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I've heard that Bill Krisol has been informally (or maybe formally) advising Sarah Palin for a while now. Does it seem like possibly Kristol gave her some advice for 2012? The thing is, if Kristol predicts 90 degree weather I grab my jacket. edit: I flipped to msnbc and it says that sources are telling andrea mitchell that Palin is out of politics for good. But then again, it is nbc...

"I know when it's time to pass the ball for victory," soon-to-be-former Governor Sarah Palin says at a press conference with her family, standing before a picturesque river and seaplane. She says she's looking forward to the swearing in of Lt. Governor Sean Parnell. "All I can ask is that you trust me with this decision," she says. "I cannot millions of dollars and time go to waste just so I can remain as governor of Alaska. "This decision has been in the works for a while. It comes after a great deal of prayer and deliberation." She said when...

<p>The Alaska governor spoke in taped interviews on ABC, NBC, and CNN broadcast Tuesday morning. She told CNN that "all options are on the table" for her future.</p> <p>But she told ABC's Good Morning America that she recognizes she might not have political staying power after her surprise resignation Friday, which came just as she had been expected to elevate her national profile ahead of a possible 2012 GOP presidential run. "I said before...'You know, politically speaking, if I die, I die. So be it,'" she said.</p>

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Sarah Palin says she's not a quitter, she's a fighter, but adds that, politically speaking, "if I die, I die. So be it."

Blogging from Phoenix— Attacks orchestrated by establishment republicans more than anything else are at the center of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin’s decision to step down from office. Since the November loss, beltway republicans who still control the vast party infrastructure; have spent untold amounts attempting to discredit the popular former vice presidential candidate.

Sarah Palin is a sinner. She has violated several commandments and thoroughly deserves the savage beating that she is now getting from political mandarins and media elites. If it were not for one simple fact, I would say she was through in politics. And that fact is that if the Republicans were picking a nominee today, they would pick Sarah Palin. No? Don’t believe me? Who would beat her? Tim Pawlenty? Bobby Jindal? Haley Barbour? Mike Huckabee? Mitt Romney? All of these men might build credible, attractive, even powerful political operations by 2012. But right now? Today? Today, Sarah Palin...

On a 15 second show promo, David Letterman stated he will be commenting on Sarah Palin's resignation. Will he further attack her?

While we are awash in the usual flood of cynical punditry and partisan sharpshooting over Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's resignation, it might pay us to pause and reflect on two critical principles of government in a republic, both of which are affirmed by Gov. Palin's action. • Elected office is a public trust — not a personal possession — and it should be held only so long as a person is able to carry out the people's business effectively. When there arises a hindrance — whether self-made or (as in her case) imposed by others — that makes it impossible...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Sarah Palin's not a quitter, she wants the public to know. "I am not a quitter. I am a fighter," Palin told CNN on Monday while on a family fishing trip, on the heels of her Friday bombshell announcement that she was resigning as Alaska's governor. Palin did her interview standing on the shores of Dillingham, Alaska, wearing hip waders. She granted 10-minute interviews to CNN and three other news networks Monday. She resigned because of the tremendous pressure, time and financial burden of a litany of ethics complaints in the past several months, she said....

It's hard to be neutral about Sarah Palin; in fact, I don't know anyone who is. And it's hard to find someone who really understands what led to Friday's shocker in which she announced her resignation as governor of Alaska. It was not unexpected to hear her say she wouldn't seek re-election in 2010. That made sense, as her numbers had drastically fallen back home since she was selected last summer as John McCain's running mate. Plus, she had been feuding with state lawmakers, the budget is in turmoil, and she has gone through the wringer with assorted investigations into...

Since Palin's stunning announcement that she is resigning her Alaskan governorship, Benway has been glued to her computer, reading everything she can about the former Republican vice presidential candidate. Yesterday afternoon, the 63-year-old retired court reporter was among the throng of online-enabled, Facebook-connected supporters who posted a comment on Palin's official fan page.

Staunch GOP conservative Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) doubts that Sarah Palin will be able to resurrect her political career after calling it quits as governor of Alaska. King says he was saddened by the news that Palin, "a star" of the party, gave up the job because he doesn't see how she can continue "her political career on the path ... it was going." "I don’t know of anyone who has successfully and voluntarily pulled themselves out of political office and been able to leverage that into more political success," King said in an interview with The Hill on Monday....

