So the big news of the day is Sarah Palin’s resignation as governor of Alaska.
Supposedly, Palin has grown sufficiently sick of being savaged by the media as to warrant resignation. MSNBC is running a report that says she wants to be out of politics entirely, to take the time to raise her family.
Of course, many people are unwilling to believe that someone as fond of the spotlight as Palin would truly be getting out of it for good. Thus, the theories are flying – what does this resignation really mean? Especially regarding 2012?
One theory is that she’s pregnant again. All things considered, I’m not sure that would stop her from working or running – there were times when Trig seemed as much a campaign prop as anything else.
Another is that she is, in fact, doing this in order to free herself from any constraint on running for the Presidency in 2012. This, to me, seems somewhat illogical, since it gives all of her primary opponents the ammunition of ‘she ditched her state once her numbers dropped and oil revenues slowed down, how’s she going to handle the Presidency?’.
Last but not least, she may be planning to run for Lisa Murkowski’s Senate seat in 2010, thus keeping her in Washington and close to the power elite while she builds for a run at the Presidency in 2016. This would also allow her to avoid having to run against Obama’s re-election juggernaut, which is likely to be formidable, and allow some of her 2008 issues to fade from memory. Murkowski herself seems to be aware of this possibility, given that she slammed Palin’s decision before the ink was dry.
So what do you think, faithful readers? What’s going on behind the trademark wink?
That Other Blog, Way Over There 
There are also rumors of a federal indictment on using public funds on her house in Wasilla. Hard to say. Her speech was a bit on the frantic side, and left more questions than it answered. Weird woman there.
@jammer5
There are all kinds of rumors going around, many involving some or other impending scandal.
Honestly, even assuming that she’s totally clean and none of the ethics charges end up sticking, I think she’s too much of a liability for the party to pick her in ’12, unless they’re already resigned to losing that election and are planning on getting her out of the way while they build momentum for a more realistic candidate for 2016. (Crist? Jindal? See my 2012 tab above.)
I’m not sure what the angle is, yet. I agree that this doesn’t seem like a great step toward the presidency. I’ll just keep watching and waiting.
@f.B
I have no doubt that we haven’t seen the last of Sarah. The question is simply what she will rebrand herself as.
I do think that she was out of her depth in the ’08 campaign, but I also believe that part of what came across was her trying to fit into the role she was given by McCain’s strategists rather than the ‘real’ Sarah Palin. Her speech when she was first picked as running mate was eloquent and electrifying, and it was downhill from then on. But one speech – Obama notwithstanding – doesn’t make a successful candidate.
McNamara dead at 93
Truthfully? I think she’s a quitter.
Since coming back to Alaska from the campaign trail, she hasn’t gotten the adoration and love she maybe wants. Her one nominee this year.. head of Public Works, was it? Was Unanimously rejected. She hasn’t done very much law-passing or anything either.
I think that’s why she mentioned the lame-duck thing, because she was. She wasn’t capable of pushing her agenda through anymore and on top of everything else going on, the constant media attention (which she invites, but doesn’t always work FOR her) and criticism, she finally cracked and gave up.
INTERESTINGLY, I read that she fired two people a DAY before quitting herself, both working for the Alaskan Health Agency because they wouldn’t revise their comments for her (they weren’t actually going to disagree with her stances, she just wanted to edit their comments…)
Link: http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/06/palin-fires-womens-health-champion.html
Don’t know if that has anything to do with anything. But it might.
Ya, simgod, that’s just nuts. She’s on a streak, and I imagine many more will be added to the unemployment rolls before she’s done. Just a fruitcake, or so it’s rumored 🙂
@simgod
Well, they say that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. They neglect to mention that those who aren’t tough… quit.
Hard to believe after this that Palin has the toughness to do anything further in the political sphere. Maybe she can be the next Rush Limbaugh, who can spout any vile lie he wants without any discernible effect on his career.
@sekanblogger
I don’t actually know enough about McNamara to make an informed comment on the parallel, though I can see places where one might be drawn.
@jammer5
Nuts is right.
As a corollary, if nuts = right, then right = nuts, which does dovetail nicely with some of the observable phenomena.
Does anyone think it’s possible there are people in power behind the scenes who are looking for the person who isn’t smart enough to know their strings are being pulled? Was bush the lesser an anomaly?
I honestly thought the election of George Bush, was an aberration. Now I think it might actually be true that Republicans have so “dumbed down” their party that it may be beyond any hope of recovery.
Do people who honestly think the earth is less than 10,000 years old have the ability to use critical thinking skills?