Sarah Palin resigns as Governor

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VintagePunk

VintagePunk

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Alaska Governor Palin to resign in weeks - Posted


Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has announced that she is stepping down as that state's governor in a matter of weeks.

From Alaska CBC Affiliate KTVA:

At an 11:00 a.m. press conference today, Governor Sarah Palin announced that she would not seek a second term as governor. The governor continued, saying that by the end of the month she would resign from the governorship.

Palin ran as John McCain's vice-presidential running mate and is seen by many Republicans as potential Presidential candidate in 2012.

Pundits have begun to speculate on Palin's future:

Politico's GOP watcher Ben Smith says that leaving the Alaska Governor's mansion allows Palin to bang the drum more effectively for the Republicans, something that the floundering GOP needs from one of their remaining stars.

Leaving office at the end of next year, the former vice presidential hopeful will be able to travel the country more freely without facing the sort of repeated ethics inquiries she’s been fending off since returning to Alaska earlier this year.

CNN adds a bit more to the speculation:

"She thinks she has accomplished goals she has set forward," one of the sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said. "She sees what a positive influence she has had on people's lives from traveling the country in the last year."

The Post's David Frum argues that getting Palin to help the Republicans would actually be a bad thing for the party:

Palin evokes a devoted response from a large following. In the mysterious soup of motives that sustains her supporters, enthusiasm for effective governance does not seem a very major ingredient. But you'd think they would at least care whether she could campaign competently. Purdum argues intensely that she cannot - that a Palin candidacy would be the greatest self-inflicted disaster since George McGovern or Barry Goldwater.


eta - more

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/03/palin/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Gov. Sarah Palin announced Friday that she will step down as Alaska's chief executive by the end of the month. She will not seek election to a second gubernatorial term in 2010.

Palin, a Republican, was elected governor in 2006. She was tapped as Arizona Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate last year.

Palin said she was transferring authority to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who will be sworn in at the Governor's Picnic on July 25.

A Republican source close to her political team told CNN's John King that it was a "calculation" she made that "it was time to move on." The governor's "book deal and other issues" were "causing a lot of friction" in her home state, the source said, adding that he believes she is "mapping out a path to 2012."

As the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, Palin has been considered one of the front-runners for the GOP nomination in 2012. Her decision not to seek another term as governor is sure to stoke speculation that Palin is seriously eyeing a run for the White House.

In an interview last month with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Palin said she was unsure about her re-election bid because she needed to focus on her state and her family.

"So, no decision yet on either 2010 or let alone 2012?" Blitzer asked.

"No decision that I'd want to announce today," Palin responded.

Palin catapulted on the national stage last August when McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, chose her as his running mate.
 
Palin knows how to make a decision.

Sanford should take note.



I don't know what her reasons are,
but if she put family over personal ambition, she is better than most politicians I can think of.
 
A bit of an odd move, I guess. You'd think she'd at least finish her term. I doubt there's anything scandalous or threatening that's about to break, like some have speculated. She'll probably spend the next 18 months traveling, speaking, spending time with family, brushing up on policy, and announce her candidacy in late 2010 or early 2011. Nothing more than that, as far as I can see. Bad time to be a Republican, and bad time to be a governor. :shrug:
 
2861U2 said:
A bit of an odd move, I guess. You'd think she'd at least finish her term. I doubt there's anything scandalous or threatening that's about to break, like some have speculated. She'll probably spend the next 18 months traveling, speaking, spending time with family, brushing up on policy, and announce her candidacy in late 2010 or early 2011. Nothing more than that, as far as I can see. Bad time to be a Republican, and bad time to be a governor. :shrug:
Click to expand...

also, it gives her Lt Gov. whoever he is?

a better shot in the 2010 election.
 
deep said:
Palin knows how to make a decision.

Sanford should take note.



I don't know what her reasons are,
but if she put family over personal ambition, she is better than most politicians I can think of.
Click to expand...

Seriously? Now?