In the weeks before Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced her resignation, she spoke privately with a range of prominent Republican officials – including former Vice President Dick Cheney and former mayor Rudolph Giuliani. It's not clear, from records or interviews, who may have been courting who, and none of the men have made comments suggesting Palin hinted at any future plans. But the calls underscore Palin's position among prominent Republicans. This May, documents indicate, Palin called former Vice President Dick Cheney; former New York City mayor and GOP presidential primary contender Rudolph Giuliani; and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who is...

Chalk up another strange twist in the Sarah Palin affair. Just when we thought blogger attacks on the Alaska guv would spike, her surprise resignation is being met with positive blog buzz. Whereas her "Zeta Buzz" was 54 percent negative before her weekend resignation press conference, it has since changed to 69 percent positive, say our friends at Zeta Interactive. Here's what they tell us about Palin: Over the past few weeks, the blogosphere has been flooded with information—celebrity deaths, rumors, speculation, gossip and commentary. On July 3, another topic made its way into online communities, chat rooms and social...

Reihan Salam, an influential young player in the effort to revive the Republican Party, writes this weekend that Sarah Palin's resignation is another sign of the fading culture wars: What does seem increasingly clear is that Palin's collapse represents the end of a certain kind of politics. If the culture war really is ending, culture warriors like Palin will fade from the scene. I can hear many mainstream Republicans sharing Salam's sigh of relief. I think they're fooling themselves. It's wishful thinking by the GOP's non-social conservatives, who want the party to double down on fiscal conservatism—especially now that Democratic...

You might have heard: Alaska governor Sarah Palin has quit her job. In the sort of eye-rollingly silly spin that we've come to expect from the good governor, she attributed her first-term resignation to her unwavering dedication to the people of Alaska and her inability to accept political convention: "I'm not gonna put Alaskans through [a lame-duck second-term]. I promised efficiencies and effectiveness. That's not how I'm wired. I'm not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual." She announced she was transferring the governorship to her lieutenant governor so that her administration "with its positive agenda and...

Political Hay Sarah Surprises Again By Robert Stacy McCain on 7.6.09 @ 6:09AM Anyone who previously doubted Sarah Palin's celebrity status need no longer doubt. The surprise announcement of her decision to resign the Alaska governorship effective July 26 -- fully 18 months before the end of her first term -- generated a reaction nearly powerful enough to bump Michael Jackson's funeral from the headlines. In addition to the usual sources of political news, People magazine weighed in with a report quoting gubernatorial father-in-law Jim Palin's reaction: "Wow.…We had no idea it was coming." The elder Palin reported that "Sarah...

July 06, 2009 Sarah Palin: The Best is Yet to Come By J.R. Dunn The response to Sarah Palin's surprise resignation last Friday clearly reveals the limitations of the American political class, right, left, or what have you. There's an old academic joke, probably apocryphal, about Count Metternich, Austria's foreign minister during the Napoleonic era. While attending the Congress of Vienna, Metternich is sleeping off a banquet when one of his aides bursts in at three in the morning. "Your excellency! Count Nesselrode, the Russian ambassador, just died." Metternich jerks awake. "Died, you say? What a terrible thing! I was...

Sarah Palin’s decision to resign as governor of Alaska so that she could, “advance in another direction,” was a brilliant political move. She senses, or sees, or grasps what few in politics understand today. Americans are tired of the same old, same old — be it Republican, Democratic, or even Green Party (See California’s recent special election results). The sound of thundering hoofs coming over the hill is apparent to any real student of political history. However, it seems that only an unlikely moose hunter like Palin has put her ear to the ground to listen. The rumblings are not...

Hi Alaska, I appreciate speaking directly to you, the people I serve, as your Governor. People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska. Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine. I want Alaskans to grasp what can be in store for our state. We were purchased as a territory because a member of President Abe Lincoln's cabinet, William Seward, providentially saw in this great land, vast riches, beauty, strategic placement on the globe, and opportunity. He boldly looked "North to the Future". But he endured such...

