Sarah Palin Quits as Alaska Governor
Posted by Scott Williams on 07.03.2009
Cites Lame Duck Status (Among Other Reasons)
In a stunning development, Sarah Palin steps down as Governor of Alaska.
Will this help, or hurt her National ambitions? Only time will tell. However, the balance of Republican political strategists are scratching their heads.
Ed Rollins, Republican strategist and CNN contributor, pretty much summed it up (and is typical of what I'm hearing from knowledgeable strategists on the right).
Ed Rollins (from CNN):
Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ed Rollins said, to a certain extent, Palin's announcement makes her look "terribly inept."
"I think everyone is shocked by this, and I think to a certain extent everyone is going to assume there's another story. You don't just quit with a year and a half to go. You certainly don't do this as a stepping stone to run for president. You finish the job that you're in, and obviously she's not doing that," he said.
And the DNC response (from Fox News):
Following Palin's announcement, the Democratic National Committee blasted what it called her "bizarre behavior."
"Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long shot national political ambitions or she simply can't handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down," DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said.
My take:
I can't see how this helps her vis-a-vis a run for President in 2012. It makes her seem erratic. And raises MANY more questions about her ability to lead, than it answers. Unless she is quitting for personal reasons; family matters so to speak. Which could be the case. And she's simply withholding those reasons for the sake of privacy.
Or, she might be going for the money; through book deals and speaking engagements. It would be very hard to do that, as governor. And its also true that you don't HAVE to run for President, to become an effective and powerful political figure on the National stage. There ARE other paths to that end, should a person so choose.
But regardless. The bottom line is, the hits just seem to keep on coming for the Republicans; as they slowly, painfully, and very publicly implode.
Posted By: Not Surprised (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 06:50 PM
And it's over. Palin had too much baggage to ever be considered serious anyway (She's one of the biggest jokes in American politics after all) but this seals the deal.
No one would elect this woman to President, when she can't handle the pressure of being Govenor of Alaska. Maybe if she spent more time governing and less time feuding with David Letterman.
Oh well, at least this is the end of her. Whatever credibility she had is gone. Quitters never win and no amount of spin can make her look like anything other.
Posted By: Jake G (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 07:18 PM
are you fucking kidding me !?
Posted By: Guest#4796 (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 07:59 PM
Let's see.
Jon Huntsman is going to be Obama's abassador to China.
John Ensign admitted an afair.
Mark Sanford did the same thing.
Mike Huckabee might have some appeal but I think he's both too southern and too conservative.
I don't see Charlie Crist running so soon after being elected to the senate, which we've got to admit is all but certain to happen. Sure, Obama made the jump from the senate to the White House after just 4 years but Crist is no Obama.
Tim Pawlenty may have a shot at the nomination but like Huckabee he may be too conservative for a national race.
Newt Gingrich has too many problems from his past and may be too old.
Jeb Bush? His brother ruined it for him.
It doesn't look like Rommny has much appeal. I doubt the south would help elect who would be the first Morman president.
And finally, I don't think Palin's resignation helps her in any way. She's a wacko who has no appeal outside of the base.
Simply put, just about everybody on the list has problems. So unless the country is still a mess in 2012 AND the GOP finds a moderate who is their version of Obama, Obama will win reelection no matter what the conditions (hey Bush 43 did the same thing). And if this country gets turned around by the next election the GOP can forget it.
Posted By: Geoff (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 08:11 PM
And this is the person conservatives wanted to be VP, possibly President should McCain's health not hold up...
And with all the now-revealed infighting between McCain and Palin...
Conservatives eat their own.
Imagine if they would have won in November...and things weren't going well...and they realized the Bush debt was much bigger and harder to deal with...and all markets were falling apart around them...
She would be quitting right now too.
At least our "celebrity messiah" is sticking to it, doing work through the tough times.
Your "celebrity messiah" would have quit on you.
Posted By: Crow21 (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 08:22 PM
""Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long shot national political ambitions or she simply can't handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down," DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said."
I'm gonna take the second option.
Posted By: Mikel (too lazy to log in) (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 08:53 PM
We're going to need another phrase way to describe the GOP's self destruction, "epic fail" doesn't do it justice anymore.
Posted By: poffo316 (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 09:21 PM
I got to the two minute mark before I had to stop the video due to gag reflex. She still is just as clueless and brain-dead as when McCain picked her as a running mate.
