Sarah Palin Goes Full Tilt

The biggest mystery about Sarah Palin's abrupt and droll decision to resign as governor of Alaska is why the media should think there is anything mysterious about it at all. There has never been anything complicated about Palin. She's a simple woman, and usually the first thing that comes to mind about her motives is correct.

Among the few analysts who have so far gotten it correct and said the first thing that came to his mind was NBC's Chuck Todd, who observed that her resignation allows her to make money -- lots of it. She wants to be free to grab all the money being thrown at her right now, without any pesky ethical or conflict-of-interest problems. Holding political office severely restricts the lucrative speaking engagement she could accept. As a private citizen, the sky's the limit.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to make money. It's how she plans to make it that gives one pause for concern. Regardless of how she or anyone else in her inner circle tries to spin it, she recognizes that announcing a run for President will earn her more money than, say, taking a job as a game show hostess. More disturbingly, it appears that she's going to campaign for the most powerful and most volatile job in the world by ignoring the advice, counsel, and speech-writing expertise of anyone with experience on the international stage and posting her profoundest observations about the United States, world affairs, and psychotic, trigger-happy dictators on Facebook and Twitter.

If the GOP was having second thoughts about what exactly they had created in thrusting Palin to national prominence that fateful day at the Republican National Convention, they must now be positively quaking in their boots. This is not their dream girl. This is a date from hell.

Paling by Comparison
Sarah Palin was already wearing out her welcome in Republican circles. Following McCain's loss against Obama, she cut herself free of the tight orbit her Republican handlers wisely attempted to keep her in, convinced she could do a better job herself. However, lacking any intelligent guidance system, she became something worse -- unpredictable. She was like a ball in a pinball machine, bouncing mindless from one public spectacle to another, making a lot of noise in the media and racking up a lot of meaningless points.

Unfortunately, she came to believe that those points gave her real political clout. She bought into the delusion that she was the only viable Republican candidate, and so she could say and do whatever she pleased, completely ignoring the internal chain of command within the Republican Party. As she said in her Facebook posting, she follows "a higher calling."

"I am now looking ahead and how we can advance this country together with our values of less government intervention, greater energy independence, stronger national security, and much-needed fiscal restraint," she said.

OMFG! It's not just the English language that needs to fear this formidable hockey mom.

If Republicans want to maintain control of their party -- and salvage any possible chance at the White House in 2012 -- they need to do something they have never done before: place their faith upon the intelligence of the larger majority of the American public that smells hypocrisy when they see it. That means cutting their losses now and declaring that Palin acts alone, and "the views she expresses are not necessarily the views of the Party."

Following the Republican Party's rejection, those moderate conservatives who reluctantly abandoned them in 2008 will consider it safe to return to the fold. By 2012, Palin will certainly be able to afford to pay for a $150,000 wardrobe out of her own pocket, thank you. She will pack in the stadiums and rake in the money along the Bible belt, but the bigger swath of voters around the country will have rejected her rabble-rousing posturing. No one will be taking her seriously anymore as a political candidate. If the Republican Party continues to waffle regarding their support of her, she will take them down with her.

Comments

[socialtalker]

if ONLY robert altman was alive, he would have LOVED this woman as a character in a new movie, say "alaska"
i saw a youtube clip of the barbara jean character when she is on stage having a nervous breakdown.
the next day i saw the resignation speech. the similarites were eerie.
also, as i have said on another thread, she could have bipolar disorder, i am not a shrink so i dont know. someone on youtube suggested it and i looked it up and that theory is said to have been made by several leftist bloggers. they were of course accused of being political, but after this speech she should definitely be tested.

[SharpDressedMan]

Mario Almonte's analysis depicts Sarah Palin quite accurately and poignantly.

The GOP can't be saved. In fact the end of the 2 party system already started but that's another issue.

Republicans have been voting with their feet since 1992 when Ross Perot energized 20% of the voters to vote for him, an Independent. That political dagger plunged into Bush 41's heart gave the Presidency to Bill Clinton. The 1992 GOP exodus was followed by smaller voter purges then 2008 drove many more Republicans out of the GOP. They were motivated by Bush 43's failures and the lack of confidence in the McCain/Palin ticket. The market crash was a deal breaker for many fence sitters and caused other Republicans to hop the fence.

After the decades long bleeding, the tattered GOP needs to retain remaining Republicans but its solidarity has vanished. Blaming fingers are pointed and casualties fall in circular firing squads. The inhouse feuds are far from over. Even if what remains of the GOP was miraculously homogenized in its ideology and platform, it wouldn't convince a voting majority to place a Republican in the Oval Office soon.

Sarah Palin will soon be liberated from her gubernatorial duties. Disenchanted disgruntled voters will turn to the charismatic Lilliputian for deliverance to a promised land of cultural purity and biblical sanctimony. But Sarah is more lost than many of her followers and as they saying goes, people deserve the leaders they support.

[ym3393]

I just loved your article and I want you to keep writing about Sarah Palin because it is so amusing to watch ya'll try to understand we the little people. So please trash her as much as you can because it only makes our case for us with the American people. I'm saving your article because I will enjoy watching ya'll eat your words in the months to come as you are nashing your teeth wondering what happened.

[ym3393]

I just loved your piece about Sarah palin and I intend to save so that within 6 months or less, I'll did it out and let you eat your own words. I throughtly enjoy watching and reading the santimonous left pontify on we the lit

[TioNed]

One of Sarah Palin's problems is she still doesn't get why she was asked to be VP candidate in the first place: Kristol, Schmidt and other Rovian types saw her as an empty vessel puppet that they could fill in with what they liked, then manipulate.

If she had listened to some of those folks (as much as I hate them, many are still smart and experienced political operatives), and kept her head down, she might have a chance. Instead, in typical Palin fashion she tossed them under the bus as soon as they didn't seem to be of any use to her. No wonder they're turning on her and leaking stuff to CBS and Vanity Fair...

[MariosResponse]

That is also my feeling, that Palin could have pulled this off if she'd just listen to more experienced people who have done this before. If you think about it, George W. Bush also had problems when he went off-script, but he was smart enough to let other people orchestrate his appearances and therefore dodged many potentially humiliating moments. Of course, it also helped that Bush had a genuine sense of humor and could make fun of himself. Palin has a very thin skin and lashes out at anything and everything that criticizes her, acting before thinking, and therefore creates more embarrassments for herself.

[socialtalker]

"Kristol, Schmidt and other Rovian types"

yeah, well they were not all that smart, that women should have been psychologically tested better before they choose her. i am amazed they dont do that. what the hell is the "vetting" process do if they dont do that? but i guess they got greedy seeing as you say such an empty vessel, or what they thought was empty, she obviously has a screw loose clanking around in her head.

[Deli]

There is no way she could "keep her head down". Eventually she would have had to answer at least easy questions, and she is just incapable. Even with the utmost self control, this woman would have imploded.

[astaringeorgia]

This is one of the best and most comprehensive articles written about SP. The author's understanding of her motives and personality is RIGHT ON!!
Interesting how many people are blindsided by her...they forget that you can't judge a book by its cover.
She is her own worst enemy and will self destruct somewhere along the way, but she will make sure that she cashes in first and accumulates a significant bankroll. If people are stupid enough line her pockets, then so be it.
She is absolutely a national joke!! But maybe there is a political lesson to be learned here. I hope so.

[brody4bho]

One can only hope!