Of all the lines of argument concerning Sarah Palin’s resignation as governor of Alaska, surely there is none more disingenuous than the “she abandoned her post” line proffered today by Donny Deutsch on MSNBC and yesterday by Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post (whose article was entitled “Big Girls Don’t Quit,” another example of the bizarre double standard according to which it is acceptable to deride a 45 year-old Republican grandmother by calling her a “girl”).

It's not clear why Sarah Palin resigned her position as governor of Alaska, but it must have been for one of the following reasons: (1) there is a scandal that would have made her position as governor untenable, (2) she couldn't take the heat that was coming her way, or (3) she concluded that it was in her best interests to do something other than fulfill the duties associated with the position the voters of Alaska entrusted to her. In all three scenarios, Palin is unfit for high office, and certainly unfit to be the vice president or the president...

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin used her Twitter page Sunday to fire back at critics seizing on her decision to abruptly resign from office this month and to rebut speculation of an FBI investigation. Shortly after lawmakers, pundits and political strategists took to the Sunday morning television talk shows to call her decision to step down a political mistake, Mrs. Palin posted several Tweets on the social-networking Web site aimed at reassuring supporters that she had made the correct decision. "Critics are spinning, so hang in there as they feed false info on the right decision made as I enter last...

I’m confused by all the confusion among the chattering classes about Palin. I thought her press conference explained it very clearly – though she couldn’t put it precisely this way without sounding vain, but it’s obvious. Even though she’s just a state governor, she’s a HUGE national star who is both sought after and attacked as if she is already a president (a Bush, not an Obama). But she basically can’t participate because she’s tethered to the governor’s office up in Alaska. Consequently, she has to fight with one hand tied behind her back and she also can’t go around...

Sarah Palin's abrupt decision to step down as governor of Alaska has left many people on both sides of the aisle scratching their heads. Palin has successfully survived fifteen ethics complaints. Her Lt. Governor, Sean Parnell who will succeed her at the end of this month, said Sunday that "she has plenty of time now within which to define how she will further her core values." Her announcement leaves open the possibility that she will run for higher office. Some on the right, such as William Kristol of the Weekly Standard, have said her move was 'crazy like a fox',...

Soon the Republican party will have no choice but to make Mitt Romney its leader. We've seen a suspiciously steady trickle of losers quietly exiting the ranks of 2012 hopefuls -- Bobby Jindal with his disastrous State of the Union rebuttal; John Ensign and Mark Sanford with their affairs; and most recently, Sarah Palin's bizarre resignation from the Alaska governorship. The only candidates left are Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty and Romney. If history is any guide, we should expect some foul disclosure out of the Huckabee camp any day now. You just can't get away with saying something like this...

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin made her own declaration of independence yesterday by announcing that she's resigning as governor of Alaska. It was another gutsy and smart move on her part that has confounded the experts and has many writing her political obituary. I believe it's just wishful thinking on their part and these folks have no clue what just hit them. Since Sen. John McCain chose her to run as his vice-president she, her family, and her staff have been through the wringer as opponents have turned over every rock in hopes of taking her down. Every time she sneezed...

Rush Limbaugh Comments on Sarah Palin's Resignation  July 5, 2009  BEGIN TRANSCRIPTRUSH: This is Rush. I’m on a golf vacation, parts unknown, all week long. Six cities, six courses, starting today. On this Palin business, you know, one of the reasons I haven’t said anything to anybody is I don’t know what this means – and I think all of this is just speculation. We don’t know what her reasons for doing this are yet. The speculation here and the predictions here rival some of the irresponsibility I saw with people speculating on the cause of death of Michael Jackson when...

How does Rush Limbaugh see Sarah Palin's resignation announcement? Through persistence and a bit of luck, however, your Radio Equalizer was able to track down Limbaugh, who offered a three minute taped answer to our key question: does Sarah Palin have a political future? In the response, Limbaugh denounced Beltway and state-run media speculation over Palin's next move, as well as dismissals of her future viability, comparing it to unfounded rumors regarding Michael Jackson's actual cause of death. He was careful to note that both establishment Democrats and Republicans were writing her political obituary, but that it was more than...