I hate to say this about another human being, but the world would have been better off if she had become a Darwin Award winner 25 years ago.
Posted By: Paul in Canada (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 09:24 PM
...nail her, baby say Hello to my little friend~!
Posted By: brit forget kfed (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 09:52 PM
If she'd have stayed she would have had to fight for re-election, this way she is free to do what she wants.
Posted By: Who? (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 10:14 PM
I'm sure we haven't seen or heard the last of this woman. Like Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers, she'll keep coming back.
Posted By: Josh (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 10:14 PM
I am amused by Palin's behavior. First the garbage with her "outrage" over the Letterman thing, and now this. Republicans have almost nothing going for them at this point. (not that Gov. Palin was a point of pride or something!)
Posted By: educated savage (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 10:41 PM
This isn't good. Bobby Jindal is going to be a big problem for the Dems. Sarah Palin would have meant a sure fire victory.
Posted By: Guest#2673 (Guest) on July 03, 2009 at 11:52 PM
i want to have sex with palin .
Posted By: DX (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 12:23 AM
Salary as Governor of Alaska: $125,000.
Contract to pose for my magazine: $1,000,000.
You do the math.
Posted By: Hugh Hefner (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 12:33 AM
dick cheney is the reason the mccain/palin ticket failed. it is one of the few positives he has contributed while in office. cheney was an ultra power VP, probably the most influential in american history.
every vp in the last 50 years, except for dan quayle, were major political players and not just stand ins. then comes palin. she was more like quayle and less like gore, hw bush, cheney, truman, nixon, lbj etc.
Posted By: rey (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 01:02 AM
Please please please don't run for office Palin. The GOP has suffered enough, don't put that final nail in the coffin.
Posted By: Jackal (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 01:20 AM
i voted for obama. there are some things he has done i like. there are ALOT of things he has done i dont like. the gop on the other hand, have been shooting themselves in the FEET with an AK-47 reloading after emptying the clip (limbaugh wishing for a terrorist attack, sanford, palin, cheney, etc.)
Posted By: jd (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 01:30 AM
Crow
"she would be quitting now too" Are you a member of the physic network or something?
Can you see the future or do you just know a parallel universe?
Any tips on the upcoming football season? I love Vegas in the fall.
Tell Dion Warrwick I said hello.
Posted By: John (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 01:52 AM
John,
I'm not a psychic. No one needs to be a psychic to know she'd be quitting either way. It's quite simple; just look at the old saying:
when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
And the weak (and weak minded) quit.
Would you like to defend her "quitting?" I'd love to hear it.
Posted By: Crow21 (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 02:26 AM
"This isn't good. Bobby Jindal is going to be a big problem for the Dems. Sarah Palin would have meant a sure fire victory."
Jindal is another conservative who probably has no appeal outside the base. Plus his rebuttal to Obama's state of the union address didn't do him any favors. Plus he's indian. I don't care how conservative someone is. If they're racist, they won't vote for him.
Posted By: Geoff (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 02:29 AM
Crow,
Just ribbing you a bit.To make definitive declarations about a non existent VP resignation seems silly to me, but what do I know?
As far as defending her stepping Down goes, I think there is more here than meets the eye.I think I will sit this one out until I hear more.This does not pass the smell test.
Posted By: John (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 02:47 AM
Stunning? I'm not stunned she's a quitter. We already knew she was a hypocrite who talked about refusing to accept federal stimulus money who built bridges to nowhere and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on clothing on the RNC's dime. I'm glad she quit - Alaska's better off without her and so's the country.
Posted By: Stevie J (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 06:28 AM
Ever stop and think she's a mother of a special needs child? I'm not going to call oit either way but maybe that has something to do with it.
Posted By: kimera (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 06:54 AM
She surpassed Obama celeb status getting bashed every second and her family brought into it. You know some people do the right thing for their family and some throw them under the bus. When Obama had his grandmother story come up he tried to put it under the rug and not talk about it much like his promises.
Posted By: Daniel (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 09:22 AM
Now she can star in the real "Who's Nailin' Palin." Maybe she could have a scene with Lisa Ann.
My weenus would greatly approve.
Posted By: Zingy (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Yet the author of this article thinks the Democrats are not about to implode either. They are the majority of the most unpopular Congress in history. Their President has numbers sliding and he's been proven to not be a change agent but the same left wing, socialist liberal.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 11:19 AM
John,
Of course you were ribbing me...that's what we've become to each other! Little jabs, little swipes, and occasionally, we make some salient points along the way!
