Sarah Palin Is a Long Distance Runner, Not a Train Wreck

Sarah Palin clearly believes that she has been wronged and that she is under concerted attack. She has decided not to relent, or curry favor, or soften her image, or resort to any defensive public relations tactics. She's on the offensive.

Her alternative would have been obvious. Go back to Alaska, put her head down, and try to accommodate her political enemies. Perhaps write a lessons-learned book about her unlikely star turn.

Curiously, and alarmingly, she turns out to be much more seize-the-day than that. She certainly likes the attention. But it's hard not to miss her instinctual combativeness.

Arrayed against an establishment, both Democratic and Republican, which says she is a hopeless lightweight and obviously illegitimate, she keeps coming, keeps giving offense.

This isn't as dumb as it looks.

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Comments

[BUTCHER111]

She’s both. BUT here’s why she won’t make it to the White House cause of one question. “If you are elected how do the American People trust that you’d serve a full term in office and not quit halfway through or when things get too tough?” No matter what she answers, all will know she quit being Governor and if she can't handle being governor she can’t handle being President.

[mikemillion2000]

Hmm, which I guess is the primary reason why the media was barred from the speech she's going to give at the Reagan Library correct? A long distance runner indeed.. gotta hold my sides I'm laughing so hard.... lololololol and it looks dumber than a bucket of rocks...

[darker]

Sarah Palin Is a Long Distance RUNNER AROUND INTO WALLS.
She never learns...

[julia23]

There is no evidence to support Palin's ability to do anything long-term. She has now quit both her state positions. She quit school several times, going to 5 colleges in 6 years.

[jacobomorales]

You mean she does not know when to quit because that require intelligence. She is delusional and imagines she has something to offer.

[blackmouth]

I will fight against my critics by quitting my job as governor and forsaking the people of Alaska, who elected me even though I can't do a job that's hard, and then get as much money as I can so I don't have to do what I don't want to do only what I want to do and that is to be president of the United States, unless the job is too hard and then I'll quit again.


This woman's first mistake was to think that she could be vice president of the United States, a heart beat away from the presidency. She was never qualified and she will never be qualified to be president. She was only picked by McCain to appease the base and she still doesn't understand this.

[ATLiberal]

Only in the minds of delusional acolytes can quitting your job as Governor be classified as going on offense. Frankly, it IS as dumb as it looks and her press conference was a disaster, proving she still has zero gravitas.

Other than that, I am 100% in favor of her running and winning the nomination in 2012 for the Republican Party. That would surely be the final blow for them as a serious party.

You have got to leave your bubble for a moment and see what she looks like to swing voters. Even people who may not agree with Obama on many things will be repelled by her lack of competence. Besides, who wants to vote for a President who couldn't even finish out one term as Governor of the most sparsely populated state in the nation?

So, I say GO PALIN in 2012.

[nivek]

Some one is in love.

[NYCPub]

If by "keeps coming" you mean "quits and runs" then you're correct.
If by "she's on the offensive" you mean "she's offensive to women and everyone else who has to finish a job they're not really that interested in or excited about" then you're spot on.

[cheforacle]

She is not a hero for quitting. She is a quitter. Plain and simple. It is Orwellian to the extreme to suggest she is a fighter. She has given up on the Alaskan people by quitting her term early. She could've finished the term she committed to and then started her run for President in 2011. The notion that she is "seizing the day" is the opposite of what she is doing. Tough people keep fighting but she has given up. Only apologists would attempt to reverse the clear meaning of words to attempt to defend her.

[AnotherunhappyDemocrat]

Please tell me you aren't serious. She QUIT her position as governor of Alaska. Alaska, with its small population and large oil revenue, has to be one of the easiest states to govern. She couldn't handle it. Even Shrub Bush made it through his first term as governor of Texas. Hilary Clinton made it through her first term as Senator. Richard Nixon was able to handle serving in the House and Senate before becoming Vice President. Palin couldn't even make it through four years as governor of Alaska.

