Published Saturday, July 04, 2009 12:08 AM
Gov. Palin steps down
By RACHEL D'ORO
Associated Press
WASILLA, Alaska -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abruptly announced Friday that she was resigning from office at the end of the month, a shocking move that rattled the Republican Party but left open the possibility that she would seek a run for the White House in 2012.
Palin, 45, and her staff kept her plans shrouded in mystery, and it was unclear whether the controversial hockey mom would quietly return to private life or begin laying the foundation for a presidential bid.
Palin's spokesman, David Murrow, said the governor hadn't said anything to him about this being her "political finale." He said he interpreted a Palin comment about working outside government as reflecting only her current job.
"She's looking forward to serving the public outside the governor's chair," he said.
And Pam Pryor, a spokeswoman for Palin's political action committee SarahPAC, said the group continued to accept donations on its Web site, with an uptick in funds after Palin's announcement.
In a hastily arranged news conference at her home in suburban Wasilla, Palin said she would formally step down July 26 and that Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell would be inaugurated at the governor's picnic in Fairbanks. She said she had decided against running for re-election as Alaska's governor and believed it was best to leave office even though she had two years left to her term.
"Many just accept that lame-duck status, and they hit that road. They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that," she said.
The 2008 vice presidential nominee was seen as a likely presidential contender in 2012 and had proved formidable among the party's base. But the last week brought a highly critical piece in Vanity Fair magazine in which unnamed campaign aides questioned whether Palin was ever really prepared for the presidency.
The backbiting continued through the week, with follow-up articles recounting the nasty infighting that plagued her failed vice presidential bid. Her advisers sniped with other Republicans, underscoring the deeply divided GOP looking for its next standard bearer.
Meghan Stapleton, Palin's personal spokeswoman, shot down speculation that ranged wildly from Palin dropping out of politics altogether to eyeing runs against fellow Alaska Republicans U.S. Rep. Don Young and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Palin's comment about serving outside government referred to the present, she said.
Stapleton, however, said it was too early to say whether Palin would seek the presidency. In the meantime, the governor will continue to work "toward affecting positive change as a citizen without a title right now," she said.
"Her vision is what's best for Alaska, which translates into what's best for America," Stapleton said.
Palin's resignation, timed on the eve of the Fourth of July holiday when many Americans had already begun a three-day weekend, seemed designed to avoid publicity. She alluded to how she could help change the country and help military members -- indicating, perhaps, that she didn't think her time on the national stage was over.
Jerry McBeath, a veteran political science professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, called the pending resignation a "smart move," both for Palin and the state.
"Alaska is an isolated stage from which to operate if you want to figure in American national politics. I don't know what she has in mind. Some TV show or some national radio show. There are opportunities for her, I'm sure."
But political analyst Larry Sabato, in Charlottesville, Va., said Palin's announcement left many confused.
"It's absolutely bizarre, and I think it eliminates her from serious consideration for the presidency in 2012," he said.
Palin said her family weighed heavily in her decision.
"I polled the most important people in my life, my kids, where the count was unanimous," she said. "Well, in response to asking, 'Hey, you want me to make a positive difference and fight for all our children's future from outside the governor's office?' It was four yeses and one 'Hell, yeah!' And the 'Hell, yeah' sealed it."
Comments
22 comment(s) found!
Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 10:27 PM
Comment Title: Proud of Palin
I am proud of Sarah Palin, she is unlike our president who spent taxpayer money running for an office while he was suppose to be working for the people of Illinois, this shows that he has little character about him. If Palin does not run for office she is doing what she feels is best for her state and the people who elected her to this office. You can't do a job if your heart is not in it. I am proud of her convictions and I hope if she does run for President that she is elected on her values and principles and not simply her name. I feel that she would do an excellent job if she were elected. We can't get much worse than what we have at this time, a man who has no convictions and does not want to hear what the people are saying to him.
