Ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (Official)

[sandgk]

Originally Posted by bigballin2987

This is Palin we're talking about here...

In best Craig Ferguson voice ...

I Knooow!

[Flocka]

Originally Posted by sandgk

In best Craig Ferguson voice ...

I Knooow!

I could see her just not giving a [censored] about being governor of Alaska after she got a whiff of the presidential election. But the scandal is also definitely a possibility.

[MaxBuck]

Originally Posted by bigballin2987

...this could just as easily be her wanting to focus on a run for president and not have to deal with the constraints of being a governor...

I don't see any problem with this. It will also make a good precedent when I tell my wife I intend to focus on my wooing of Angelina Jolie and don't want to deal with the constraints of being a husband.

[fanaticbuckeye]

Originally Posted by MaxBuck

I don't see any problem with this. It will also make a good precedent when I tell my wife I intend to focus on my wooing of Angelina Jolie and don't want to deal with the constraints of being a husband.

I tried this one already, it didnt work. Save yourself the nagging.

[valentine]

I guess somebody found out the story of a person flying in labor for 8 hours, leaking amniotic fluid with a special needs child wasn't plausible enough...

Good riddance.

[valentine]

Originally Posted by bigballin2987

No one knows for sure, but this could just as easily be her wanting to focus on a run for president and not have to deal with the constraints of being a governor. Obviously she makes some pretty interesting political choices so this wouldn't surprise me at all.

This only makes sense if she is running for Senate, which still doesn't explain why she had to quit.

Her national political career is over. Today.

[fourteenandoh]

We'll see what plays out the next week.

Here's something worth posting. It is what it is. Another smear job with a bunch on anonymous people being quoted.

Todd S. Purdum on Sarah Palin | vanityfair.com

[Bucklion]

A shock to me, I didn't think she'd relinquish anything ever. It's hard to know what to make of her statement...sounds like part PO'd at her family being made fun of and part could be a new scandal or ethics proble coming and part she wants to focus on something else.

My personal guess is she knows she can't and won't be President, so if she wants to be a mouthpiece for the social conservative movement, she can do so more easily without the constraints of an office she doesn't really want anymore and where she has to try and keep everyone (or at least enough people) happy. Think of her as basically Gary Bauer following the Al Gore model...he (Gore) went on to more success and public acclaim and affection (including a Nobel Prize) after he left office than he ever would have had as President, and certainly than he had as VP. I think Palin wants to be the right's Al Gore. I'm not judging the merits of that thought, just saying that's what I think she is thinking.

[generaladm]

I think that's probably the direction she's going to take. I don't think even she believes she can be a viable Pres. candidate. She could ride her popularity to the Rep nomination, especially with the lack of other high profile choices, but eventually she'll have to do the serious debates, and she'd get killed. The cutesy Jane Six Pack act was okay for Veep, but going head to head with Obama (presumably) four times would be a disaster for her, and the GOP.

My first thought about her resignation was that it was very odd, considering the financial responsibility to her family. I don't think she has a lot of opportunities that are as lucrative as the governorship. But, she's probably getting lots of offers for speaking engagements, book deals, etc., and if the numbers add up, it's probably a good move. She has become a name brand in her own right, and it may be better for her to shed the constraints of being an official GOP representative. Who knows for now if that's what will happen, but the possibility is certainly there.

[Oh8ch]

There are a lot of conservatives - otherwise intelligent people - who simply adore Palin. (I lean pretty right myself but want no part of her.) With all the leftward movement going on right now she could do some serious fund raising among the TEA Party crowd.

I also watched coverage of the announcement on CBS. My wife prefers CBS and I try to use it as a vehicle to help her understand press bias. In the 2-3 minutes they devoted to the story they:

1. Described her announcement as rambling and confusing.
2. Questioned her motives.
3. Replayed the worst moment of her interview with Couric.
4. Suggested she was abandoning responsibilities where she was needed most.

She may be a walking train wreck, but they then they spent the next 5 minutes sucking a dead pedophiles wee-wee.

And I'd still hit it. (The train wreck - not the pedophile.)

[sandgk]

Well, there may be one other option for the old girl ...

[methomps]

“Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road. They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I’m not going to put Alaskans through that,” Palin said.

Lame duck with a year+ to go "It's not you, Alaska! It's me!"

[generaladm]

Nick Ayers, head of the Republican Governor's Association, says he discussed the move with Palin via email:

The head of the Republican Governor's Association said on Friday that in emails sent to him moments before she announced her resignation as governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin discussed expanding the role she played in the Republican Party.
"Part of her decision is she wants to spend more time campaigning for candidates," Nick Ayers, the executive director of the RGA, told Fox News.
"She felt like she needed to make her colleagues around the country aware, so she had given us a brief heads up," Ayers said of getting the emails. "We have known for a couple of days she was considering not running for re-election but it was news today that she had gone ahead and made the decision to fully step down and resign."

GOP Official Who Emailed With Palin Moments Before Decision, Explains Her Move

[jlb1705]

If this is a move designed to set her up to run for higher office, I don't think it's a good one. It's not as if she's just declining a second term - she's walking away from the job mid-term.

If I were running against her in any capacity - in a primary or general election, I'd be sure that everytime me or one of my representatives speaks about her that they mention how she turned her back on her responsibilities and her constitutents at the sight of a shiny new opportunity, and how she apparently couldn't handle the simultaneous tasks of running for office and governing what is thought by some to be the easiest state in the union to govern - a set of responsibilities that are not as great as those she'd be seeking in her next position.

Then again, usually when a politician makes a move like this, we're about to find out something really bad that they're trying to blunt the impact of. If that's the case her future ambitions may not matter much anymore.

She should've said she was resigning to focus on the full-time responsibilites of making sure that dirty perv David Letterman stays away from her daughters and indeed, YOUNG WOMEN EVERYWHERE.

[OSUsushichic]

A leadership role? Excellent. You go, Sarah. Dems everywhere are cheering you on.

McCain says Palin to play leadership role as ex-Governor | U.S. | Reuters