should be able to speak English in full comprehensive sentences": that didn't seem to constrain John Kerry.
I don't think it will be feasible for her to re-enter the political scene if that's what she's planning on doing in a few years.
"one caveat is that the politician should be able to speak English in full comprehensive sentences": Is that with or without the use of a teleprompter?
The emotional response Sarah Palin elicits is a noteworthy phenomenon. I could understand people disagreeing with her policies and therefore not supporting her, yet I haven't seen comments relating to the things she has actually done as a politician. All I ever see regarding Palin is abject hysteria generally in regards to things not related to her job performance. The media has never much reported on anything pertinent, or of significance, virtually all of the commentary is petty nonsense designed to appeal to the intellect of those who buy People magazine with Britney Spears on its cover.
Politically she seems too direct. She seems the exact opposite of Obama who is strictly a backroom dealer. She is the ugly truth and he the pretty lie.
I AGREE WITH YOU KAREN WADE 100%.. I LIKE SARAH PALIN, CLINTON NEEDS TO BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT IN 4 YEARS. OBAMBA IS GOING TO PUT THIS COUNTRY IN A BIG HOLE..WHERE CLINTON, SHE WAS THE WOMAN WE NEEDED. IT'S TIME FOR A WOMAN PRESIDENT SOON..YEAH THIS GUY SUCKS
"It seems like a joke that someone who was governor of Alaska for such a short time could conceive of a presidential run, but Barack Obama didn't even complete his term as senator, so the bar has been reset when it comes to political experience."
The difference being, Obama didn't complete his term because he was elected president. That's not quite the same thing. Had he served only half his term as senator, then quit and then tried to run he would never have made it. Palin quit because she couldn't take the head. Anything bad that happens to Alaska due to her leadership will fall upon her successor. And she'll escape with claen hands.
I am not sure about voting for anyone who can not speak and stay on topic. Yes, she seems nice but I just don't think she has what it takes to deal with foreign policy. I mean foreign policy is TUFF STUFF. I really think that now that the economy has bottomed out that being Gov. is not easy when things are not running smoothly. Sorry.