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A reasonable argument can be made that Sarah Palin did the right thing when she quit after two and a half years into her first term as Alaska governor. Yes she let many down when she asked us for her vote and then quit after a couple of years on the job. And yes some would argue the only reason she quit was for more money and fame. But regardless of her motives, her quitting could end up saving the country. Even Palin critics would have to admit she is a mighty force on the political scene. Whether it’s firing...

Even as the president’s approval rating slips, Republicans looking to beat him in 2012 — one of their frontrunners, one-time governor of Alaska Sarah Palin, might be unelectable. A new Marist Poll gives President Obama a 56-33 lead over Palin among registered voters, with the president taking 20 percent of Republican voters and easily winning independents. But Palin’s favorable rating with registered Republicans is still a very strong 73-16. In the South, Obama’s lead is a slimmer 49-38, and post-”Beerfest” Obama only leads by 10 points among white voters. But everywhere else, and among every other demographic group, he dominates...

Amid the countrywide smack downs of various public officials in the form of town hall meetings, the wisdom in Palin’s resignation becomes clearer. While the Democratic majority, drunk with euphoria over the Sotomayor confirmation and the ensuing havoc her activist agenda will wreck with the constitution, sees the crowds as “angry” and “inauthentic,” there is a real truth to the passion and opposition to the Obama agenda that is felt throughout grassroots America. These “Brooks Brothers” mobs frighten the ivory tower dwelling liberal ruling class because they are more used to sycophantic adulation from the underlings. Seeing the look of...

Maybe the finest 12 minute video commentary explaining the crap from the left and the crap from ELITES on the right. Whittle makes it clear that there is a war on between fly over country and the inside the beltway elites. He ends with a story about Marines on Gaudacanal and Japanese war rules that are traps for decent people. This is a fighting words video well written and not afraid to punch elites in the nose.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Sarah Palin stepped down Sunday as Alaska governor to write a book and build a right-of-center coalition, but she left her long-term political plans unclear and refused to address speculation she would seek a 2012 presidential bid. In a fiery campaign-style speech, Palin said she was stepping down to take her political battles to a larger if unspecified stage and avoid an unproductive, lame duck status. "With this decision, now, I will be able to fight even harder for you, for what is right, and for truth. And I have never felt that you need a...

<p>FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin steps down Sunday giving few clues about her political future, which has been clouded by ethics probes, mounting legal bills and dwindling popularity.</p> <p>A few things are known: She is scheduled to speak Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, and has said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates from coast to coast and build a right-of-center coalition.</p>

When America is finally ready to reckon with the phenomenon that was Sarah Palin, I suspect we will discover that whatever she represents actually had less to do with her gender, class, or ideology than we now believe. It's easy to look at the soon-to-be-former governor of Alaska as an iconic feminist, a path-breaking working mother, or noble rabble-rousing populist. But when the dust settles, the lesson may be that she was simply a woman who made no sense. Her meteoric rise and dubious fall will say less about America than you think, beyond the fact that America likes its...

The latest poll ratings suggest that many Republicans have turned negative towards Gov. Sarah Palin after her surprise resignation announcement. Reports CNN: A majority of Americans think Sarah Palin is stepping down as Alaska's governor for political reasons, according to a new national poll, with a majority of Republicans now saying that they do not believe that Palin would be an effective president. Only 33 percent of Republicans questioned in a CBS News survey released Monday night say that Palin would have the ability to serve effectively as president. Last fall, 71 percent of registered Republicans felt that way.

Yeah, this story ain't new. But I haven't written anything in so long, it had to be the topic upon my return...So, Sarah Palin is stepping down. Not quitting. Not giving in. Not saying that the job was just too tough. Not abandoning the people of Alaska. Not totally ruining any future in politics.But of course, that's what all her opponents and the MSM are saying. Of course they are. They think they've won. They think that saying those things will a) make them true and b) tarnish her and prevent her from doing what they have feared all along: becoming President. (Shudder!)But of...