She's facing a lot of ethics criticism in Alaska and she's getting out before her numbers drop too much, so that she can focus on 2012. It's a political decision, period.

They're reairing the press conference now. As usual, I don't even know wtf she's saying. I've never seen a more inept speaker.


The timing's suspect, too. What do you do when you want a story out of the spotlight ASAP? Call a Friday afternoon press conference. On the Friday before a holiday weekend is even better.


Eta - Ha! The film of the press conference just cut out (on CNN) and the anchor said to Candy Crowley "I'm not even sure what she was saying..."
 
If she's running in 2012, she wouldn't start her campaign until after the Nov 2010 National Election (Congress). This is how most of them do it, anyways, so they can use resources from the National Party that are usually tied up until then.

So her resigning this far out, I think it does free her up to do more media and probably relieves her of a lot of headache, but I am not sure we can attribute this move 100% to a Presidential run. 100% political? Maybe.

I am not aware of her situation in Alaska but if what VP said is true, then maybe she's killing two birds with one stone.

In any event, she has no chance to get the Rep nomination.
They will destroy her in the primaries. It will be ugly, you can count on it.
That and you also have to factor in, she's not all that sharp of a candidate.
To say the least.
 
I guess this is what it comes to
if one can't take a 14 year old girl to a baseball game

without a joke on national T V about a ML Ballplayer knocking her up. :no:
 
Okay, so she said something to the effect of "to hunker down and continue [as Governor] would be the quitters way out."

Uh, wouldn't quitting be the quitter's way out?


BoMac said:
Elitist. :tsk:
Click to expand...

If by "elitist," you mean someone who is uncomfortable with the feeling that my IQ is dropping 10 points for every minute her speech goes on, then yeah. lol
 
U2DMfan said:
If she's running in 2012, she wouldn't start her campaign until after the Nov 2010 National Election (Congress). This is how most of them do it, anyways, so they can use resources from the National Party that are usually tied up until then.
Click to expand...



like i said: a lot of reading.

it's going to be like when Daniel is training in The Karate Kid -- she'll be out standing on a rowboat talking about JFK's invocation of the Monroe Doctrine or the various nuances of the Marshall Plan. she'll wax on about steel tariffs and then wax off about fuel standards. maybe trim a bonsai or two.
 
deep said:
15 ethics complaints

all dismissed.
Click to expand...

And you think that's all that's out there? Our dear Sarah has a way of twisting the truth - or did you ignore last fall?

Btw, she is the one that said the 15 were all cleared. Admittedly, I haven't been doing a great deal of reading about her lately, but is there a source for this other than her?
 
VintagePunk said:
Okay, so she said something to the effect of "to hunker down and continue [as Governor] would be the quitters way out."

Uh, wouldn't quitting be the quitter's way out?
Click to expand...

in actuality, by announcing she will not run in 2010
makes her a lame duck

so staying on would not be that hard.

That is why Sanford wants to stay on as a lame duck.

Stanford says quitting is the easy thing to do.

Staying on is the hard thing.

Say what you want about Palin, but I find her more credible than Sanford.
 
deep said:
in actuality, by announcing she will not run in 2010
makes her a lame duck

so staying on would not be that hard.

That is why Sanford wants to stay on as a lame duck.

Stanford says quitting is the easy thing to do.

Staying on is the hard thing.

Say what you want about Palin, but I find her more credible than Sanford.
Click to expand...

Someone who bails on the job halfway through, no matter how altruistic she tries to make her reasons for doing so, does not inspire a great deal of confidence.
 
VintagePunk said:
Admittedly, I haven't been doing a great deal of reading about her lately, but is there a source for this other than her?
Click to expand...

I would go with her statements on national TV that can and will be verified.

Or we could just go with gut feelings and our bias because she is yucky, and you know, she is like a slutty stewardess.
 
deep said:
I would go with her statements on national TV that can and will be verified.

