Upcoming
Youth in Revolt
January 15
January 22
Drool
The Girl on the Train
Ding-Dong, Witch Is Dead
Sarah Palin's decision to resign from the Alaska governorship means she's done, finito...a political corpse. If you have a job or a responsibility, you don't walk away. That's the responsible American way. You do your best and see it through as best you can. Unless...you know, you're emotionally unbalanced and unable to man up and do the thing. Either way you've lost all credibility.
NBC's Andrea Mitchell has just said that she's heard Palin has told friends that "she's out of politics, period...she doesn't want to seek elective office."
My first reaction -- hell, everyone's first reaction -- was that nobody resigns from a major political office unless they've been pressured or squeezed out. Something clearly "happened." Perhaps there's some kind of smoking gun yet to be revealed? Or...this sounds silly and reaching but could Todd Purdum's Vanity Fair piece be responsible to some degree?
This from Rolling Stone:
"WTF? Sarah Palin has pulled the plug on her governorship. Before the end of her only term. At an impromptu press conference. At her house. On a Friday. Before the 4th of July. And refuses to answer questions.
"This is not in keeping with a woman with presidential ambitions.
"And certainly not in keeping with a politician who has learned to milk a media frenzy for every last drop (see Letterman, David.)
"No. This has the hallmarks of a politician slinking away before the shit hits the fan.
"Really. If this were some double-bank-shot designed to bolster her presidential standing (as the AP seems to suggest) would Sarah Palin choose to duck out on the first day of a three-day weekend? When the entire American mediaplex is off buying ice for the cooler?
"No way.
"Another shoe is about to drop, but what is it?
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 3, 2009 at 1:10 PM
comment #1
dangovich
says ...
I wish it were true, but they said the same thing about Nixon before his Checkers speech.
So does this mean we'll have a "Trig speech" at some point?
Posted by dangovich
at July 3, 2009 1:34 PM
comment #2
George Prager
says ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IBZocFkXGY
Posted by George Prager
at July 3, 2009 1:37 PM
comment #3
Gordie Lachance
says ...
As I posted here a couple of weeks ago during the Letterman bruhaha, this is a woman with no higher aspirations than a daytime talk show, who needs to get on it before everyone forgets who she is.
I love the way she mockingly calls out the press for being on a baseless witch hunt, as if the office of US Governor isn't already a national embarrassment (McGreevy, Spitzer, Sanford).
Posted by Gordie Lachance
at July 3, 2009 2:00 PM
comment #4
KC
says ...
God underneath all the "is this shit really happening" laughs and good times, she has been such a frustrating villain. Hate her in paricular because she is the sort of embarrassing feminist nightmare that gets conservative boners popping for all the worst reasons while prompting liberal dudes to unleash a lot of nasty latent sexism.It will be a great relief if she really never again holds any sway over the direction of American politics, and maybe an even greater one if I never again find myself feeling obligated to defend her
Posted by KC
at July 3, 2009 2:00 PM
comment #5
Geoff
says ...
Purdum's Vanity Fair piece is an essential must read article. It just confirms, well, everything.
And so many people defended this woman in '08....
Posted by Geoff
at July 3, 2009 2:07 PM
comment #6
lazarus
says ...
In keeping with the above remarks, I wonder how many of those "liberal dudes" are hoping that the predicted smoking gun turns out to be a sex tape?
Would that be enough to steal the thunder from Jacko?
Posted by lazarus
at July 3, 2009 2:07 PM
comment #7
coxcable
says ...
Greta Van Susteren should be afraid right now.
If this announcement isn't attached to a scandal, Mrs Palin will have her own Fox News show within a year. The most powerful people on the Right now are well paid media types and this would be a match made in lunatic heaven.
And admit it, fellow lefties... the photogenic, cocky Sarah Palin would be must see tv.
Posted by coxcable
at July 3, 2009 2:09 PM
comment #8
KC
says ...
I think it would be a beautiful thing for our country if Palin turned out to be the other party in the John Edwards sex tape. No more red states, no more blue states, just a great fleshy curtain of pink from sea to shining sea
Posted by KC
at July 3, 2009 2:13 PM
comment #9
dinther
says ...