Clearly, it's not definitive that as VP she would have stepped down. But that mentality of quitting is usually pervasive, almost physiological.
I think you're right--there is something else happening here. I wholly believe that a major part of the reason is because her approval ratings in Alaska have slipped some 25% since last October, oil revenues in her state are also down, and of course, she's realized that she's been stigmatized as an inept and cooky public official. Her chances for 2012 were gone by November of 2008.
But even with all that, there is something else brewing under the surface. Can't you just feel the tremors building?
Posted By: Crow21 (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 11:40 AM
"Ever stop and think she's a mother of a special needs child? I'm not going to call oit either way but maybe that has something to do with it."
Then maybe she shouldn't have accepted the VP nomination? Seriously, if she can't handle being Govenor of Alaska and raising her special needs kid, then she should have never agreed to be the President in waiting.
Can't have it both ways.
Posted By: Jake G (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 12:48 PM
Steve J.,the bridge to no where was a pet project of Ted Stevens, republican senator of Alaska.It was house bill 3058 passed in October 2005.Palin did not become governor until 2006.
I understand its the lefts time to gloat,but lets try to be accurate.
Posted By: John (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 01:12 PM
Just like how America wouldn't elect a minority President (he's not African American)? Bobby Jindal carries a lot of appeal with conservatives because he does what he says. I just don't think he'll be running in 2012, unless Obama's poll numbers continue to slip as more people realize what a failure he is.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 01:17 PM
'And this is the person conservatives wanted to be VP, possibly President should McCain's health not hold up...
And with all the now-revealed infighting between McCain and Palin...
Conservatives eat their own.
Imagine if they would have won in November...and things weren't going well...and they realized the Bush debt was much bigger and harder to deal with...and all markets were falling apart around them...
She would be quitting right now too.
At least our "celebrity messiah" is sticking to it, doing work through the tough times.
Your "celebrity messiah" would have quit on you.'
Your celebrity messiah is being a celebrity messiah and doing nothing but persisting to punch America's economic future in the crotch.
And as far as her being a conservative: At one point I think she MIGHT have been a true conservative, but now it's obvious she's nothing more than another Republican drone. Religiously conservative, perhaps. Socially and fiscally conservative? Not a chance. She's another sheep...
The GOP really needs to understand that these religious candidates are going to continue destroying their party when they get put in the spotlight. It's becoming so obvious that the grand majority of these clowns claim to be christian and then flaunt their non-christian behaviour on the world stage, destroying the credibility of anyone that ever backed them...
It's getting pretty childish.
'So unless the country is still a mess in 2012 AND the GOP finds a moderate who is their version of Obama, Obama will win reelection no matter what the conditions (hey Bush 43 did the same thing). And if this country gets turned around by the next election the GOP can forget it.'
1. Obama is not a moderate. I don't know where you got that idea, but you need to burn that place to the ground. He swings so far left it is unreal, and if you don't think that's the case, you REALLY need to read the Blueprint for Change...if you can find a copy.
2. I love how you act like the country still being in a financial mess is only a slight possibility. If Cap and Trade passes you will see economic despair the likes of which our grandparents could relate to. And should that happen there is going to be a massive house-cleaning operation of both parties in 2010. Obama will probably win his reelection, but his cronies will be all but gone.
3. The only way this economy gets turned around with Obama's policies is with a victory in a world war. So no, don't count on that happening.
I'm really hoping for The Great Depression v2.0. I'm in perfect shape to weather it and it will open the sheeps' eyes, if only for one or two elections. And maybe politicians will start acting in the best interest of the country instead of their own for once...
Posted By: The Man (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 03:38 PM
You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore.
Posted By: AdmChesterMynutz (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 03:51 PM
..why don't you try to spin this one?
Posted By: Hey Spook.. (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 04:19 PM
Michael,
One African parent + one American parent = NOT African-American?
Posted By: Scotty H (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 07:53 PM
Gotta love "The Man" because he's "hoping for The Great Depression v2.0"...
Can't get much more American than that.
Posted By: Jake G (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 10:41 PM
did she say that america needs more autistic kids?
Posted By: wtf (Guest) on July 04, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Delusional!
She basically says Alaskans are different from Americans (she keeps saying Alaskans and Americans). She says she is not a quiter, then quits! She admits that she wouldn't work because she wasn't going for re-election.