Or we could just go with gut feelings and our bias because she is yucky, and you know, she is like a slutty stewardess.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing. :huh: I don't know what's gotten into you lately. I'm still wondering if your brother's hacked your account...
 
I read this yesterday, and found it fascinating. Kind of shows the kind of person we're dealing with, here. At best, twisting the truth to her advantage (and even that's a stretch), at worst, a bold-faced lie. Todd joined the Alaskan Independence Party, a secessionist group, by accident??


Palin E-mails Show Infighting With Staff - CBS News

Palin E-mails Show Infighting With Staff
Exclusive: Spat Over Todd Palin's Membership In Secessionist Party Was Major Distraction On Critical Day In '08 Campaign


(CBS) The tension between Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and top McCain campaign aides in the closing days of last fall's presidential campaign is elucidated in a profile in the new issue of Vanity Fair. CBS News' Scott Conroy and special contributor Shushannah Walshe, who are writing a book about Palin, reveal just one example of how the mutual frustrations went even further than what has been disclosed so far.

Internal campaign e-mails exchanged three weeks before Election Day offer a rare look at just how frustrated then Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin had become with the manner in which top McCain campaign aides were handling her candidacy. The e-mails, obtained exclusively, also highlight the power struggle and thinly veiled acrimony that pervaded the relationship between Palin and the campaign's chief strategist, Steve Schmidt.

The episode in question began when an investigative report published on the left-leaning Web site Salon.com raised questions about Palin's relationship with members of the Alaska Independence Party (AIP) when she was mayor of Wasilla. The AIP's platform calls for a vote giving Alaskans the option to secede from the United States. It had already been widely known that Todd Palin was a registered member of the AIP from 1995 to 2002 and that Governor Palin had taped a recorded greeting at the party's 2008 convention.

On the morning of Oct. 15, Palin was aboard her campaign jet and en route to New Hampshire when she happened to catch a disparaging CNN segment that touted the Salon.com story, complete with a provocative graphic at the bottom of the screen reading, "THE PALINS AND THE FRINGE."

While shaking hands after a rally later that afternoon, someone on the rope line shouted a remark at Palin about the AIP.

The comment set her off. She worried that the campaign was not sufficiently mitigating the issue of her alleged connection to the party, which despite a platform that harkens more to the Civil War than the 21st century, continued to play a serious role in Alaska politics.

Palin blasted out an e-mail with the subject line "Todd" to Schmidt, campaign manager Rick Davis and senior advisor Nicolle Wallace, copying her husband on the message (all of the e-mails are reprinted below as written).

"Pls get in front of that ridiculous issue that's cropped up all day today - two reporters, a protestor's sign, and many shout-outs all claiming Todd's involvement in an anti-American political party," Palin wrote. "It's bull, and I don't want to have to keep reacting to it ... Pls have statement given on this so it's put to bed."

Her reference to a single protestor's sign and "many shout-outs" was indicative of Palin's occasional tendency to take anecdotal evidence of a minor problem and extrapolate it into something far more menacing. The final of the three presidential debates was just hours away, which would mark the unveiling of the soon-to-be canonized Joe The Plumber.

The Joe The Plumber narrative was the Republicans' secret weapon -- the last chance to put a chink in Obama's seemingly impervious armor. It was not a time for distractions, but the campaign was compelled to deal with the drama that seemed to follow Palin wherever she went.

Schmidt hit "reply to all" less than five minutes after Palin's e-mail was sent. "Ignore it," he wrote. "He was a member of the aip? My understanding is yes. That is part of their platform. Do not engage the protestors. If a reporter asks say it is ridiculous. Todd loves america."

This clear cut response from the campaign's top dog carried an air of finality, but it did not satisfy Palin. She responded with another e-mail, adding five more names to the "cc" box, all of whom traveled on her campaign plane. They included her senior political adviser Tucker Eskew, senior aide Jason Recher, the lone traveling aide from her Alaska office Kris Perry, press secretary Tracey Schmitt and personal assistant Bexie Nobles.