Hockey hunk turned political pundit Levi Johnston doesn't think his baby's grandma Sarah Palin could handle the White House: She can't take the heat. "She's very smart," Johnston told NBC Monday morning. "But I just don't think she can handle the stress level as governor -- I don't think she can handle it as president or vice president." Johnston, the 19-year-old high school dropout and former fiancé of Palin's daughter Bristol, said on the "Today" show that he wouldn't vote for Palin if she launched a presidential bid. "If you would have asked that question a while back, I think...

By quitting as governor Sarah Palin stays true to her brand and is poised to grow. Everyone -especially the political pundit class- seems to be calling Sarah Palin a loser, a quitter, a committer of political suicide by leaving office mid-term. They are all very wrong. What's being missed is that the usual political calculations simply do not apply to Sarah Palin, one of the most unusual public figures to come along in years. With this decision and this announcement, Sarah Palin has been absolutely true to herself. Long-term, this will translate to a success that will leave most political...

Since announcing her resignation, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been pummeled by critics who have called her incoherent, a quitter, a joke and a "political train wreck." And those were fellow Republicans talking. Palin has been a polarizing figure from the moment she stepped off the tundra into the bright lights last summer as John McCain's surprise vice presidential running mate. Some of that hostility could be expected, given the hyper-partisanship of today's politics. What is remarkable is the contempt Palin has engendered within her own party and the fact that so many of her GOP detractors are willing, even...

Your editorial, “Away with GOP divas, princes, talking heads,” reminded me why I like Sarah Palin. At the mention of her name, so-called grown men and women wet their pants and begin shaking with fear. The effect the lady from Wasilla has on otherwise rational people is astounding, and a real hoot to watch. Mrs. Palin made her decision to resign without the advice of focus groups, polls, Washington pundits or Political “operatives,” and she gave her speech without the aid of a teleprompter. It’s easy to see how she frightens some folks. You say whatever detriment caused is entirely...

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she's not only staying involved in national politics, but she plans to jump back into the national scrum when she leaves office at the end of the month. The former Republican vice presidential nominee said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates from coast to coast — even Democrats who share her views on limited government, national defense and energy independence — and build a right-of-center coalition. "I will go around the country on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation," she said...

Professional politicians and political journalists don't waste energy on political corpses. They reserve their energy -- positive or negative -- for viable politicians. Thus, an intriguing part of the Sarah Palin phenomenon is the intensity of response to her every word and move -- from both Republican Party and Democratic Party professionals and from the conventional media. The negative but sustained passion being expressed by the professional Washington political class against her tends to belie its almost unanimous assertion that she is washed up. I happened to be on CNN on July 3 just as the story was breaking of...

A spokeswoman for Gov. Sarah Palin is scoffing at comments by Bristol Palin's former fiance, who says he thinks Palin resigned to cash in on her fame.

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it” Yogi Berra When Sarah Palin resigned as Alaska’s Governor, you’d have thought she confessed to having Muslim roots in three Islamic States while apologizing to the world for the atrocities committed by America. OOPS--I’m getting my stories mixed up with our president--silly me. My psychiatrist diagnosed me with multiple personalities. I was beside myself…and so was I. Unlike Sarah, the liberal press and a few conservatives could have been diagnosed with multiple personalities. The Sybil wannabes were filled with hubris as they spewed against the Palins. The newsies looked...

Sarah Palin's announcement of her resignation as governor of Alaska may be the end of her political career or, as some speculate, the real beginning. What seems clear is that Palin is not conservatism's new hope but its dead end. In recent days, this has been amply confirmed by the arguments of Palin defenders, focused less on her presumed merits than on her presumed injuries at her enemies' hands.Thus, Ross Douthat, the new conservative voice at the New York Times, hails Palin as Everywoman—living proof you can aspire to the White House without an Ivy League degree—and deplores her abuse...

So you’ve all seen and kept up with the latest happenings on Sarah, right? A lot of people in the media and the blogosphere declared her resignation “bizarre,” and a lot of others thought that, frankly, she was insane. Even many of Palin’s supporters were puzzled by this decision at first. Why would this woman, who was doing perfectly well building her resume and experience as governor of Alaska, abruptly resign? It makes a lot more sense now. A few days ago, Palin scheduled a press conference, and none other than ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Time, and countless other media...

