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.
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Is this one of the situations where state and/or federal law enforcement personnel said, "Resign or be indicted." The feds may not want another Stevens trial fiasco or make a self-proclaimed martyr.
Yep, the subtext of her resignation speech, when you cut through all the sel-pity and whining, is that the investigations into her practises are gaining traction. The image she had pawned off on Alaskans turned out to be a sham when the full national spotlight fell on her. Ambition killed her.
The aren't going to be that kind. She's resigning so she can accept private monies (like an advance on a book deal) that aren't allowed for a state employee under Alaskan law. She is going to need every penny of that money in a couple of weeks.
I just hope that her instability isn't used as fodder against future female politician
there are many successful female politicians we never hear a WORD about
because they are doing their jobs quietly and effectively
It just depends on how unstable they might be.
Let's see if any future female candidates will be asked if they should stay home with thier kids. I doubt it.
Is it true she ran off to join the circus?
LOL
one of my favorites!
Wait, she hasn't been in a circus all along?
Yeah, Fox News.
Circus, Faux News, same thing...
only on Fox news where you can get applauded for quitting on he Alaskan people
Did BHO quit on the people of IL when he left his 1st term senate seat to run for president?
Did John McCain quit on the people of AZ when he left his senate seat to run for president?
If you are gonna leave your job to run for president it at least makes sense to do so during an actual election year.
Palin is a shoo-in for another shot at Mayor of Wassila. Gospeed, Sarah. You can fire anyone who disagrees with you there.
lol! it makes my want to send 25 cents to SarahPac, just so she'll stay in Wasilla, where she belongs.
My main question for her:
Are you going to stop trying to be a celebrity?
..
NEW REPUBLICAN MOTTO:
"QUIT, BABY, QUIT !!!"
Wouldn't it have been AMAZING if she'd said
"Being a conservative right-to-life mother means more than just choosin' to birth the babies.
I've got a sick infant I brought into the world that needs me .
That's my full-time job and obligation to society now. "
That's something I would expect to hear from someone with a conscience.
And that single statement would do more to advance the "pro-life" agenda than all the religious rhetoric in the world.
Funny that most "pro-lifers" don't think to say it, but I suspect it might be because most "pro-lifers" aren't that interested in the quality of a child's life after it's born.
she found the place where she is going to dump trigg in indiana. when she spoke at the right to life dinner she later toured a facility for the kids with downs the parents don't want. nobody seemed to take notice she went to this warehouse.
Ouch!
Don't get me wrong, I have been known to make fun of Palin on many occassions, but this is just a tad sick. Someone acting as a pro-life advocate for children with Downs would be expected to come see a facility for children who's parents made the choice not to abort but who could not actually raise a down's child. I'm sure they invited her, hoping it would get them some publicity and possibly more funding to take care of the kids.
It looks if she simply cracked under pressure. Her recent behaviour has shown her ever more strident and increasingly irrational. Probably she was right about the Letterman comments but her hysteria ran out of control. She began inventing insults to the point of paranoia and overreacting close to the breaking point.
Palin's departure reminds me of another famous quote by a departing politician. "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore, because gentleman, this is my final press conference
It is said that suicides often fantasize about the grief that will be suffered by those they leave behind. Sarah Palin, probably, from feelings of hurt and being set upon has committed political suicide. Perhaps in doing so she hoped to engender wailing among the GOP, maybe pleas for her to reconsider.
It is well that the preposterous media circus over Sarah Palin is over. If she could be chosen as a candidate for President, then neither could we rule out Ronald McDonald.
Given a choice between the two I'd vote for the professional clown not the hobbyist.
The scariest part of all this circus is that 20-30% of the country really LIKE her! Note to self: Get another country...
In fairness to Richard Nixon, the man was very drunk when he made that speech.
And it's very scary to contemplate that Nixon actually made a come-back after that meltdown in '62. So I wouldn't be too sanguine about "the preposterous media circus" that is Sarah Palin being over. I have a sinking feeling we'll be hearing more from her, and none of it will be pleasant or constructive.
All this, for a state that don't even have 700,000 people in it, TOTAL???
She should let the caribou and moose vote....
"let the caribou and moose vote".....
I fear you underestimate the persuasive power of helicopters and automatic rifles
I've never seen anyone use so many words to say so little as Ma Palin. She never once used the word "resign" either.
She and her admirer, Bill Kristol, are made for one another. Neither one has the slightest grip on reality. If she did, she'd be grateful to be a governor of a state and hope the gig lasts at least one full term.
As for Kristol, he should be grateful for every conservative thought he can spew on Faux.
My favorite reason for Palin's resigning was saying Trig had been mocked... " which was the first I ever heard. I honestly don't believe that's true.
Doubtless the Reps will use her as fundraising tool, in exchange for which they might even return those fancy clothes they bought her, which she looked so good in.
Another great part of her speech was when she said "... for Alaska and for America." We know she sees Russia from her window, but hasn't anyone yet told her Alaska is part of America?
Trig's mocking was in an Alaska blog used to raise money for some sort of freedom of information request from the state of Alaska. A picture of Gov Palin was used holding a baby and instead of Trig's face was that of a radio show host. It was in poor taste but I do not think it was mockery.
It was usual Palin mythology, attacking the silly small stuff, feigning great insult.
True. I would have read that as mockery of Palin herself and of the radio host, but hardly of the baby.
If Palin was POTUS and Iraqi terrorist were making fun of Trig, would Palin quit? I quess we will never know!
She'd have every B-52 in the inventory loaded to the gills and start a saturation bombing campaign to last until the entire country was a level playing field.
Thank God, AMEN!!!!!!
Good catch on "Alaska/America" gaffe!
She did not mind wasting public dollars on a multimillion dollar sports complex Wasilla did not need and could not afford, or keeping her family in Wasilla and commuting to the capitol while charging the state per diem, or dragging her family all over the country on taxpayer dime, or ordering constant renovations of the governor's mansion and paying contractors many times normal fees (oh wait she said that was Todd's job to dream up projects on the mansion)..
Why did she suddenly get religion about wasting money?
After the ice rink contractor finished the work on her house?
I think she may go to jail for that one.
It was a cheap way to make it sound like she was resigning for unselfish reasons, unconvincing as it is.
She was commuting to Anchorage. The capital is Juneau. Go figure.
WoW the GOP will really have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for more candidates now.
There's a bottom left in their barrel?
Rather than a barrel it's about the size of one of those large #10 size tin cans that restaurants use.
And both ends of the can have been cut out.
Yeah, looks like they're gonna start pulling up big handfuls of soil pretty soon.
That was the bottom of the barrel. The GOP will reform when it becomes so desperate, it starts listening to talented and intelligent people. I hope the Green Party becomes the second political party instead. The GOP has nothing to offer but lessons in what not to do.
they have plenty of options better than palin.
Too bad about that pesky ideology tho.
OK .... I'll bite.
??
They've been scraping the bottom of the barrel for 30 years.
the stuff that's left on the bottom of a barrel is usually called c rud.
Her and Ziegler can co-host a radio show. She can call in from Federal Prison.
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