Sarah Palin -- What a Schmuck

Sarah Palin has announced her abdication of the Governorship of Alaska. If I were a citizen of Alaska, and especially if I had voted for her, I'd be pissed off.

Who cares if she feels she has checked off her personal laundry list of things to do? There remains a long list of responsibilities still yet to be fulfilled as Governor. You don't quit just because you want to pursue a new ambition. The job is bigger and more important than your own personal agenda.

She opened the speech today by saying she was so happy to have the chance to speak directly to the people of Alaska whom she is so honored to serve. Well, "service" is bigger than the person in the big chair. It's an honor that comes with a mission bestowed on the person elected and you just don't drop it to pursue other goals.

Mike Huckabee didn't do that. Mitt Romney didn't do that. They kept their eyes on the ball for Arkansas and Massachusetts while keeping their eyes on the prize of the 2008 GOP nomination.

So fellow citizens and especially conservatives who are enamored with this flighty fowl from above the 48th parallel: Don't be fooled. Sarah Palin so loves America that she was a 7-year member of a secessionist organization and she so loved Alaska that she ditched the job in favor of a book tour and an early bid for the Republican nomination in 2012.

Follow Kimberly Krautter on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kimbrlykrautter

Comments

[Nelson-inLaramie]

A good point guard plays all season. Beginning to end. Did Sarah ever play Jr. College or 4 yr. College basketball? Isn't Wasilla in the smallest class of AK high schools.? Weren't there 3 other larger high schools that won girls championships that year. Any ideas about per game averages. I don't believe Sarah actually knows basketball that well. Just overly agressive. Any statements by former teammates? She brags as though she was WNBA MPV.

[mmonarch]

The more space you give her the longer she hangs around. Politicians are all the same. Give them air time and they think they are important. If you all "dislike and disapprove" of her so much, then cut her off. But you can't. You are all addicted. You need something to complain about and you won't complain about Obama, so you have to complain about Palin. Truth hurts. I mean, this is all really kind of funny. I cannot believe the number of pages on Huffpo dedicated to Sarah Palin. For a group of people that swear up and down that they would like nothing more than to see her go away, why do all of you keep giving her the attention you swear she craves? It is almost as though far left liberals (not moderate dems) go into some kind of frenzy when they hear Palin's name. It is almost laughable. So, here you go: Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin. Have fun, frothing and foaming at the mouth.

[sippewissett]

You ask, "For a group of people that swear up and down that they would like nothing more than to see her go away, why do all of you keep giving her the attention you swear she craves?"

Answer: Because she won't go away. Palin's narcissistic ego and a "base" of right-wingers are keeping her in the public eye. I would NEVER utter her name again if she stayed home and made moose chili, but she won't because she is driven, like her beauty contestant origins, to seek the spotlight in the next beauty contest. And I'm damned determined that contest won't be for the White House. (Actually I'm not too worried because the big boys who will be contending for the top GOP spot won't let her near there either.)

[Scogostology]

Ex. Governor Sarah Palin is again in the news. Now, she is quitting. We admire this woman because besides being beautiful she is vocal and has spunk, though not very politically astute and savvy. But again who is? Sarah has potential. She would learn as she goes. It is distressing to see how she is being attacked mercilessly by both the media and the American people. Many people forget she is a politician and not a televangelist. What we advise her to do is now that she is not a governor anymore to use the opportunity to brush up on American history and politics, even if she has to register and go to a two yr college to study government. Or she can hire a private tutor, a professor of government and politics to tutor her so she can catch up. We believe she has the mental capacitance and fortitude to catch up in 2 yrs and become a formidable presidential candidate. scogostolo­gy.yolasit­e.com

[avvocato]

As one old point guard to another ...
Winners never quit and quitters never win!

[Gatorray11]

Serving two and a half years of a four-year term is not quitting? Karl Rove and Tricky Dickey I and II would be proud of that spin.

No wonder Sarah Barracuda had to go to five colleges to get her degree in journalism and had to plagiarize Newt Gingrich and a co-author to deliver a simple speech. May be somebody should review her college work?

[Nelson-inLaramie]

Did Sarah ever play Jr. College or 4 yr. College basketball? Isn't Wasilla in the smallest class of AK high schools. Weren't there 3 other larger high schools that won girls championships that year. Any ideas about per game averages. I don't believe Sarah actually knows basketball that well. Just overly agressive.

[dpiyjrtmfr]

I have been looking for a reason to quit my job for years. I think I will go consult my fridge magnets............

[Gatorray11]

But can you BS on TV, draw a crowd and hide behind the Bible?

[BBGG]

Palin is enjoying her freedoms which our men & women have fought for since the American Revolution. She has the right to do whatever she wants, as do all of us. She does not have to remain in an abusive relationship. Isn't it great? Good for her. She made a decision and only she knows what she feels and believes. Now, you need to find someone else to pound to the pavement.