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin continues to confound political observers. The woman whose sudden entrance onto the national political stage so badly confused the liberal machine last fall has just as suddenly announced her departure, unexpectedly announcing her resignation as Governor last Friday, less than three years into her term. You can evaluate Mrs. Palin’s political effectiveness by looking at how people reacted to her. The barrage of gutter-level personal attacks after Sen. John McCain chose her as his running mate was swift and vicious. So badly flummoxed was the opposition that they stooped to personal attacks that targeted the Palin...

early July, while most Americans were preparing for a long weekend of celebratory parades, charred meats, and noisy fireworks, Sarah Palin made some plans of her own. The Alaska governor had been the object of endless media attention and assorted calumnies since she became John McCain's vice presidential nominee last August. Now she wanted to try something new. So, on July 3, in a speech delivered from her home on Lake Lucille in Wasilla, Palin told her constituents that not only would she not seek a second term, but she would also be transferring authority to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell...

Yesterday, on a comment thread I reminded readers of a particular sexist trick used to disembowel female pols—the old: she’s too polarizing theme. Specifically, I mentioned Hollywood’s David (Obama) Geffen’s charge that Hillary Clinton was “incredibly polarizing.” Geffen and Obama had put their male heads together and decided the best way to beat the bi$ch was to paint her as “polarizing.” Missy Maureen Dowd was contacted and she agreed to printed Geffen’s orchestrated remarks in her column. Hillary=Polarizing now with the NYTimes imprimatur. Polarizing = Bi%ch=manipulative=shrill, and on it goes. Today, I had no sooner posted a comment on the...

The Truth About Sarah Palin’s Resignation by John Ziegler

In early July, while most Americans were preparing for a long weekend of cheesy parades, charred meats, and noisy fireworks, Sarah Palin made some plans of her own. The Alaska governor had been the object of endless media attention and assorted calumnies since she became John McCain's vice presidential nominee last August. Now she wanted to try something new. So, on July 3, in a speech delivered from her home on Lake Lucille in Wasilla, Palin told her constituents that not only would she not seek a second term, but she would also be transferring authority to Lieutenant Governor Sean...

RESIGNATION: Daughter's ex-fiance says governor also missed family time. BY SEAN COCKERAM Levi Johnston, the former fiance of Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol, on Thursday joined the crowd offering up potential reasons for Palin's decision to step down. Johnston met with reporters to say that he heard her musing about a better life, one in which she could spend more time at home, reduce her stress, and accept the lucrative offers coming her way. Back in December, a month after her election defeat as John McCain's running mate, Johnston said that Palin "had talked about how nice it would be...

<p>Sarah Palin needs to stop whining about unfair media coverage and get over the fact that some people don’t like her, Dave Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, tells Newsmax.</p> <p>Palin doesn’t seem to get that politics is a tough game, says Keene, one of the country’s most astute political observers.</p>

[...] To me, one of the most interesting aspects of the story is how vehemently the Palin camp blames Barack Obama. From the story: For Palin, however, these aren't isolated incidents. She believes they grow from the same root, which is too big and too formidable to ignore. "A lot of this comes from Washington, D.C. The trail is pretty direct and pretty obvious to us," says Meg Stapleton, a close Palin adviser in Alaska. Awaiting a flight back to Anchorage from distant Dillingham, Stapleton adds that the anti-Palin offensive seems lifted straight from The Thumpin', which describes the political...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The former fiance of Gov. Sarah Palin's 18-year-old daughter says he thinks he knows why the Alaska governor is resigning — concerns over money. Levi Johnston, 19, whose wedding to Bristol Palin was called off earlier this year, says he believes the governor is resigning over personal finances.

I haven't commented on Sarah Palin's resignation as Governor of Alaska since Friday afternoon, when I noted the story and said that her resignation "seems bizarre to me." Here are some additional thoughts on the subject. I am, to begin with, an admirer of Governor Palin--the real Sarah Palin, not the creature of myth. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Palin phenomenon is that the mythical version, a caricature of Palin as arch-conservative, especially on the social issues, and populist almost to the point of know-nothingism, has been embraced by many of her supporters as avidly as by her...