Outside of this bizarro-world that seems to have gripped Palin, her admirers and the rest of the dwindling GOP base, this really is as dumb as it looks.

[delta queen]

I'm with you Mr. Wolf, yet I am convinced now that SP doesn't have the follow through skills to stay in the game much longer. Fundraiser, maybe. Leader, nah.

[jeg]

You hope she knows what she's doing, otherwise you'll have to find someone else to crusade for. Personally, I agree that she keeps giving "offense", but by that I mean she offends me (and a lot of other people). Now, the first question anyone's going to ask if/when she runs for office is:

"So, when things get tough, why should we expect you to not quit like you did last time?"

In her rambling, chaotic speech, she complained about ethics complaints, she complained about people picking on her, she complained about her personal life being "the story". Compare that with the tenacity of Norm Coleman, or Ted Stevens, or even Bill Clinton-- she's a featherweight who would rather threaten to sue than face actual criticism.

Not serving her term is shirking her responsibility to the state of Alaska. She took an oath, and broke and ran, not because of a hue and cry to oust her, not because of impending indictments (that we know of), or criminal investigation, or even ethics complaints-- but because she was being picked on.

Her political career is finished, although she might get the seat next to Hannity or Beck.

[eleutheros]

First ... in Conservative world she may appear to possess an intelligence, however, a closer look will only confirm and under-educated and inarticulate rural mind. That said, her demise is no more complicated than there is another shoe out there waiting to be dropped. Pregnant ... maybe? More likely though is that someone from the McCain campaign has something on her and is holding it over her head.

[IrishQueeen]

Who Palin is, I honestly don't know. But I know a witch hunt when I see one. America is a bunch of hippocrites.
Yes. We wage war on the Taliban for their treatment of women (not true reason, but that was a strong public arousing argument)
She's not an Ivy, Ivy elite. That doesn't make her the idiot they have made her out to be. The corruption of the industrial complex makes any thing Palin did or didn't do pale. How about the number of Goldman Sacks people in the current government. Amazing that Lehman brothers, their major competitor was not saved. I'm too old too really care, but I'm old enough to remember the lynchings, and when women's place was in the home as a servent to the blue eyed men. Oh the blue eyes, and now the brown eyes are mad. How dare a woman, even Ivey, Ivey compete with them. Not Ivey, Ivey is oviously totally outrages. I remeber Truman, who in his day was reffered to, by the elite, as "that haberdasher", Interesting as he turned out to be one of our best presidents.
Palin bashing is wrong. And all involved should be ashaned of themselves. But, they have families to support, so they are running an Obama initiative. Nationalized press. Mao did well with that concept.

[ATLiberal]

What a rambling and off topic diatribe. I am happy to discuss these ancillary issues any time and there are any number of places to go on this website to do so.

However, the issue here is a blog about Palin, so try sticking to the subject. If she had any intellectual heft, like Hillary Clinton, for example, she would be taken seriously. As it is, she doesn't have a shred of credibility except to the far right wing of her own party and that is unlikely to change.

My 2 cents.

[GearRatio]

RUFKM? Palin could not coherently answer the question, "What are the duties of the Vice President of the United States?" (The office for which she was running.) Yeah, the media had it in for her with these "gotcha" questions.

So, what, pray tell, would a "soft ball" question be? A la Cheech & Chong?

"What is your name, Sarah? Starts with an 'S'. Ends with an 'H'. You can do it Sarah!"

[BlueFloyd]

sarah, can you spell E S P N ? We'll spot you two letters.....

[JimR]

Then there was that tough one, "what newspapers do you read?"

[Skepticat]

There are many talented women who could become excellent political leaders - alas Ms Palin isn't one of them. The issue is not about some woman competing but having a dangerously inadequate person in a position of power. You saw what happened after 8 recent years of an inadequate presidential guy - having an inadequate woman instead isn't an improvement.