Free Republic

Sarah Palin is, and always has been, an intellectual and political featherweight. As a moose-killing Barbie doll, she was exactly what the Republican Party in Alaska wanted for a mouthpiece. She was adored by the Republican masses in Alaska (she carried a gun and favored secession, the only qualifications needed). That worked well for Alaska. It enhanced the image of Alaska to have someone in frilly blouses, rather than plaid wool shirts, to front for their oil industry. Good for Alaska. Then something weird happened. The Republican Party nominated the oldest person ever put forth by a major political party...

Missteps, ignored advice on Palin’s route to exit Seemingly relentless string of professional, personal woes led to decision ANCHORAGE - In late March, a senior official from the Republican Governors Association headed for Alaska on a secret mission. Sarah Palin was beset by such political and personal turmoil that some powerful supporters determined an intervention was needed to pull her governorship, and her national future, back from the brink. The official, the association’s executive director, Nick Ayers, arrived with a memorandum containing firm counsel, according to several people who know its details: Make a long-term schedule and stick to it,...

By OneVike “The pundits are wrong. Conventional wisdom is wrong. Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska governor was a brilliant move................. The pundits call her a quitter, but let's be honest - the pundits never liked her to begin with. Better to take one hit for stepping down and move on than to stay in Alaska and die a death by a thousand cuts. Willie's World-Willie Brown” Those are the words of one of the most savy politicians in California's history, Willie Brown. Many pundits and politicians have taken Sarah Palon to task for resigning her post as...

Hockey hunk turned political pundit Levi Johnston doesn't think his baby's grandma Sarah Palin could handle the White House: She can't take the heat. "She's very smart," Johnston told NBC Monday morning. "But I just don't think she can handle the stress level as governor -- I don't think she can handle it as president or vice president." Johnston, the 19-year-old high school dropout and former fiancé of Palin's daughter Bristol, said on the "Today" show that he wouldn't vote for Palin if she launched a presidential bid. "If you would have asked that question a while back, I think...

SARAH PALIN and Al Sharpton don’t ordinarily have much in common, but they achieved a rare harmonic convergence at Michael Jackson’s memorial service. When Sharpton told the singer’s children it was their daddy’s adversaries, not their daddy, who were “strange,” he was channeling the pugnacious argument the Alaska governor had made the week before. There was nothing strange about her decision to quit in midterm, Palin told America. What’s strange — or “insane,” in her lingo — are the critics who dare question her erratic behavior on the national stage. ~snip~ Its voice can be found in the postings at...

I typically love The Economist, which tends to cover the entire world in an almost unbiased fashion, unlike most of our weeklies (Newsweek, TIME and the like). And yet, in this week's edition, the article entitled "The passing of Palin" was just plain wrong, condescending and completely off the mark. Just reading three of the article's paragraphs makes for interesting and infuriating reading: To half the country, this sounds like pathetic whining. Politics is a tough business. If you can’t cope with harsh criticism, perhaps you should find a less demanding line of work, such as making lucrative speeches to...

We all loved Sarah. She rescued the sinking McCain campaign, said all the right things and holds pretty much the same positions of most FReepers. They all love Obama. He rescued the sinking DNC, said all the right things and holds pretty much the same positions of most liberals. Dems, liberals and the MSM are condemned for their all consuming adoration, virtual blindness to any mistakes or faults and slobbering worship of the man. Yet when the same thing happens to Palin it turns into a virtue. Sarah was a real coup for conservatives. But when she announced her resignation...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska | Brushing aside the criticisms of pundits and politicos, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she plans to jump immediately back into the national political fray — stumping for conservative issues and even Democrats — after she prematurely vacates her elected post at month's end. The former Republican vice-presidential nominee and heroine to much of the GOP's base said in an interview she views the electorate as embattled and fatigued by nonstop partisanship, and she is eager to campaign for Republicans, independents and even Democrats who share her values on limited government, strong defense and "energy independence." "I will...