Posted on 07/03/2009 5:24:46 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The news of Sarah Palin’s resignation as governor came during my show this afternoon, where we spent most of an hour discussing it with the chatizens and my co-host Duane Patterson. I’ve had a chance to watch the video of her announcement and read through dozens of Twitter messages back and forth attempting to rationalize this, and still, it simply can’t be rationalized on the basis of what Palin said today. It’s easily the most bizarre resignation I’ve seen, and just about senseless.
The lame-duck explanation was the most incoherent part of the entire statement:
“Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional ‘Lame Duck’ status in this particular climate would just be another dose of ‘politics as usual,’ something I campaigned against and will always oppose. It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its accomplishments and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success.”
Bear in mind that the election isn’t next month but about 16 months from now, in November 2010. Using this logic, Palin should never have run for the first term unless she was willing to run for the second, and not run for either if she wasn’t willing (or legally able) to run for a third. Politicians don’t enter lame-duck status until their successor has already been elected and they’re running out the rest of the term. And all politicians become lame ducks at some point — and none of them quit just to avoid it.
Also, how can Palin quit because she didn’t want to deal with being a lame duck and claim in the same breath that her administration would “continue without interruption”? She just interrupted it! If she thinks that being a “lame duck” would hamper her ability to push her agenda in the state’s capital, how does she think that an unelected Sean Parnell is going to get it done?
If it’s her duty to always “protect” Alaska, then that strongly implies not walking away from the responsibility of governing it — a responsibility she sought, and with which her constituents trusted her to execute. No one leads by quitting. No one leads by quitting. Palin’s abandoning her post, and at least from her own description, doing it because she doesn’t want to deal with the issues of being a “lame duck,” a status all politicians have to handle at some point.
I’ve seen a myriad of excuses on Twitter and e-mail for this bizarre resignation: her legal bills are too high, she’s putting her family first, she doesn’t want to distract Alaskans because of cheap-shot ethics complaints that are distracting everyone. None of those make any sense. If the spotlight was too much, then she shouldn’t have run for office in the first place. If she’s quitting because people are taking potshots at her, then she’s not the kind of political fighter we thought she was. The legal bills might be a rational reason, but thoroughly insufficient for betraying the people who put her in charge of Alaska — and her memoirs would have paid for her legal bills many times over, had she completed her term.
There’s really no excuse, and what Rich Lowry also calls her “terrible,” “rambling,” and “not at all persuasive” statement showed that. Unless there was a serious illness or a serious scandal, the resignation on the grounds Palin gave is simply incomprehensible. She has destroyed her own credibiity in a single day.
I liked Sarah Palin and supported her inclusion on the GOP ticket last fall. I thought she had more toughness than this. It’s a big disappointment, and it’s the end of any hope of Palin getting taken seriously as a politician on the national level in the future.
Update (AP): I was going to tuck this into one of my own posts but it fits better here. Quin Hillyer, senior editor at the Spectator, calls the resignation an “appalling dereliction of duty.”
What Sarah Palin did today was get out before the real challenges of the job (whatever challenges there are for such an easy job) really rear their heads. The going got tough in terms of spurious ethics charges against her, and she took off. That’s cowardly. That’s not sign of staying power. It’s a sign of wanting to get out while the getting is good, in order to become a full-time candidate for a presidential race that won’t culminate for 3 1/2 more years. It’s a little too calculating, by half — or more.
I just listened to her speech announcing her decision, and found it singularly unimpressive. “This was a rambling, bombastic, self-centered, ‘poor me’ kind of speech.” That’s how Mike Carey of the Anchorage Daily News just described her speech on Fox News. I agree. He then said it was, darn, I already can’t remember if he said it was “pitiful” or “pathetic,” but it was some word like that. Again, I agree. It was a speech in which she clearly made a bit for a national audience — not a very effective bid, but a transparent one — but didn’t adequately explain to the people of Alaska why she was relinquishing her duty…
Statesmen hang tough. Sarah Palin is cutting and running. ‘Nuff said.
Enforce the rules against personal attacks against me then and we have a deal.
With that sense of entitlement, jokyfo MUST be a liberal.
" ... then we have a deal ..." ... Puh! What a wanker. Like he has any place in calling the shots on Free Republic.
Hey, jokyfo. This is Jim Robinson's football -- you don't make deals; you play in his game or you leave. What a knob!
