Oi...

[pecunium]

Sarah Palin has resigned.

One wonders why. It would be foolish for me, who has no contacts in the circles of Alaskan politics to speculate on specifics, but I can't help but think something is going to break which is would be worse if she were still in office.

That's the first part. The second... I never thought she was brilliant. Clever, cunning and perhaps gifted at the arts of politicking. That's one thing. But real smarts... not so much.

Not stupid but not brilliant.

I think, looking at her resignation speech, I may have to reconsider. This wasn't a silly gaffe, off the cuff (like Dan Quayle on "potatoe"), this was something she had time to craft.

Every one – all 15 of the ethics complaints have been dismissed. We’ve won! But it hasn't been cheap - the State has wasted THOUSANDS of hours of YOUR time and shelled out some two million of YOUR dollars to respond to “opposition research” – that’s money NOT going to fund teachers or troopers – or safer roads. And this political absurdity, the “politics of personal destruction” … Todd and I are looking at more than half a million dollars in legal bills in order to set the record straight. And what about the people who offer up these silly accusations? It doesn’t cost them a dime so they’re not going to stop draining public resources – spending other peoples’ money in their game.

It’s pretty insane – my staff and I spend most of our day dealing with THIS instead of progressing our state now. I know I promised no more “politics as usual,” but THIS isn’t what anyone had in mind for ALASKA.

If I have learned one thing: LIFE is about choices!

And one chooses how to react to circumstances. You can choose to engage in things that tear down, or build up. I choose to work very hard on a path for fruitfulness and productivity. I choose NOT to tear down and waste precious time; but to build UP this state and our country, and her industrious, generous, patriotic, free people!

Life is too short to compromise time and resources... it may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: "Sit down and shut up", but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out. And a problem in our country today is apathy. It would be apathetic to just hunker down and “go with the flow”.

Nah, only dead fish "go with the flow".

No. Productive, fulfilled people determine where to put their efforts, choosing to wisely utilize precious time... to BUILD UP.

What?

This is important? This use of CAPS FOR EMPHASIS is what she chooses to present to the world? This air of, "how could they do this to me?" is what she wants to be in her last official statement?

If this was some attempt to move out of the pressure cooker of active politics, to line up for a run in 2012.... well she doesn't have even the political chops I thought she did.

(comments at Better than salt money)

Comments

[crisavec.livejournal.com]

Even those of us that live up here and have a grasp of the politics are saying "Wait, What??"

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

To me, the tone of this actually seems of a piece with the way she presented herself during the campaign: I never thought she presented herself as anything other than a dim bulb. Her appearances were very scripted, but her decisions, and her reactions in unscripted situations, were frequently excruciating.

According to what I've read about her that pre-dated the campaign (by about a year, it was a story about women in politics), she was considered a decent administrator -- if you trust Newsweek.

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

The problem with speculating about Palin is that you can never say, with confidence, "She'd never be that stupid, right?"

The answer is always going to be, yes, she could be that stupid.

[jpmassar.livejournal.com]

Not stupid but not brilliant.

"As Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the US, where do they go? It's Alaska"

I beg to differ.

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

That's in the realm of gaffe, not real mistake.

The Russians test our airpspace, in Alaska, on a regular basis.

I'm watching the speech right now, and it's worse than it reads... hard as tha is to believe.

She's quittig so she can keep fighting for Alaska...

Guah@!

She's quittig so she can keep fighting for Alaska.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Ah, the Vichy strategy. Tricky to pull off.

[michael-b-lee.livejournal.com]

...I can't help but think something is going to break which is would be worse if she were still in office.

That was my take as well. I can't help but think that someone's uncovered a big skeleton in her closet, or she's about to be the focus of an investigation or indictment. It would explain much of the tone of her speech.

[swingland.livejournal.com]

The pendulum is swinging back and in order for it to have a nice and easy swing back into the Republican territory, I think they need to clear the dead bodies out of the way, first. At least I can only hope. Because otherwise, it would become very boring to watch politics.

Also, any coincidence with Mr. Sanford and Palin? Two big spotlights all of the sudden taken out of the picture?

I'm not good at speculation, as you can see.

[jpmassar.livejournal.com]

Actually four taken out of the picture.

Palin, Sanford, Ensign and the former Governor of Utah now ambassador to China, what's his name.

Soon Huckabee will be discovered chanting Koranic verses.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Thus leaving the Republicans with... Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, and....... Fred Thompson. Fred has a web site, has been recording podcasts on current affairs, and is definitely keeping his hand in.

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

I don't know that Sanford is completely out of it.

If he could keep his mouth shut, he might ride it out.

But he seems incapable.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

He does indeed.

[harimad.livejournal.com]

I predict he'll ride it out. His problem is purely a personal one - he had a voluntary relationship with a woman who was able to give unpressured consent. A year out of the spotlight and people will remember how he governed not who he romanced.

Palin? My thought was the same as Pecunium's - something's going to come out that would be much, much worse for her if she were still governor. I know a lot of Republicans who are hoping she'll fade quietly and permanently into the background, or pull a Quayle and fade into the deep Republican background and not be a public embarrassment.

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Sanford is probably, more toasted than not.

Because his slip also involved how he governs. He took a week off from being governor to spend a week with his foreign mistress.

He may have used state money to cover some of his trips to see her.

[harimad.livejournal.com]

I think he'd be forgiven slipping off and even not passing authority to his LtGov. Using state money is something else and rather worse. If he did that, then I retract my statement about one year.

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

My dad says that he wants to be the first to start a rumor that Sarah Palin is resigning, changing her name to Maria Belen Chapur, and running off with Governor Mark Sanford.

It could happen. :-}

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

There are rumors on the Alaska political blogs of upcoming federal indictments related to embezzlement during her time as mayor of Wasilla. According to those, building materials used in her house are identical to those used to build the sports complex.

[cofax7]

Oh, my.

This is simply FASCINATING.

[asimovberlioz.livejournal.com]

As I've already noted, Republicans who run for vice president and fail of election to that office tend either to fade into obscurity, or to move to the left. I'll be glad to see her do the former.

[writingortyping.livejournal.com]

This air of, "how could they do this to me?" is what she wants to be in her last official statement?

This was the person who wanted, against tradition and advice, to give a concession speech on election night. This is the person who, after pardoning a turkey on Thanksgiving, gave a bubbly interview while several other turkeys were rather messily slaughtered behind her.

She has absolutely no sense of how she appears to the rest of the world.

[sharon-masters.livejournal.com]

I agree with the folks... she's what we used to call a 'lose cannon'. VERY savvy about how to worm politics to achieve goals, but also very inconsistent in her thinking, arrogant in her actions, and blind to her hypocracy. Her speech COULD be used against the GOP for the 8 Billion Ken Star used investigating President Clinton, including investigating allegations of murder and drug trading before they found Monica and the sexual misconduct.
i bet good money that more of the nasty arrogant decisions she made in the past are about to take wing. Good riddance to another bad apple..
oh-- and let's not forget Jeb Bush as a possible runner in 2010- he hasn't had his shot at the White House yet, and i think Barbara promised it to him for Christmas this year.