Well, this thread has gone the way I expected. So many responses with expletives, one liners, calling my a RINO, a Mitt/McCain/Rudy lover, posts filled with quick draw emotional outburts...heheh.
I had hoped at least some would get all the way through my post before hitting the nuke button...no luck. I made a point to say that Sarah might choose to go the private route which meant maybe etting up a non profit or foundation and going on the speaking tour, pushing conservative issues and/or helping to elect good candidates. Maybe she’ll start a new talk radio show.
In other words she’s going for the gold...I don’t blame her at this point.
I said she might run for a House or Senate seat...she might even win and good for her. But my central point was that as a presidential candidate she is quite probably unelectable. She quit in the middle of her admininstration and that will be portrayed, and it will stick, as not being able to take the heat of national exposure. How does that change for a Prez run in ‘12?
She let down her constituents and the citizens of Alaska, blind sided her backers, devastated her supporters for a potential Prez run...
She quit and there isn’t any way to spin that in a good way.
As a private citizen and front person for conservative causes and issues I will support her. But as a Presidential candidate I could not for all the reasons mentioned. Not only do I believe she could not win, but I got a problem with someone who cuts and runs because the kitchen gets too hot. Sarah says all the right things but has proven she is no pit bull. Lipstick or not.
Politics is a dirty, nasty almost unholy game. If one doesn’t have what it takes to play, much less survive, then it’s best to get out while you still have some skin left. Sarah has done this and I respect her choice and hope she chooses to continue move the conservative ball downfield in another venue.
But it is clear she has signaled elective office is not for her. All I say is let’s abbreviate the grieving process so we can move on to efforts that don’t unnecessarily delay getting back to business.
Did you take a vow of masochism, Bob?
She let down her constituents and the citizens of Alaska, blind sided her backers, devastated her supporters for a potential Prez run...You are correct, and the proof is in what Alaska's Republican senator had to say about it.
“I am deeply disappointed that the Governor has decided to abandon the State and her constituents before her term has concluded.”This puts the disappointment and betrayal felt by the majority of Alaskans into words.
You’re attitude is so wrong...she has outgrown Alaska. She is now a national player, and she can’t fight nationally from Alaska.
All I’ve heard from the conservative talking heads is that she has not done her “homework” and because of that, cannot be seriously considered as Presidential material.
This move allows her to circulate internationally, spend time on conservative media, deal with business organizations, and give speeches nationwide. She is incredibly bright, all she needs is the exposure to prove it. Governor of Alaska won’t cut it.
As for letting down her constituents, she has done more to promote her state in two years than probably any Alaskan governor ever (does anyone outside of Alaska remember the last governor?). How could any of her constituents that supported her to start with feel shortchanged.
I don’t know what the next few years hold for Sarah, but I hope it is all good. As far as I’m concerned, she is a national treasure, and the whole nation needs her leadership, not just Alaska.
This is a brilliant move that I hope is her first step to the Presidency.
As the governor of Alaska, her hands are tied. She is the focus of a well-funded legal/press smear campaign, but has to maintain the composure of a governor. There was NO way she was going to win the Presidency while she was governor.
As a private citizen, she is free to respond to the press without holding back. She is also free from the lawsuits.
The next couple of weeks will show her intentions. If she actively rebuts the press, she will be more popular than ever. If she shys away, then she is protecting her family.
In either case, I do not view her as a “quitter”.
As a reminder: Ronald Reagan won the Presidency as a private citizen.
In the end she wasn't Joan of Arc, she was a bright, talented, refreshing possibility, but with four children and a new baby to protect from the destroyers.
I sat with my mouth open during her speech, but now I'm relieved she's taken the target off her back.