There are, to be sure, many possible personal and/or political reasons for Sarah Palin's decision to quit mid-stream. She may want/need to cash-in and her star may be fading. She may have become bored with governance. She may have recognized that the remainder of her term would be difficult because of the falling price of oil, or that she had to preside over accepting stimulus money to help low-income Alaskans with fuel costs. She may have decided that her national aspirations could be better served by campaigning for others, accumulating chits, and then calling them in--just as Richard Nixon had done in 1968 after announcing "his last press conference" in 1962.
Or, perhaps she just has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and that explains much of her behavior?
Consider these behaviors and whether they suggest a diagnosis of severe ADHD: attending 6 different colleges to get a bachelor's degree; rambling directionless speaking jumping from one thought to another, providing a laundry list of nonsequiturs and believing she has cogently answered a question, abruptly changing subjects when a questioner is digging into an inconsistency, nonsequitur or lunacy, the McCain campaign's inability to get her focused in debate preparations, her total indifference to her extraordinary lack of knowledge or ridiculously inappropriate assertions (e.g., foreign policy experience = "we can see Russia", "when Putin rears his head"), winking into the TV camera during the one debate trying to convince people she could be Vice-President, and on and on.
People with ADHD feel truly persecuted when others try to pin them down, even when such continued inquiries have no ulterior purpose except to clarify a particular fact or statement. It is a reaction triggered by an uncontrollable psychological need. Any norm, or those who try to hold up norms, are enemies. Accountability is not high on their wish list.
For Sarah, it is the press. When the press followed up ridiculous answers to their questions with more probing, she was offended. That's "unfair" to someone aspiring to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency? To an ADHD'r, it is grossly unfair, and it is not that they just think it is unfair, they feel it, they feel an acute need to escape. An ADHD'r cannot stand norms ("maverick, maverick, maverick"), they cannot stand still and they are easily bored and distracted.
What did all, literally all, the Republicans who felt Sarah could be their savior suggest she do after losing the Vice-Presidency? Return to Alaska, do a good job of governing, and 'study up'. If she were serious and did not have ADHD, that is precisely what she would have done, because she already possessed what others long for but cannot create -- star power (aka the ability to arouse Rick Lowry). Governing and studying up is the easy part for most people.
But, she seems incapable, not because of her intellect (that seems adequate), but because of her underlying psychology: a person with ADHD does not have the ability to focus, concentrate and analyze. All they want to do is "get on with it", whatever the "it" happens to be. They can learn, but only osmotically -- by being sufficiently involved and exposed to be able to absorb, usually with a kinetic component. People in Alaska who have dealt with her say she is OK for the first 10 minutes of a discussion, but not really engaged beyond that, another sign consistent with ADHD. As with her Governor's term, she starts things, but does not complete them.
A person with ADHD does not respond well to being questioned. The little details are too pesky and unimportant. They crave being "left alone", and make those who would pursue those details uncomfortable about doing so because they themselves appear so uncomfortable. As Governor she could make the details disappear by appointing cronies, and complaining that people are just out to get her, neither of which, of course, answers the questions.
An ADHD'r, looking for some stability but unable to focus and concentrate to think matters through, would find fundamentalism (religious or otherwise) very appealing. Answers to unsettling questions are considered absolute and they are spoonfed. Thinking is unnecessary--and, actually, dangerous to the fundamentalist position. Fundamentalist religions are particularly attractive to them because the little voice, chattering away constantly in their heads, can be deemed to be the divine, and thus all actions are not only "rational" but justified, and whether others "get it" or not is their problem. And, in a fundamentalist church, they do not have to sit still--I've attended a few, and people yell out whatever they want, whenever they want, a stark contrast to the mainstream churches where the services are controlled and scripted.
ADHD is not just a diagnosis of childhood. It can persist one's entire life. By the time people reach adulthood, they usually develop coping strategies, but not always, and not if their behaviors are indulged, in which case they become reinforced. Could it be that those whom Sarah stuck with in life, and did not reject, were those willing to enable her behaviors? Is Palin an adult ADHD'r who never had to learn to cope with her unaccountable, escapist instincts.
Depending on its severity, ADHD is not all negative. ADHD'rs can be very interesting and exciting people to be around, and they can make very positive impressions especially in early encounters: they are often full of ideas, highly energetic, and can make the more disciplined feel as if they are missing something in life. After a short time, it may become apparent that not everything adds up, and there is difference between an ADHD'r and someone who is truly innovative or an out of-the-box thinker, or who pushes the limits of endurance. If Sarah indeed has ADHD, it may be, at once, what makes her politically attractive and the cause of her fall-from-grace.
After one gets to know ADHDrs, some of the luster often fades. Resistance to being pinned down on anything conveys lack of reliability and even dishonesty. Sarah's resignation is a case in point, and her explanation is sheer lunacy. This was her 'logic': lameduck governors take foreign excursions at taxpayers' expense, do not do anything but waste money, she said, as if she, as a lameduck, would be compelled to do the same. And, it would mean that the Governor of Virginia, who only gets one term, ought to resign immediately upon election since he is a lameduck by statute. Now try pinning her down on this, and she will fob it all off as unimportant or the question being overly critical or both.
Or, watch what happens when her primary rationale for resigning in midstream---not wishing to spend taxpayer money on lawyers defending her instead of schools--is shown to be misleading because the money was already allocated to attorneys. If Palin has ADHD, she will feel persecuted just by being legitimately pinned down to clarify herself.
In her resignation ramble, Palin suggested a subtle comparison to Barack Obama, the 'other person' who, in her mind, quit his job to take on a larger role. In her mind--and this is the danger such a mind is--her quitting in midterm is the equivalent of Barack Obama leaving the Senate to become President, or Hillary Clinton resigning her Senate seat to become Secretary of State.
But, don't assume Sarah Palin's political demise yet. She has star power, and, if her problem is ADHD, a little Ritalin or Strattera may go a long way...Todd, at least, would sing their blessings!