Despite announcing her resignation as Alaskan governor with 18 months to spare, Sarah Palin is still a sought-after asset in the Republican Party. The Des Moines Register is reporting that Iowan Republicans have extended a hand to Palin to headline the annual Reagan Day Dinner, set for this fall. Iowa GOP Executive Director Jeff Boeyink told the Register that the party had been pursuing Palin since January and that her resignation has increased the effort to secure her at the fundraising event. Boeyink's confirmation came after Senator Chuck Grassley told the The Des Moines Register Wednesday that he believes Palin...

Sarah Palin: It's Her Party And She'll Resign If She Wants To. by Chris Stigall It has been amusing to watch the speculation of the Alaska Governor’s motivations and future aspirations after announcing her resignation last Friday. Senate bid? “No, Alaskans would never forgive her for leaving them” said the Sunday shows. Presidential bid? “Not possible now,” say the smartest strategists and campaigners. Host a talk show? Sell books? Go on the lecture circuit? All possible, though not all probable. But the one thing most of the pundits on both the left and the right in Washington D.C. have declared...

I am a fan of Sarah Palin and I have avoided comment on this topic because too much is being said already and It becomes hard to decide what makes sense and what doesn't. Then I decided that it is possible that it is not that complicated and confusing after all.

People close to Sarah Palin say national political reporters and pundits have missed the real reasons for her surprising decision to resign as Alaska governor. The national media have dismissed or downplayed her real motives, which had little to do with any plans to run for president in 2012. Contrary to most reports, her decision had been in the works for months, accelerating recently as it became clear that controversies and endless ethics investigations were threatening to overshadow her legislative agenda. "Attacks inside Alaska and largely invisible to the national media had paralyzed her administration," someone close to the governor...

My guess is that she really doesn't know what she wants, or who she really is. It's probably dangerous to admit to a moment of empathy. I'll either get disqualified from ever becoming being a Supreme Court justice or asked to turn in my press card. But after watching reruns of Gov. Sarah Palin's resignation from the governorship, after hearing every grammatically challenged sentence and inconsistent paragraph dissected by some talk show host, I started to (blush) feel her pain. There was the frozen smile, the vulnerability, the odd grab bag of unfiltered, unedited, unintelligible un-reasons scattered across the lawn....

As a communication professional I have largely been at a loss to explain the judgments being drawn about Governor Palin by allegedly expert pundits. The general meme from pundits is that Palin is a quitter who cannot take the heat. It seems like the 'heat' has been more like hate -- maybe we are dealing with a simple spelling error? Journalism has gotten rather weak of late

There has been much talk over Sarah Palin’s shock announcement that she is resigning from her post as Governor of Alaska before the end of the first term. The primary questions in much of the coverage have been “What the hell is she up to?” and “Why on Earth does this help her?” I am convinced the answers are quite straight forward: Sarah Palin has decided to run for the 2012 Republican nomination for the President of the United States, and to do this she needs to get out of Alaska. Ever since she was picked as John McCain’s Vice-Presidential...

Sarah Palin’s decision to resign as governor of Alaska lifted her standing among Republicans, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll. A USA Today story about the poll says, “Republicans are somewhat inclined to see her more favorably” in light of her announcement Friday. But neither that story nor one on Gallup’s web site gives precise numbers. Seven out 10 respondents in the poll, conducted Monday, say their views about Palin weren’t influenced by her departure as governor. Of those who were affected by the move, Democrats view Palin less favorably by a 4-to-1 margin and independents by a 2-to-1 ratio....

Apparently Sarah Palin's decision to quit her post as Governor of Alaska wasn't as misguided as it sounded at first, because it has certainly already begun to work it's magic on winning over the Republican party. According to a new USA Today/Gallup Poll, her popularity has surged amongst Republicans since she made the announcement. 71 percent of Republicans said they would vote for Palin if she ran for president in 2012, and three-fourths believe that Palin has been treated unfairly by the media. Two-thirds of Republicans want Palin to be "a major national political figure" in the future, while three-fourths...

Governor Palin first speaking event will be at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, California. She has been invited to speak at the 50th Anniversary Gala of the Simi Valley Republican Women.