Palin is leaving so that she can claim she is above "petty, partisan politics" when she launches her WH bid in 2011. she will be insulated from the scrutiny that accompanies public office and will bail before Alaska's economy bottoms. Plus, she can criticize from a pundit's chair without having to know anything or be accountable, ala Gingrich and Hannity.
Posted by dinther
at July 3, 2009 2:22 PM
comment #10
corey3rd
says ...
She's ready to cash in on all the offers hinted at by Uncle Rupert Murdoch. She's got a couple million dollars lined up on the book deal - now she she can focus on writing it instead of the ethics hearing. She can get her own Paula Dean show on Fox News. The things you can do with a Mooseburger. Todd can get his own outdoor sportsman show on Fox Sports.
She'll be making Ann Coulter money without that annoying Adam's Apple.
Posted by corey3rd
at July 3, 2009 2:40 PM
comment #11
markj
says ...
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Posted by markj
at July 3, 2009 2:43 PM
comment #12
Phatang!
says ...
There's simply no question there's a scandal here. This was the worst orchestrated "public statement" from a major political figure I've ever seen. She was a nervous wreck.
Posted by Phatang!
at July 3, 2009 2:47 PM
comment #13
Skip McCoy, American
says ...
Congratulations, the Democratic party and media have now demonstrated a clear paradigm for destroying female politicians with families.
Money well spent on the liberal side, Emily's List.
Posted by Skip McCoy, American
at July 3, 2009 3:02 PM
comment #14
George Prager
says ...
So...Skip Mcoy, American.......what are your views on Hispanic Party Elephants?
Posted by George Prager
at July 3, 2009 3:05 PM
comment #15
frankbooth
says ...
Wow. Just got out of Public Enemies and I see this...too much to process. News is coming fast and furious these days.
Let's hope it's a career-killing scandal so we can breathe a sigh of relief, forget her and get on with our lives.
Oh, and coxcable: she wouldn't be "must-see" anything. So far I've seen nothing of what I'm told is wall-to-wall Michael Jackson coverage, other than the headlines I've glimpsed -- and then ignored -- online. (And what I've read here, of course, which has been highly amusing. )
It's not that hard to tune out the shit and the noise. Life's too short. Show some backbone.
Posted by frankbooth
at July 3, 2009 3:10 PM
comment #16
cinefan
says ...
I'm hoping for a career-killing scandal. I have no interest in seeing Palin again unless it's in a 10-page Playboy pictorial.
Posted by cinefan
at July 3, 2009 3:21 PM
comment #17
AH
says ...
Its a set-up. She is going to run for president on the "I don't want to be in politics but I am in the race for you" theme.
Posted by AH
at July 3, 2009 3:29 PM
comment #18
MilkMan
says ...
She'll be back. She's like a porn star; she just needs a break for a while. Give her some time to rejuvenate. In a year or two she'll get the itch, crave the attention, the cock, the money, whatever. This is a classic example of someone making a spectacle of their departure in order to feel wanted. She is pathetic and she's never going away. Ever. She'll be back for her next fix. They always come back.
Posted by MilkMan
at July 3, 2009 3:39 PM
comment #19
Glenn Kenny
says ...
I'm pretty much on the same page as you, Jeff, but come on; lighten up. Get some enjoyment out of the most hilariously embarrassing moment in American politics since "You won't have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore." (Then again, that didn't quite work out, did it?)
Milkman: "She's like a porn star." Hell, I WISH...
(Again. Kidding.)
Posted by Glenn Kenny
at July 3, 2009 3:59 PM
comment #20
SpinDozer
says ...
"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."
Quoted from Sullivan's blog. The Guv's intellect is phenomenal. Is there a precedence for using the 'quitter's way out' in a resignation speech?
Posted by SpinDozer
at July 3, 2009 4:12 PM
comment #21
Marty Melville
says ...
Wolcott FTW: "Sarah Palin Quits While She's Behind"
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/wolcott/2009/07/im-watching-sarah-palins-fan.html
Posted by Marty Melville
at July 3, 2009 4:27 PM
comment #22
SpinDozer
says ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f9YQMbQMn0&feature=player_embedded
Personally, I can't believe we passed up the opportunity to have this fine leader in charge of our nuclear inventory...
Posted by SpinDozer
at July 3, 2009 4:43 PM
comment #23
BurmaShave
says ...
quitter's way makes me think of CUTTER'S WAY, which makes me think of Sarah Palin charging the White House on horseback, which is probably coming sometime soon.
