[DariusBane]

I hate “good government conservatives”. We need a new breed Nihilistic conservatives.

[HiTech RedNeck]

There was, indeed, another fork in the road that she could have taken. Call an emergency session of the legislature and plug the too-easy ethics complaint loophole. That of itself would of course ramp up the rate of ethics complaints. And the Alaskan government would have to deal with every last particle of the B.S. until the legislation passed, as well as the appeals against how the legislation was passed.

Now if the anklebiters immediately start going after the Lt. Gov. in the same way, there will be no choice.

[familyop]

She did put a lot of money into public education.

[lonestar67]

I don’t think the author supports any of the claims made in the article.

The accomplishments do seem conservative.

The ethics charges seem insurmountable and growing exponentially as a cost to the state.

The decision seems not just prudent but self effacing for the purpose of helping Alaska.

[2ndDivisionVet]

“But Mitt Romney, on the other hand, blah, blah, blah...”
Go peddle that fish on another corner, Hindtaker.

[Norman Bates]

This is the most plausible answer I've heard thus far:

"Here is why I think Palin quit: she wants to be the Republican Presidential nominee in 2012. No surprise there, she currently has more support than any other contender in the polls. But she has a serious problem. Her rivals for the nomination are beginning to make the circuit of Republican and conservative grass-roots groups. They are able to criss-cross the country, building up support, establishing campaign committees, speaking to Republican groups on an informal basis, supporting other Republican candidates, laying the foundation for a 2012 run.

Palin, on the other hand, is isolated in Anchorage. It takes longer to get to and from Alaska than most people realize. Palin can't zip into Chicago, deliver a speech to a Republican conference and be back in her office in time to sign a bill. If she starts spending 75 percent of her time in the lower 48, she might in fact be able to carry out her gubernatorial duties via Blackberry, but she would be crucified for abandoning the state of Alaska in favor of her national ambitions. So she resigned, in order to free up her time to campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination.

That is, I think, the only explanation that fits the facts. I still think Palin's resignation was a mistake; it will make the logistics of campaigning much easier, but her failure to complete the only major government job to which she has been elected will haunt her."

[Friendofgeorge]

Obviously not a big supporter of Sarah.

[mrmeangenes]

I saw a report today there is yet another ethics complaint: it has to do with her collection of expenses for living at home.Nice piece of change involved.Hopefully,the charge is groundless !!

[GregH]

Most people think Sarah’s reasons for resigning are very silly.

She could have stayed as governor till 2010 and easily start her Presidential campaign after that and can raise tons of money.

At this stage, her decision to quit does not add up and has ended up pulling down her chances for 2012 nomination.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

she is resigning as Governor but, evidently, running for President.

Gee, I didn't know Hindraker was a mind-reader. Nobody knows what Sarah is going to do. That's the beauty of being an unconventional politician rather than a statist.

Does Palin really want to set a precedent that a Republican who is unfairly attacked by Democrats will quit?

What part of putting Alaska & her people ahead of politics does Hindraker not understand? My God, I swear these people hypocritically tsk-tsk the fact that Palin is resigning, but would have still piled on her had she remained and been bogged down by more bogus ethics charges ("Palin's term marked by scandals, GOP sources says she's unqualified"). They are psychologically incapable of seeing an elected official put the interests of the people before their own selfish agenda.

Here is why I think Palin quit: she wants to be the Republican Presidential nominee in 2012.

More mind-reading, more rampant speculation just to feed blog traffic.

Her rivals for the nomination are beginning to make the circuit of Republican and conservative grass-roots groups.

What rivals? Romney & Jeb Bush are distrusted by the base and has no chance of winning them over. Huckabee is mired in a talk-show. Pawlenty is staying on the job until 2010 which means he too will get a late-gate for a 2012 bid.

Palin, on the other hand, is isolated in Anchorage.

Not after 07/26 she isn't.

I still think Palin's resignation was a mistake; it will make the logistics of campaigning much easier

But wait a minute. I thought Palin was "isolated in Anchorage." So Hindraker, which one is it? If she stays in Alaska and completes her term, she'll get criticized for being isolated, but yet she shouldn't have resigned?

LOL

[BerryDingle]

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."

So don't comment on the story idiot. Oh, you already did idiot.

[libh8er]

One thing that makes me a little uncomfortable hearing Palin say is "we want govt to be on the side of the people". A true conservative knows this is ridiculous. Govt by definition is only on the side of itself. The interests of the govt and those of the people are always at odds. Think of govt as cancer, and people, as host tissue. The only useful thing a govt can do is disappear from peoples lives, or at least shrink to the point where it's not relevant other than for maintaining law and order and protecting people's rights. Govt can never be on the "side of the people".

[Clock King]

This isn’t a dictatorship (yet). A top political leader has to negotiate with people who may be outright enemies. Babylon 5 had a good line about that. After the heroes liberate Earth and Mars, the new President laments, “That’s the problem with forming a new government; you have to negotiate with people that six months ago you would have just had shot!”

[4rcane]

http://www.1260.am/programming/podcasts/popup/?ID=1864
listen to this

She’s not thinking about 2012; she don’t care if it will help her or not for future political office; she dont follow the conventional route for politican; she’s not your typical politican; she’s retiring because the frivilous lawsuit has made governing rest of her term difficult; she has done this before as head of oil and gas commission she she retired because of the corruption there

[Jacob Morgan]

Since when did “finishing the job” mean sitting on the bench until the clock ran out? She accomplished much, I’d wager more than she promised when running for office. Ultimately she stopped being a defenseless pinata for liberal loonies, and that must be why people found fault with it.

[FTJM]

Actually, the Democrats' frivolous ethics charges represent an opportunity. Alaska is a Republican-leaning state. If Palin were to push back against the Democrats--locally, not nationally--she could make them pay a price for their indefensible tactic, and likely cause them to back off. As for the $500,000, that is a minimal amount for a politician of Palin's stature to raise by setting up a defense committee. Donors would quickly furnish a war chest. On a worst-case scenario, Todd Palin could sign a book contract tomorrow for a $500,000 advance. The facts just don't support the idea that quitting as governor is a reasonable response to the Democrats' vicious but entirely unsuccessful ethics-complaint strategy.

Ironically, she helped create those ethics laws which make it harder to set up a legal defense fund.

[Hepsabeth]

Ethics Reform?

Please tell me she didn’t write or even sign off on the very “ethics” rules and procedures that have been used so effectively against her.

[Covenantor]

It's gotten to the point where I now research the author/authors before reading the article. From Powerlines about us page: John H. Hinderaker is a lawyer with a nationwide litigation practice. For fifteen years Hinderaker has written with his former law partner Scott Johnson on public policy issues including income inequality, income taxes, campaign finance reform, affirmative action, welfare reform, and race in the criminal justice system. Both Hinderaker and Johnson are fellows of the Claremont Institute. Their articles have appeared in National Review, The American Enterprise, American Experiment Quarterly, and newspapers from Florida to California. The Claremont Institute has archived many of their articles here. ____________________________________________________________ As they reveal themselves it is disenheartening to find where they have found political homes in supposedly conservative organizations.

[Maelstorm]

This seems to be a nothing story listing some of the very things that we conservatives like about Sarah. She was a reformer and non nonsense Governor. I really like this hit pieces on Palin that are run by “friends”. I’d certainly never write such slippery piece about someone I admired.

[jonrick46]

One good reason: It takes 9 hours and 15 minutes (with minimal stopover) to fly from Anchorage, Alaska to New York City. Anyone want to sit on an airplane for 9 hours and 15 minutes?

Anyone who yelled “yes” needs to sit in their room for 9 hours and 15 minutes.