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.
Every Democrat I know that resigned in recent history did so in disgrace. I can’t think of any governors who have resigned for no reason, and when a local politician resigned his house of delegates seat to run for governor THAT YEAR, we still attacked him as a quitter.
ypu said: We don’t do well as a party when we start with the “enemies list”.
i didnt say “enemies” -—and what are you advocating— that she take advice from people who have little faith in her, sort of like McCain’s staff infiltrated by libtards
we are not so naive to believe that some pose as “conservatives” - to undermine them. Ed M’s reaction smells of him being infected with RINOvirus.
For heaven’s sake, this SP story is fascinating but it’s hardly over; anybody who says it is likely projecting. The story could go many different directions but a true conservative doesnt come on FR and say she’s toast. That’s bizarre and very suspect
Many Americans are very uneasy about what is happening...if they can see her as sacrificing for the better good, that will frame what she did in a way that the liberals can't fight it. The more they try, and the worse things get under Obama, the more it will backfire on them.
Reagan didn’t quit his Governorship early. Nixon wasn’t in office when he toured.
The problem isn’t Sarah going around the country. I was fine with her not running for re-election, and taking the time off to run for office (I thought George Allen should have done that instead of running for Senate again in 2006 if he was going to run for President in 2008).
But quitting in the middle of a term, after people took the time to vote for you to do the job, is different.
I believed she was a fighter. Now I’m not quite as sure.
When has Sarah Palin given a bad speech to her supporters? This latest bizarre speech reminded me of the some of the convoluted wording used by American POWs to indicate they are not speaking freely.
If American’s internal traitorous enemies (e.g., the demonrats or the MSM clymer fifth column) have anything to do with Palin’s resigning, we’ll find out about it soon enough from them.
BTW, has there been any word on the condition of Palin’s son serving in Iraq?
I’m afraid there are kool-aid drinkers here, but it isn’t who you think.
When Palin says she’s sought God, I actually believe her. I don’t think her relationship with God is just words or image like most politicians. I don’t know what God has planned for her, but I imagine it’s pretty fantastic.
Don’t be disheartened. God is still moving among His people and desires to extend grace to anyone who will receive it.
who am I with my own job to give SP advice? i presume many other SP supporters don’t think she needs their advice
good night, she’s her own woman. what she is doing is different but given the Swamp of AK politics, she probably has done all she can do there if in fact there is no way to stop the BS ankle-biting.
And actually, I will LOVE it if she comes to the lower 48, campaigns, give speeches, and helps good candidates.
I hope she runs for pres some day but even if not, she will be a HUGH help for us conservatives here in the lower 48?
doesnt that excite you as a conservative looking at breaking DU control?
mark
What Sanford did was definitely a dereliction of duty. Palin resigned. Just a teeny bit of difference. But, you probably won’t notice that by the coverage. *sigh*
No Virgina.......Oops.
But it is so easy now. Any opponent will just put out a bumper sticker: “Quitting is not a traditional American value”.
Au contraire she’s not quitting, I think now she;ll be able to do more of this woithoput the attacks of and the talk about not doing her governor job while addressing endless lawsuits and now she can travel the country and get her common sense message out to more!
And the response to that bumper sticker is the Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd and Joe Biden and John Heinz-Kerry career politicians serving DECADES and doing absoultutely nothing, aren’t doing a damn thing for America either!
Or simply “Who quit, she’s only getting started”!
Our government right now is rotten as one commentator today put it, even the Republicans will say one thing on TV and afterwards will go to cocktail parties and yuck it up with their so-called enemies.
I’m glad Sarah’s decided to not be a part of the problem anymore...with the focus being nasty attacks and lawsuits...now she can get down to the work of the people, not just in Alaska, but ALL of us and no you don’t need a title to do that either...
hell, Joe the plumber has done more for the American people in the last year than Joe the Biden has done in his entire miserable lifetime!
People had better wake up and support people like Palin who aren’t corrupted by this insidious gov. power, if it’s not already too late.
There are so very few people I respect in our gov. and now that Sarah’s gone I can only think of Duncan Hunter right off the top of my head.
Hopefully all good men and women will realize this in an even greater context. What you have described is a well oiled machine. This is a machine of absolute denigration and personal destruction. From the likes of Gibson, Couric and old Jon Stewart and Letterman who are a little more polite with their nasty methods, to others, filthy things like Huffington Post and Democratic Underground.
What this means for an electoral system- any electoral system, is that if such a machine exists, then democracy is at risk. A perversion using the First Amendment as a shield. Pardon this screed, but I have seen the power of this kind of thing elsewhere. The number done on Dan Quayle was something that should have rung bells. Later, much later, the Magazine Alantic headed "Dan Quayle was right". I guess that salved their consciences.
Sarah Palin is too good a woman. That she stands strong and survives is paramount. The rest of them can go fly a kite, I use this epithet. ( for the wish not to be zotted).
Maybe English is a new, second language for many here as her speech made perfect sense to me. It's all in the inflection. I was listening to Mark Levin today and he like me thinks she has taken off the gloves and constraints....of course Mark and I could be wrong...as we don't pretend to know the mind of Sarah Palin like so many here. Will grab a jumbo bag of popcorn and watch the political fireworks on this birthday of the greatest nation on earth.
Individual People...Just like in the Days of Noah....
The lands are no longer blessed, either is the government.
To see whether this was really a savvy political move, just take the names of every freeper who is saying it was, and look at all their posts over the last 6 months.
If you find a SINGLE FREEPER who supporter Sarah who ever said the smart thing for her to do was resign, post it. I haven’t found one person yet who said Sarah should resign to help her political career.
On the contrary, there has been LOTS of posts about how she wasn’t a quitter, and how great it was that she wouldn’t back down while being attacked. About how much better she’d be in 2012 having served an entire term as Governor, and how she’d show how to get a state through the Obama depression.
Now of course, many Freepers are blindly screaming that this was a great idea, and that anybody who thinks otherwise is a RINO traitor.
But none of them called for her to resign on Thursday.
If we didn’t know she had already resigned, and someone posted a thread saying “If Sarah is serious, she would Resign”, I’m sure these same people would be out in force trying to get the freeper banned for his absurd suggestion.
On the other hand let’s see what the people of Alska say that voted for her and see if they understand her speech, her reasoning, the basketball references, and so on, hmmmm???
Sheesh, when the Germans bombed Peal Harbor we didn’t quit did we? HELL NO!
Barack Obama quit his Senate seat to pursue another job with 2 years to spare, after spending the 2 years before it campaigning instead of working. Bill Clinton first ran for President right after he promised the people of Arkansas he wasn't going to. Or is all that just down the memory hole?
Besides, people leave jobs all the time for personal and professional reasons. I'm not sure at what point the Ye Sacred Office of the Governorship of Alaska was established, but apparently failing to honor it is the new third rail of American politics. (Although a year ago, it was a minor and insignificant post that didn't make her qualified to be President.)
Methinks ya'll doth protest too much.
God says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).
Our land cannot be healed, as SIN ad EVIL are growing...I think GOD heard Sarah, and wanted her for a different calling not the Land that is under the Wrath of GOD....
I agree with you...However I think Man’s rein on earth is over.....That is how close I truly believe Jesus Christ will return to earth to rein as King of Kings....
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