Palin's insertion of the five additional staffers in the e-mail chain was an apparent attempt to rally her own troops in the face of a decision from the commanding general with which she disagreed. Her inclusion of her personal assistant was particularly telling about her quest for affirmation and support in numbers, since the young staffer was not in a position to have any input on campaign strategy.

"That's not part of their platform and he was only a 'member' bc independent alaskans too often check that 'Alaska Independent' box on voter registrations thinking it just means non partisan," Palin wrote. "He caught his error when changing our address and checked the right box. I still want it fixed."

Palin was attempting to bend the facts ever so slightly to fit neatly into her version of events. In truth, the box that Alaskans have the option of checking when registering to vote states the full name of the party, "Alaskan Independence Party," not "Alaska Independent," which would make an error by uncommitted voters more plausible.

Clearly irritated by what he saw as Palin's attempt to mislead her own campaign and apparently determined to demonstrate that the ultimate authority rested with him, Schmidt put the matter to rest once and for all with a longer response to everyone in the e-mail chain.

"Secession," he wrote. "It is their entire reason for existence. A cursory examination of the website shows that the party exists for the purpose of seceding from the union. That is the stated goal on the front page of the web site. Our records indicate that todd was a member for seven years. If this is incorrect then we need to understand the discrepancy. The statement you are suggesting be released would be innaccurate. The innaccuracy would bring greater media attention to this matter and be a distraction. According to your staff there have been no media inquiries into this and you received no questions about it during your interviews. If you are asked about it you should smile and say many alaskans who love their country join the party because it speeks to a tradition of political independence. Todd loves his country

We will not put out a statement and inflame this and create a situation where john has to adress this."

Schmidt's rebuttal to Palin's suggestion that reporters had asked her about the issue was particularly blunt in that it implicitly questioned her truthfulness. Furthermore, his unwillingness to budge an inch on the matter was a remarkable assertion of his power to pull rank over the candidate herself.

Palin was silent after his second e-mail and the campaign did not issue the statement she demanded.

Reached on his cell phone on Wednesday, Schmidt declined to comment on the e-mail exchange. "I was proud to work for the McCain-Palin ticket," he said. "We did our best in an extraordinarily difficult year. I wish that all this stuff could all be left in the past where it belongs because Barack Obama won the election and he's President of the United States. It's all over, it's in the past."

Jason Recher, who remains a staunch Palin supporter and recently accompanied the governor on a trip to New York, said he hoped people would focus more on positive memories from the campaign.

"These internal communications and debates are in reference to a campaign that no longer exists," Recher said. "It proves wrong the anonymous claims that Governor Palin didn't seek or follow counsel from senior strategists on a wide array of issues. Sarah Palin has moved on with her life and continues to have a positive impact on so many. We should follow her lead and do the same."

Since Election Day, Palin has made only infrequent jaunts to the Lower 48 and has no public plans to cross the political Rubicon into Iowa or New Hampshire. But her oftentimes dysfunctional campaign experience does not seem to have swayed her from seeking national office.

In a recent interview with "Runner's World" magazine, the avid long distance runner was asked if there was a part of her that would have been reluctant to leave behind the Alaskan landscape and move to Washington, D.C., had the outcome in November been different. Notably, Palin did not use the past tense in her response. She was instead rather blunt in acknowledging that a future move to the nation's capital is something she can envision.

"Alaska would be hard to give up because it is such a part of who I am. So much of my life revolves around the great outdoors that that would be kind of tough," Palin said. "But on the other hand, I think of being in D.C. and in a position to promote physical fitness and the benefits of making good decisions health-wise and being an example to others, and I know that could do some good for our country."
 
She's either:

a. taking Jonah Goldberg advice and actually do some reading over the next few years.

b. about to be exposed on something and is making a preemptive resignation.

c. is truly doing this for the right reasons and not running for office in 2012.

If she is planning to run in 2012 this is one of the dumbest moves she can make, but I wouldn't put it past her...:shrug:
 
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