[kathy001]

Nothing in your comment about commitment and dedication? Nothing about loyalty and responsibility to the people who voted her into office and paid her salary? Ah, well, it's not like I expected any of that from her, anyway.

[Gatorray11]

An abusive relationship? Typical Republican. They like to dish it out, but when the counter punches come they leave arena.

She can run, but after all she has done she is not going to be able to hide. Simply judge her actions by her own words. For instance, family values. Sarah Barracuda Palin's dysfunctional family is an example of the family values she preaches? It's like Bristol Palin lecturing us on abstinence only.

[sparky09]

Ensign, Sanford, Palin...Who're the next three to crash & burn? O'reilly, Beck, Coulter? Ah, if only.....

[Dots]

Aren't you relieved she quit. I am.

[MarieNat]

No, because now we have to look to other sources for amusing quotes.

[Hawaii5-0]

Not really, she was providing such a leadership role for the GOP as governor and such interesting stories on corruption and nepotism in her administration. Now, she can't be impeached from office because she quit. That would not have looked good on her resume. She claims to be the victim of frivolous accusations, but I don't see Ensign, Sanford or other GOP governors being accused of corruption as often as she is being accused. I think she believes that if she is governor, she can do no wrong and taking bribes or using her staff to settle personal vendettas is acceptable behavior when you are the king. She has a lot to learn about ethical behavior and slow on the uptake.

As someone else pointed out using a basketball analogy. "A point guard doesn't quit in the middle of the game." You do that and the coach throws you off the team.

[mluo2010]

Slight problem with the following:

"Mike Huckabee didn't do that. Mitt Romney didn't do that. They kept their eyes on the ball for Arkansas and Massachusetts while keeping their eyes on the prize of the 2008 GOP nomination."

Neither Huckabee and Romney was governor at any time during their campaigns.

[rdn411]

I think that IS her point...

[Kimberly Krautter - Huffpost Blogger]

Actually, there is a lot of pre-campaign stumping that happens even before one forms the official Presidential exploratory committee which both did immediately after they left office in 2007. Both Huckabee and Romney spent a good deal of time in 2005-2006, while still in office, working with PACs, supporting other GOP campaigns and going on the kind of junkets you need to go on to raise your profile and build political capital. This is the usual course of events that every national candidate undertakes 2-3 years before the official campaign season begins. This is the time period in which Gov. Palin finds herself now. They didn't quit, and she should not have either.

[tomasedison]

Sarah can't resist the call of the rubber chicken circuit. A big career lies ahead for her as an 'entertainer'.

[tomasedison]

Sarah is taking her sash, swimsuit and high heels and heading home.

[jlmcvay]

hee hee

[Nelson-inLaramie]

Sarah & Gretchen Wilson both sing for money. I vote for Gretchen. She has more class. HELL - YAA

[Mannock]

And that is saying a lot!

[Kimberly Krautter - Huffpost Blogger]

Karen Tumulty of Time Magazine lists Sarah Palin's history as a quitter. http://bit.ly/jAzpO

[peacebro]

I love Sarah Palin.

She is not a quitter. Listen to her speech. There are many reasons why she is not a quitter, in fact there there are rambling cliche's to cover almost every subject and defense!

[Gatorray11]

Quitting a four-year term after two and a half years is not quitting? Only a Republican could make such an argument. Karl Rove, Tricky Dickey I and II would be proud. The GOP thinks it can spin anything.

Hey, they span that an affirmative action for the wealthy case to get into Yale with a career record of running into the ground everything he ever touched would make a good President. Of course, a brother governor and a Republican secretary of state had to illegally purge over 90,000 black voters. A Republican majority on the U.S. Supreme Court had to make sure all the votes in Florida weren't counted. But they managed to crown George II President.

And look what he left behind.

[TheIndependenceParty]

Excellent article, Kimberly. Thanks!

We should have seen this coming, I think, after Palin's overblown reaction to Miss California's ignominious downfall. While the analogy Palin used in her announcement was from sports, ... her behavior was more akin to that poor "misunderstood" Bible-thumping beauty queen! Sarah simply decided to fall upon the sword before losing her "crown".

[Gatorray11]

Her sports analogy doesn't hold water. She didn't pass the ball for victory. She quit the game because she couldn't take it anymore. Sarah Palin you are no longer the Barracuda sports fans admired in you. You are a quitter.

[AgnesBankhead]

in light of recent developments
and in anticipation of the Palin's political coronation on Fox News
this 10 minute video, by Harry Hanbury, is definitely worth a second look

SARAH PALIN'S APOCALYPSE

http://americannewsproject.com/videos/anp-investigation-sarah-palins-apocalypse

[fignozzle]

that was kinda chilling.