You know, I keep thinking that she can’t surprise me anymore, but how the hell do you see this coming?
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.
I just heard David Shuster say that if she does resign, her political future is done, and I’m inclined to agree. None other than Harry S. Truman said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” And if Sarah Palin thinks she can use this to martyr herself and run on an anti-media ticket, she’s dumber than any of us thought. This move, in and of itself, is only mildly damaging to Republicans. But more important is what it opens her up to. Her primary opponents will rip her a new one, and rightfully so.
You can’t quit President because you don’t like it. You can’t quit governor because of stress, then say you want to be President. It doesn’t work that way. For God’s sake, Obama has death threats constantly, is presiding over a deep recession that has him criticized by both parties, and has to very carefully balance the world’s most unstable region to avoid a new world war.
UPDATE: OMG!!!!! She’s doing this so she can make a difference outside of government? WOW. She’s still sounding like she thinks she can run for President after this. I’ll tell you now, that ain’t true. It’s all well and good to say that government is wasteful. Now how the hell you gonna change that when you quit the position you could take to change it? You wanna win conservatives? You gotta pretend to be the next Reagan. And whatever you might say about Reagan, he wasn’t a damn quitter.
Just…. stunned. Hopefully I’m misreading this… oddly cheerful press conference. The fact that she is resigning with a smile on her face and an attempt at inspirational language is weird enough. When was the last time someone resigned with a smile? And am I crazy, or did she also kinda say that she was quitting because she wants her legacy intact, meaning she wants to quit because governing is getting too hard to do it effectively?
UPDATE 2: Now MSNBC is saying that their sources say she is quitting politics for good. To me, that seems like it could mean she’s “quitting” politics like John McCain “suspended” his campaign or how The Undertaker was “buried alive” in the WWE.
But if she really is, then I actually have respect for her, because that means she is likely starting a new career as a media personality, which is an extremely savvy move. Her potential as a media personality is huge, she could be on the same playing field in Christian radio as a James Dobson instantly just recording messages FROM HER OWN HOUSE. I’d hate it, but I’d respect the smartness. Lord knows it’s worked out for Joe Scarborough.
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