Palin's Lamest Excuse

After getting over the initial shock of hearing that Sarah Palin is going to resign, it kind of makes sense when you stop to think about it. Running for reelection in 2010 would mean having to spend a lot more time (and contributors' money) in Alaska, and then being a lame duck would bring a steady stream of embarrassments.... So, fish or cut bait.

It would have made perfect sense for her to say something as simple as that. Or to take the classic political out and say she wants to, uh, spend more time with the family.... And Palin did say those things, in her own way.

But then she just had to go and be a martyr.

Some Alaskans don't mind wasting public dollars and state time [with ethics complaints and inquiries]. I do. I cannot stand here as your Governor and allow millions upon millions of our dollars go to waste just so I can hold the title of Governor.

This politicking was a step too far. Governors don't resign to save taxpayers' money. They are freakin' governors, one of the few people who can really affect fiscal policy in the states. They sign budgets, for crying out loud!

Now, are ethics complaints sometimes used for political gain? You betcha. But that's the price of open government. And Palin's mention of wanting to stop the ethics complaints makes it seem like she's got something to hide.

This wasn't your average resignation speech, and whoever wrote it was going after all the GOP soft spots. Perhaps the emphasis on ethics complaints was their only good way of getting the principle of "limited spending" in there? But if Palin is running for the White House, "RESIGNED TO FLEE ETHICS COMPLAINTS" is sure to make an appearance in attack ads.

Wow. It seems Palin couldn't even resign without making a gaffe.

Follow John R. Bohrer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JRBwrites

Comments

[XME]

A martyr is exactly how Palin sees herself. The woman who said Hillary whining about her treatment was a disservice to women has taken whining to new highs. In her eyes, she's a national hero for the "little people" who's been beat up by the media and politicians, and she stepping down as a sacrifice for the greater good.

Oh, woe is she. She's a very frightening and disturbing person.

[anney]

Must all ethics complaints in Alaska be handled by that Commission of Sarah Palin's buddies that exonerated her of all that have been filed? Can those decisions be appealed into Alaska's court system?

OR, can lawsuits for violations of her office or criminal acts be filed directly in the Alaska State court system rather than with Sarah's Commission?

What's Alaska's law? Just wondering...

[Marnie1]

Palin will have to move to the lower 48 to speek and schmooze here. I don't think that's going to go well with the Dud. And if Levi has a court decision declaring thim t he legal father of Trap, Brisol may not be ablt to take him out of state
On the other hand getting away from Mommie Dearest may be the best think that can happen to her.

[Sassys]

I totally agree with this post...she sounds scared for a good reason...she will be indicted and she will be no more an issue for either party! I will however miss her gaffes..."I can see Russia from my back yard" PRICELESS!

[maribelle1963]

Actually, the quote was "you can see Russia from an island in Alaska". Tina Fey's joke version was "you can see Russia from my house".

There are so many real gaffes to chose from.

[MikeLicht]

Mrs. Palin spent $75,000 in taxpayers' money to evade scrutiny of these ethics allegations.

Those sports metaphors at the end of Palin's speech explain why she quit.
She has a contract with the WNBA.

See:

http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/great-decisions-2009/

[madtom]

Now what the H--- is wrong with THAT post, Moderator?

[madtom]

Impromptu and incoherent resignation speech. I mean, even more incoherent than she usually is.

She was rattled. She sounded scared.

I say the indictment is coming. Soon.

[llykes]

She is making it hard for other women with high aspirations. Nobody likes a quitter, and regardless of her motivation for resigning, she didn't seem to care about the citizens of Alaska. She doesn't have what it takes to be President!

[WinterParkMom]

McCain: Palin will be a leader in the party.

Yeeaaaahh....just like she's going to continue to lead the state she was elected to govern? Without even completing a 1st term? You know the right thing to do would be to stop covering every angle of this story. Stop reprinting every statement and stop giving her the attention she so craves. Now if something does come to light about corruption and misuse of funds, etc. Then cover that, but this pithy resignation deserves no more coverage.

[sjones66]

Will John McCain ever live this down? I don't see how his judgment can be trusted at this point. How can he run again for re-election in AZ after he introduced this NPD epic disaster to the country? Wow. She, with her clearly damaged mental state, could have been our President.

I can just hear her meeting Putin finally with that breathy panic voice so indicative of NPD.

[Rastageneral]

You said it buddy - How can he run again for re-election in AZ? How can Arizonans consider his judgement sound after this VP choice?

[BN2112]

I definitely wasn't average. It was like something out of a Monty Python sketch.

[ScrappyGal]

Seriously, how did this woman get elected in the first place??

[MikeDu]

I'm *trying* to give her the benefit of the doubt and imagine a "best case scenario" for the reasons behind Palin's resignation.

"Best case scenario" reason #1: She actually DID get sick of politics and actually DOES want to escape it all.

"Best case scenario" reason #2: She started to take a close look at the red-neck LOONEYS who were showing up at her events and recoilled from the political moster she had created.

"Best case scenario" reason #3: She was personally devastated to find that Mark Sanford had ANOTHER woman on the side besides her.

I sprinkled all caps words through the post in honor of Sarah's innovative free-form writing style.

[maab76]

If you go a bit further back in Palin's life, you will find that she left college after college after college, etc. Her ability to stick with a commitment speaks volumes about her character. If things do not go exactly as she has them scripted, she will bail. The way in which she jumps from topic to topic and from job to job indicates an inability to focus and to concentrate. Her speeches are more attention-getting devices than information providers. Without a professional evaluation, I cannot diagnose attention-­deficit-di­sorder, but I can suspect it. She would be a mighty contender for Ann Coulter. Life has probably been a great disappointment to her during her adult years. The world keeps changing and alterring her place in it. Undoubtedly her children need more of her attention. Perhaps they would receive more personalized attention at a public school in one of the lower-48 states.

[maryjflyfree]

BINGO! that resignation speech was pure jibberish... sorta like most of John McCain'ts; except the one he made after PBO won.

[Nergulch]

This move is brilliant. Don't you see. Mark Sanford won't step down in South Carolina, so Palin is going to show true leadership by preemptively stepping down BEFORE a sex scandal to show him how it's done. Now that's the kind of forward thinking leadership I've come to expect from the GOP. Change you can be utterly confused in.