Posted by BurmaShave
at July 3, 2009 5:20 PM
comment #24
BurmaShave
says ...
dinther says ...
Palin is leaving so that she can claim she is above "petty, partisan politics" when she launches her WH bid in 2011. she will be insulated from the scrutiny that accompanies public office and will bail before Alaska's economy bottoms. Plus, she can criticize from a pundit's chair without having to know anything or be accountable, ala Gingrich and Hannity.
That would make sense, if she were doing this Summer 2010.
Posted by BurmaShave
at July 3, 2009 5:22 PM
comment #25
Travis Crabtree
says ...
There are currently giant columns of smoke pouring from the Huffington Post server as we speak.
Posted by Travis Crabtree
at July 3, 2009 5:26 PM
comment #26
renorambler
says ...
Perhaps another idea of why she abruptly quit?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-07-03/did-a-scandal-sink-the-uss-palin/?cid=hp:mainpromo2
Posted by renorambler
at July 3, 2009 5:50 PM
comment #27
SpinDozer
says ...
Yeah, Reno, this definitely smells like a scandal and NOT positioning for campaigning in 2012.
Posted by SpinDozer
at July 3, 2009 6:05 PM
comment #28
Travis Crabtree
says ...
She is worse than Hitler, Genghis Khan, Pol Pot, Joy Behar, Rudolph Hess and Ivan the Terrible........COMBINED!
Posted by Travis Crabtree
at July 3, 2009 6:16 PM
comment #29
arturobandini2
says ...
As we all learned last fall, if you want Palin dirt, you'll hear it from her neighbors first:
http://www.themudflats.net/
Posted by arturobandini2
at July 3, 2009 6:20 PM
comment #30
COCO
says ...
''THE FISHING IS ALWAYS BETTER WHEN YOU HAVE THE TIME TO ENJOY IT.''
She moves quick.....watch for it.....
Posted by COCO
at July 3, 2009 6:59 PM
comment #31
sumo-pop
says ...
Good fucking riddance.
http://sumopopblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/cant-anybody-here-play-this-game.html
http://sumopopblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/miss-alaska.html
Posted by sumo-pop
at July 3, 2009 7:46 PM
comment #32
SpinDozer
says ...
'Good fucking riddance.'
For real, if the GOP gives the kiss off to the Palin-constituency. The risk sensible people face, if Palin has, as it appears, self-immolated, is that the GOP will conjur someone who appeals to GOP mooks as much as Palin does and, somehow, not offend, the non-asshole pool of voters as Palin did. Theoretically, I welcome the opposition ofthe GOP, if for nothing else, to keep the Democrats somewhat honest. But, honestly, I consider the potential of a legit GOP opposition to be so remote that I prefer they tie a Palin-like albatross around their necks to alienate all but the lunatic-fringe party apparatchiks. That may be a bit risk averse for some, but that's the way I read the landscape today.
Posted by SpinDozer
at July 3, 2009 8:21 PM
comment #33
SpinDozer
says ...
'as Palin did' (offend the non-asshole pool of voters that is).
Posted by SpinDozer
at July 3, 2009 8:48 PM
comment #34
DeeZee
says ...
dangovich: Nixon was an opportunistic and two-faced scumbag of an Alpha male. Palin doesn't have the capability to seize that kind of power for herself, and she knows it. [Hillary had the opposite problem, which is that she had the ability, but she didn't have the street smarts.]
George: I guess Polanski was using Dunaway as "practice"
Geoff: The only people who defended her just didn't want a black guy as President.
lazarus: Considering what her family's like, a sex tape would be the least of Palin's problems. My bet is she's got a bunch of dirty campaign money from at least one of the bailed-out banks and/or realtors which screwed over our economy.
Skip: "Congratulations, the Democratic party and media have now demonstrated a clear paradigm for destroying female politicians with families."
I like how you're totally ignoring the regular garbage spewed against Hillary, Nancy, and Plame by conservative talking-heads.
Posted by DeeZee
at July 4, 2009 3:47 AM
comment #35
Yuval
says ...
Mgmax is back and he thinks the democratic party and the media destroyed Palin (and her family was part of the motive).
Posted by Yuval
at July 5, 2009 9:10 AM
Post a comment