Here is video of the Fox News Sunday Panel, July 5, 2009, discussing the news of Gov. Sarah Palin's resignation as Alaska Governor. The panel consisted of Bill Kristol, Jennifer Loven, Stephen Hayes, and Juan Williams. Kristol thinks it could turn out to be a smart move - although risky; Hayes and Williams think it is a terrible decision. . . . . (Watch Video)

As speculation swirled that her decision was connected to a pending corruption investigation, Mrs Palin's lawyer issued a four-page letter warning legal action against bloggers and US publications that reprinted the allegations, which she strongly denies. "To the extent several websites ... are now claiming as 'fact' that Governor Palin resigned because she is 'under federal investigation' for embezzlement or other criminal wrongdoing, we will be exploring legal options this week to address such defamation," said Thomas Van Flein, her lawyer, in a statement. He also told the Anchorage Daily News that he was unaware of any criminal investigation involving...

On Fox News Sunday this morning, Weekly Standard editor, and FNC contributor, Bill Kristol predicted Sarah Palin’s path to the White House in 2012. He predicted that Palin would become a leader of conservatives, the leader of the GOP, and then president, just like Obama did. According to Kristol, Palin is just like Obama. Here is the video courtesy of Think Progress: (VIDEO AT LINK) Kristol said, "Barack Obama ran for Senate in 2004, was elected to the Senate and the moment he was sworn in began running for president of the United States. He had no Senate leadership record...

Eight days before the election, I spent 20 minutes alone with Sarah Palin on her campaign bus between rallies in Leesburg, Va., and Fredericksburg, George Washington's childhood home. Our encounter brought to mind a crusty Texas editor's description of politicians who didn't know what they didn't know: Delusions of adequacy. By then, John McCain's handlers were so spooked by the disastrous Katie Couric interview they'd hermetically sealed his running mate from media interrogators. But Tucker Eskew, the savvy Republican operative running her road show, graciously offered some "face time" - if our conversation was off the record. Reluctantly, I took...

Lt. Gov. Response to Palin’s Announcement (July 3, 2009, Wasilla, Alaska) Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell has released his prepared remarks in response to Governor Palin's announcement.Thank you, Governor. It is with a heavy heart that I hear these words. I so appreciate what you have done for our state and your sacrificial service. You have been a strong leader for our state, you've inspired a nation, and you've ignited the fire of real hope around the world.I profoundly respect your decision for I know the depth of character and integrity from which it springs. Rare, indeed, are such selfless acts...

I began prepping for this article by saving multiple links condemning and dismissing soon-to-be ex-Gov Palin's decision to resign in late July. The political obituaries, however, became so ubiquitous that I simply stopped and closed all the tabs. It seems that everyone is so desperate to show Sarah the exit door, that they cannot think or write (yes, those are two different things not always co-existing) anything of depth. It's boilerplate claptrap lacking wholly in analysis. Let's step back and not fall into the tea-leaf world of the political soothsayers.

Ms. “You Betcha” really outdid herself Friday. In a breathless, rambling, manic and, let’s be honest here, downright nutty address outside her Wasilla home, the self-described “pit bull with lipstick” shocked and amused the political world by announcing she’s quitting, mid-term, as Alaska’s governor. Why?

Here is video of Republican strategist Mary Matalin saying she believes Gov. Sarah Palin's resignation announcement is a "brilliant" move that will rally many supporters around the nation in her defense. Matalin says she believes this assuming there is no scandal behind the decision, which she does not believe exists. . . . (Watch Video)

Breaking his silence regarding the resignation of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, talk titan Rush Limbaugh tells the Radio Equalizer that rumblings about her personal and political future are "all speculation".

Sarah is now unelectable on a national stage. The “quitter” specter will hang around her neck like “swimmer” does to Ted Kennedy. You’ll be able to spot the realistic, clear thinking conservatives because they see and admit this early so we can put it behind us get on with identifying the candidates who can win in ‘12. BTW - This doesn’t rule out a tangential private career ala Newt or a run for a House or Senate seat (although I don’t know where at this point) but as a national candidate she is toast. That so many conservatives can’t see...

Since posting this blog entry critical of Sarah Palin on Friday, I have been getting a lot of angry email from right-wing culture warriors. That's not particularly surprising. But what is surprising is the general tone. Many of my correspondents seem to be turning Palin into a sort of political Christ figure, who has been martyred for America's political sins. This email from one George Lyster was typical in this regard: "It's because of incessant criticism from people like you why she is quitting. Attack her, attack her children, attack her grandchildren. No individual should have been treated by the...