Posted By: wow (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 12:09 AM
Wow. Is Michael burning brain cells every day or what?
So according to him, in one breath, Obama is not "change," which would mean he's Bush.
Then in the next breath, he's a socialist.
I guess what Michael is saying is that George Bush was a socialist.
Posted By: Crow21 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 01:30 AM
African American refers to someone of pure African descent. This is indisputable. It's just that you crazy liberals pursued that angle because Obama had nothing else going for him besides his smile and catchphrases.
Posted By: Michael (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 01:41 AM
Micheal may well be the most retarded person to ever post on 411mania, ever.
Posted By: Guest#0493 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 04:18 AM
Michael said: African American refers to someone of pure African descent. This is indisputable. It's just that you crazy liberals pursued that angle because Obama had nothing else going for him besides his smile and catchphrases.
"Michael" must be the handle for Michael Savage when he posts here because with each successive comment, Michael gets more and more idiotic. First, Obama is not African American. Then being African American is not in dispute. And now, "crazy liberals" pushed his biracial composition because Obama had nothing else going for him.
I guess nearly 70 million Americans wanted a "nothing happening for him" guy to be president.
Really, Michael, just stop. Stop digging the hole.
Posted By: Crow21 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 12:43 PM
now look what you did, David Letterman! For shame!
Posted By: Mike (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 01:14 PM
Wow. Is Michael burning brain cells every day or what?
'So according to him, in one breath, Obama is not "change," which would mean he's Bush.
Then in the next breath, he's a socialist.
I guess what Michael is saying is that George Bush was a socialist'
Neither are socialist, but both are/were fascists.
'Gotta love "The Man" because he's "hoping for The Great Depression v2.0"...
Can't get much more American than that'
If something is going to happen anyway, might as well hope that it happens asap so it can be done with. Anyone who thinks we aren't on the verge of a complete economic breakdown ala 1931 really needs to crack open a history book.
Posted By: The Man (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 01:44 PM
There is a big difference "The Man" between saying you feel the next Great Deperession is upon us (And presumably it's all Obama's fault and has nothing to do with the guy who was at the wheel when the car ran off the cliff) but it's an entirely different scenario to say that you HOPE something terrible happens.
We're nowhere near being in the Great Depression, for the record, but even if you thought we were it doesn't give you an excuse to wish tough times on anyone. You made a drastically unAmerican statement.
Wishing death, poverty and famine on your fellow countrymen isn't the American way. Maybe you should spend a little time looking inside yourself and figuring out why you're so desperate to see others fail instead of trying to fix the problems we face.
Posted By: Jake G (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 05:37 PM
"
1. Obama is not a moderate. I don't know where you got that idea, but you need to burn that place to the ground. He swings so far left it is unreal, and if you don't think that's the case, you REALLY need to read the Blueprint for Change...if you can find a copy."
as a canadian, our prime minister is considered to be a super hard core neo con.
president obama (up here anyway) is considered to be of the same political alignment.
Posted By: Guest#7011 (Guest) on July 05, 2009 at 05:48 PM
uh haven't obama and the dems been droning on and on that this is the worst crisis since the great deperession, did obama not promise that if his stimulus passed that we would not pass 9 % unemploymennt it's 9.6 and rising, did he not promise that he would be the most transparent administration, and have bills posted 5 days before they pass yet every major piece of legislation passed so far has been rushed through, and the most recent cap and trade, had 300 pages of ammendments added at 3:00 AM on the day of the vote, and u know what if i were palin i'd quit to, becuase it seemed it didn't matter THAT OBAMA WON, they still picked and picked and picked, hello McCain Palin lost, but becuase she didn't fit the model of what a woman should be "cough" liberal, they just picked and picked and picked
Posted By: coby preimesberger (Guest) on July 06, 2009 at 02:41 AM
Michael,
Just want to make sure I have this much clear: 1 American parent + 1 African parent = NOT African American, this is correct?
Now that we've pinned ethnic origins down, let's get to work on hue! We've got to be *precise* on this now, people! I don't want any talk of 'black', 'white', etc. From now on it's beige, pale, ashy, etc.! Because it matters.
BTW, please don't lump me into the category of "crazy liberal," unless of course you can back that up with something aside from my disputing your panty-knot over Obama's skin tone.
Posted By: Scotty H (Guest) on July 06, 2009 at 11:33 AM
STAY CURRENT