Posted on 07/04/2009 9:56:45 PM PDT by Libloather
Sarah Palin: 'Time-out or flame-out?'
The governor's resignation is an act of either liberation or self-destruction.
Posted July 4, 2009 7:45 AM
by Mark Silva
Sarah Palin's stunning declaration of independence from "politics as usual,'' standing up for her "beloved state of Alaska'' while standing down as governor 18 months before the end of her first term, has been interpreted variously as a bold venture into a new realm of political leadership or as an irreversible, destructive act of political self-immolation.
"Being right is better than being popular,'' Palin declared with characteristic defiance, standing by the dock of her lakeside home in the tiny town where she got her start as mayor and announcing that she will hand over the governor's office to Alaska's lieutenant governor by month's end.
Ed Rollins, a Republican consultant who traces his work to Ronald Reagan's heyday, has offered a blunt assessment of what Palin has done to herself: "It makes her look flaky, which is one of the dilemmas she's had to face all the way through this.'' He raises the question, too, of what's the "next shoe to drop'' in the Palin story.
Palin's supporters say the former mayor of Wasilla who represented her party on a presidential ticket, a self-styled political pitbull, has simply reinforced her credentials as a maverick.
"Time out or flame out?'' one of our newspapers is asking today. Our own Mark Z. Barabak writes of the governor's "disjointed and cryptic remarks'' explaining how, by quitting the office that she won in 2006 after failing at a campaign for the vice presidency in 2008 and being held out by many in her party as a prospect for 2012, she hopes to "effect positive change outside government.''
(Excerpt) Read more at swamppolitics.com ...
The New York Times' Adam Nagourney notes that...
They're freakin' out! Keep up the good work!
They are crapping in their pants out of fear of her; The Pols and the LSMs.
Well now the Cuda is loose and she has very sharp teeth.
“Being right is better than being popular”
What a true statesman believes.
What if she really is done seeking elected office? Oh how the statists in the Republican and Democratic Parties would be floored with the lack of ambitiousness from another politician/wonk. In the statist’s world-view, no one is supposed to relinquish power...rather they’re supposed to crave it and seek even more of it until those pesky term limits get in the way! No- power hungry behaviors just baffle the statists, I’m sure of it.
Didn’t Obama “quit” and not finish his office? ( 1st term senate seat )
Seems some people have selective perception.
You’re absolutely right about that. And he lied about running for president, too. Second nature for BO.
I admire Palin. She has a family to think about. They come first.
The liberal press will be saying this, even while Sarah deplanes from Marine One on the White House lawn, to the strains of "Hail to The Chief".
They're so juvenile, it's embarrassing.
Cross a cat and a phoenix and the result would not have as many lives as the Saracuda.
No rest at all...lets win Congress back. Get busy and do your part. The country needs you, just like it does each of us. Get off your duff and Go for it!
Stop bashing other conservatives and promote your own choice with as much vigor as you choose to attack another.
And then again - who are you to say - eh?
She spnt more time as Governor than 0bama did as Senator.
And he spent most of that time campaining for President and voting “present”!
Get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning, and we'll still be talking about her when you wake. 8^)
Years? Obama may be shown to have forged several documents along the way as a government employee. It’s grounds for termination, and if he knowingly misrepresented his qualifications to run for President, he’s guilty of treason. Obama most likely is a man who lied his way into several government jobs.
On every application, it states, if you misrepresent yourself, they have the right to fire you years later if you misrepresented your background and qualifications. If Obama can lie, steal fake his way into the Whitehouse, surely a Modern Day Patriot such as Sarah Palin can become President Palin. Obama has too many lies which will continue to be exposed on a daily basis.
“Ed Rollins, a Republican consultant who traces his work to Ronald Reagan’s heyday, has offered a blunt assessment of what Palin has done to herself: “It makes her look flaky...”
Only to you beltway slugs; not to real people.
Ed, it's called "taking control."
LMAO,,,,,,,,,,WHO????????????
Sara has left, so now the Lt Gov, Sean Parnell, is the new (or will soon be) Gov.
Alaska's constitutional framers left to the Legislature the task of penciling in the line of succession for the top executive posts and determining when the top office can been deemed vacant by absence or disability. The Legislature in 1959 set the mechanism for succession, but has yet to address the vacancy determination issue, which may come back to haunt us someday (like say, now).
Lawmakers decided the best thing was to allow governors — back then, they wanted the strongest chief executive possible — to “appoint, from among the officers who head the principal departments of the state government or otherwise, a person to succeed to the office of lieutenant governor if the office of lieutenant governor becomes vacant.” (What exactly, do you think, does “or otherwise” mean? Could it allow a governor to select from outside the Cabinet?) The appointment requires a majority confirmation vote of a joint session of the Legislature and the appointee serves at the “pleasure of the governor.”
The new Lt Gov (required) is not the Chief of the Dept of Corrections as is current law - new Lt Gov will be the Commander, Alaska Nat’l Guard - Major General Craig Campbell.
A very good choice. But another odd twist.
Why? The current head of the Dept of Corrections is an old time Palin chum. He declined the job, no doubt knowing he would be the center of another firestorm of accusations of cronyism within the State Governors offices.
Rollins was a Perot guy who gave us Clinton.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.