Many FReepers are skeptical of Romney's conservative credentials. They don't like his past positions on abortion, healthcare, and gay marriage. They feel his rightward shift on social issues to be less than sincere. Many conservatives are angered by the Left's attempts to character assassinate Palin thru silly ethics complaints. They have made Palin's administration and family into side shows. The ethics complaints have driven her to be $500,000 in debt. This situation might provide an opening for Romney to gain Palin's support. Romney could step in to pay off Palin's legal debt. He then could make a speech about how...

Sarah Palin is the biggest political star in the nation. Need proof , just look at the events this weekend. There is not a single political or news person or outlet that is not talking about what the Governor did yesterday. The funniest thing is , everyone is trying to guess why she resigned even though she clearly stated why. She can no longer govern Alaska because she spends everyday of her time and all kinds of money fighting false ethic charges. She has become a lightning rod for the media and the people of Alaska are better off with...

Any politician willing to treat their job as a temporary one is a politician worth looking at. Like most everyone else, I sat back and scratched my head in consternation at the announcement that Sarah Palin was resigning as governor of Alaska. Its either a bold or stupid move, I thought. I placed it on the slow cook burner in my brain and let it soak in. At first glance, you say “Well thats a mistake! She shot herself in the foot!” Then I asked myself “What happens when you decide you dont want to run for re election?” Are...

Energy: Will oil hit $250 a barrel? The Russians think so, as crude prices climb to an eight-month high. Meantime, House Republicans advance a plan to help the administration keep a domestic energy promise.The cost of July deliveries of crude bounced over $73 Thursday as the American Petroleum Institute reported shrinking U.S. inventories as the dollar weakens against the euro. Alexei Miller, chairman of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, is repeating his prediction of a year ago that oil may eventually reach the $250 mark.

As Defense Secretary Gates tours our missile defense site at Fort Greely, Alaska, Gov. Sarah Palin calls for restoration of the missile defense cuts. Meanwhile, North Korea points another missile at the U.S. Robert Gates' visit to our missile defense facility at Fort Greely on Monday was a pointed reminder to the North Koreans that while we have been talking softly, we still have a few big sticks in the ground ready to turn the North Korean missile program into so much scrap metal.

I absolutely hate liberals....

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's abrupt and unscripted holiday resignation is an odd way to launch a potential presidential bid and certainly no help for a party battered by scandal and fighting for relevancy. From a folksy figure who catapulted from obscure governor to conservative darling and vice presidential nominee, it's merely the latest move in a political drama that has left Republican elders scratching their heads. --snip-- "If this is her launching pad for 2012, it's a curious move," said John Weaver, a former senior strategist for McCain's presidential bids. "Policy is politics, and she has no real accomplishments as...

There have been a number of seminal queries which our elders used to define game-changing moments in America’s cultural evolution. Where were you when JFK was shot? Where were you when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon? For me, although it will likely wind up as a Trivial Pursuit bonus round question, one of the treasured turning points may well be: Where were you when Sarah Palin decided to commit political suicide? The odd thing is that I was up in the mountains, forcing myself into a period of decompression from the political theater. I likely wouldn’t have even...

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is stepping down, announcing suddenly today that will she pursue other means of having an impact in the public arena, fueling speculation about her intentions for another bid for national office. Palin will step down before her first term is finished, resigning as of July 26 -- while not offering a clear reason for her withdrawal. Having decided not to seek a second term, she said she did not want to remain as a "lame duck'' simply wasting taxpayer money with trade missions and the like. "I know when it's time to pass the ball,'' said...

The liberal Talking Points Memo website, which is deemed a respectable political site by the mainstream media which regularly quotes from their articles, published an article last night that speculated Alaska Governor Sarah Palin resigned because "she wants to spread Down syndrome." Palin's infant son Trig was born last year with Down syndrome.Amazingly, the article was published at 11:51 p.m., hours after the Huffington Post had issued an apology over a similarly themed article that the site pulled after it was highlighted by Free Republic.The TPM article, entitled Possible Reasons for Sarah Palin's Resignation and Other Schadenfreude, was written by...