I think it would be interesting to do the same with all the FReepers who reject Palin to see what their stands have been on Mitt Romney. I bet that the majority of Palin doubters -- by the way, isn't Duane Patterson the guy affiliated with Hugh Hewitt, who lost so much of his talk show audience during the primaries when he became an embarassing shill for Romney? -- are Romney supporters, the Romney whose every "conservative" solution calls for more, bigger, heavier-handed government.
Nope, not if you're a Romney supporter or an elitist Country Club Republican moderate who falsely wears the tag "conservative."
Bump
I thought that quote was from Chesty Puller USMC too.
I’m afraid the way zero is running the country and everything he touches into the ground. She will feel compelled to run for the top of the ticket. It reminds me of 1968 when Nixon came out of nowhere after losing the 1960 presidential race and the 1962 Calf. Governor’s race. After that loss he said “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.” He campaigned for Republican candidates in the 1966 Congressional elections and took an extended trip to South America and parts of the Middle East in 1967. This is the same thing Sarah should do. Campaign for the conservative base in the 2010 congressional elections and go places and meet all kinds of foreign leaders to prepare for 2012. Run Sarah Run!
I live in Idaho and there's no way you could possibly be serious about this.
"No. Productive, fulfilled people determine where to put their efforts, choosing to wisely utilize precious time... to BUILD UP."
Speaking of which, she did just make her first trip to Europe; I wondered at the time if that might be a start, particularly since one of the things the press criticized was that she hadn't been to Europe. Of course, neither had Bambi until he went as US president, but that's different...
Maybe, as you suggest, she's taking the long view and will prepare herself for the big run in the future. I don't think so, though; for one thing, I don't think we're going to continue with our current system and I suspect that even by 2012, Obama will have done something to install himself in permanent power. Elections will either be non-existent or purely for show.
I think Sarah Palin is somebody who likes politics and will probably return to it in some way, but I don't think she's quitting now with the intention of building up for a presidential run. She has been subjected to truly vicious attacks, from Republicans such as the Romney crowd as well as from the Dems and the press, and I think she simply wants to take the heat off her family and also off the state of Alaska. I have noticed that there have been attacks on Alaska coming from Congress, and it's quite possible that she knows these will get worse and is taking advantage of this lull - summer, congressional recess, etc. - to step out of the picture and let Alaska just go back to being that big unknown place up North.
Folks, we’ve found one of either Romney’s or ostammer’s sleeper cell bots (there’s no difference - they’re both scared to death of Palin).
Looking to the sky and praying for His return.
ES
In normal times, I would tend to agree with you that someone would need some more time on the bench before they got to play. However, when we have a president who didn’t finish his single term in the senate and was a lackluster state senator, I would point out that these are not normal times.
Experience or not, she’s still a giant-killer and espouses the clearest leadership. She can draw votes and money, more than Romney ever could. I’m from MA. Romney got elected to one term and then started to run for president. Because he finished his term doesn’t make him more virtuous.
Remember that Lincoln served only one term in the congress, failed to get the vp nomination and failed to get elected to the senate.
The rules have been broken and she’s not afraid to make more of them. She will not suck up to the elites and do what they say.
We can draft her like we did Goldwater. I’m not soft-soaping her because I like her. I think something different and something big happened yesterday. Time will tell.
All the Pundits look at her with the same Political Rot that has eaten this Country alive. I believe that Sarah actually Believes what she says and to all the so called Betters among us or more commonly known as pundits and BLOGGERS, they give Knee Jerk Reactions from that Cynical mindset.
Sarah Palin is not the Public Relations Polished candidate or person ,She is Authentic ,Just a Christian Person trying to Live a Proper Life with all its obstacles and she is No different than all of us and People recognized it in an INSTANT.I am Not going to be one of these forensic speech investigators, I take her at her word and Pray that she will not leave the National stage and do Her best to Rally the country around her Traditional values that we all Long to Have restored.
God Bless you Sarah Palin .
Something doesn’t smell right, and she is most definitely toast.
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Since we are not privy to what is going on behind the scenes, perhaps we should withhold judgement for now?
I’ve got my fingers crossed she comes to Ohio to help us take back the state next year!
Are you always so quick to judge on what you see on the surface? If so, I think you’re on the wrong side.
Morrisey is the same person that thought ZERO’s Cairo speech was very good. That said it all!
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Really? I didn’t know that. That seemed to be the alarm clock ringing for many Americans.
Hollywood made a pretty good film titled "Retreat Hell" Frank Lovejoy played a character based on Puller, and a few years later played a character based on Curtis LeMay in Strategic Air Command. Now I've given you enough useless info for you to shoot your computer screen. Sorry bout that. Happy 4th!!!!
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