One of the most terrifying moments of my political life came last summer at the Republican convention in St. Paul. No, I don’t mean seeing John McCain careering around the Xcel Energy Center like Eyegore in Young Frankenstein, his face frozen in a Lon Chaney Sr. rictus grin as he reached across the aisle to his erstwhile friends in the media and got his hand bitten off. Rather, I’m referring to the aftermath of Sarah Palin’s outrageous acceptance speech, which whipped up the Rotary Club delegates into a frenzy of white-boy fury that not even heckling by a brave Code...

The reason Sarah Palin resigned her post as Governor of Alaska is really no mystery. And yet we must make it one. A person can never be taken at her word. What did she mean by a “higher calling?” She’s looking for a way to make money. It must be a huge book deal. But wait, she already has a book deal. She must be getting a talk show on FOX … but FOX has said there is nothing in the works. Then NBC? Maybe taking Katie Couric’s place on CBS? Now that’s a great idea. Or maybe there’s a...

In the aftermath of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s announcement last weekend that she plans to resign from office, pundits have been scrambling for an explanation. Personally, the whole matter has left me feeling a little like I did at the end of seventh grade, after a year spent passively watching bullies ostracize and pick on one of the only black girls in the school: sick, and embarrassed for all of us. Whatever your passionate opinions, whatever your disagreements with her views, this woman and her family were savaged in a manner that went beyond any reasonable standard. She is a...

July 07, 2009, 4:00 a.m. I Still Hate You, Sarah PalinThe Republicans bring a knife to a gunfight, and lose again. By David Kahane One of the most terrifying moments of my political life came last summer at the Republican convention in St. Paul. No, I don’t mean seeing John McCain careering around the Xcel Energy Center like Eyegore in Young Frankenstein, his face frozen in a Lon Chaney Sr. rictus grin as he reached across the aisle to his erstwhile friends in the media and got his hand bitten off. Rather, I’m referring to the aftermath of Sarah...

Political analyst and Republican Party strategist Roger Stone tells Newsmax.TV that he disagrees with the chattering class in Washington and believes the only way Sarah Palin could remain a viable presidential candidate in 2012 or beyond was to leave the governorship of Alaska. ““First of all, her administration is mired down by these nuisance lawsuits and ethics complaints from every garden variety left-wing nut paralyzing the state government,” Stone says, noting Palin is governor at a time when the drop in oil prices is contracting her state economy. “There’s no plus in Sarah Palin staying as governor of Alaska.” Stone...

But the panic among mainstream media commentators and the GOP establishment suggests real worry that if she does, she might pull off an upset. Why else the vehement assertions that she's clearly made a terrible mistake? Why else the categorical insistence that her political career is finished? Aren't they all protesting too much? The media establishment didn't protest much about the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. He gave a good speech at the 2004 Democratic convention, was elected to the Senate that fall, and immediately started running for president. He didn't accomplish much in his four years in the Senate...

By ROGER SIMON | 7/7/09 4:58 AM EDT Sarah Palin violated several commandments and is now getting roasted by political mandarins and media elites. Photo: AP 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...

Mark McKinnon, vice chairman of Public Strategies & President of Maverick Media, wrote a great article for The Daily Beast titled "How her mind works" about the time he spent with Governor Palin.

http://twitter.com/AKGovSarahPalinThis is going to be fun! Since Friday, the number of her followers has increased by almost 30,000. Same goes for the Palin Ping! The rate of sign-ups has gone through the roof... we may soon reach 280 FReepers.

What happened to Sarah Palin is a political game changer on the national level. It also may be a preview of what every American may face in a few years. The 18 ethics charges filed since she rose to prominence in Republican circles might be the first time the left has successfully used the Cloward-Piven Strategy to stop an individual politician on the national level. For those who do not know, the strategy was developed in the late 1960s by two sociologists at Columbia. In a nutshell it seeks to "hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy...

Just spoke with people VERY well connected with Palin's DC operation. Reports that she has announced to staff that she is permanently out of politics are NOT true. Three caviats: 1: She may have told Alaska staff that she is out of politics forever. 2: She may have told Alaska staff that she is out of ALASKA politics forever. 3: Word may have not filtered down to DC yet. That said, senior DC people very close to her think she is very far from out of politics.