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Posted by:
Teddy On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 9:01 PM
Comment Title: Only Dead Fish Go With The Flow
Is Sarah Palin’s political career over? No. Will Sarah Palin have an impact on politics in the future? Yes. The real questions are not about Palin at all, the real questions are about the Republican Party. Sarah Palin may be a live fish, but she does not have the political foresight, not just to swim upstream, but to know which way the current is flowing. The truth is that the Republican Party is the dead fish going with the old conservative flow, and the question is whether or not there is a live fish that can swim upstream. www.leftofcollegestation.com
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 7:57 PM
Comment Title:
If McCain had been elected, would Palin have quit. I know all you anti-democrats can elect her next time as Prez and we can see. Palin is the kind of stable person that should be nominated for Vice-President of the US.
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 5:30 PM
Comment Title:
How sad it is that so many have forgotten the leadership of the last administration. We are finally getting out of Iraq but still suffering the economy left by W and Co.
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 5:20 PM
Comment Title:
Do you mean this thread? http://www.theeagle.com/local/CS-man--18--jailed-on-Ecstasy-charge
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 4:30 PM
Comment Title:
"Don't forget that GWB & Cheney spent their time cleaning up Bill's mess ..." ----------------------------------------- Yeah, no wars and a budget surplus. What a mess they inherited. It's appropriate the there is so much discussion of weed on this thread, as you have apparently smoked quite a bit.
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 2:20 PM
Comment Title: clean up this mess GWB & Cheney made.
Don't forget that GWB & Cheney spent their time cleaning up Bill's mess and had no help from the democrats.
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Posted by:
Sabrina On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 2:16 PM
Comment Title: Sarah speaks the truth
In reading the blogs below and all the hatred aimed toward this woman is simply amazing. I am a new fan and even more so now that this woman could stand up to all and explain her love for her state, country and family and all she gets is negativity. People can't speak their mind anymore if it goes against the new regime and for her guts and openness with the public (I watched the speech) the magnet on her parents refridgerator says it all. Read the speech if you want to know what I mean. And YES....if she runs and I am a Texas Born and registered voter who actually does vote would be proud to vote for her. But I do not think that she would run and a country song comes to mind about "Taking this Job....." Way TO GO SARAH....you go girl.
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Posted by:
truthbtold On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 1:00 PM
Comment Title: "Palin is undependable"
Sarah Palin is nothing but a bunch of talk. She has done nothing but kept up a bunch of 'uproar' since she became a VP candidate. Someone that I have conversated with- who was her neighbor in Alaska says that she likes to hog the parking areas when she give engagements at her home;but when others in the neighborhood have engagements...she calls the police if they take up parking spaces. This is just like a typical Republican,who wants to make the laws but do not want to follow those laws themselves.If Sarah Palin is so honest why did she have to pay Alaska back $8000 for sending her children on trips with the government funds. My guess is that she stepped down so that she and her husband could resume annexing Alaska from the US again. Then she could dictate Alaska as she had planned on doing for the US. We all know that John McCain didn't stand a chance to be President with her waiting to take over his job. His staff hated her...that should speak loud and clear...but all you guys are worried about is getting a black man out of office...who by far has not had a fair opportunity to clean up this mess GWB & Cheney made. Those two and their friends(the big oil companies)are the only ones that are not suffering from this recession. Ironic!!
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Posted by:
E On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 12:37 PM
Comment Title: r.e. Jeff
Jeff, no personal information is needed to see that Palin's behavior is bizarre, and irresponsible. How is viewing her speech, and commenting upon it, parroting what you believe the so-called 'liburl' media promulgates? I went to CNN.com for the complete speech after viewing an edited part of it on KBTX-TV and HLN. Do you assert that make me some kind of media dupe for watching news programs, and then seeking the complete speech? In my earlier comment wasn't describing coverage or punditry--just the speech. I also looked at The National Review site, and there even noticed criticism from Karl Rove & Mike Huckabee (a link to cqpolitics.com yielding a transcript of 'Fox News Sunday'.) I later read the recent Vanity Fair article, and the 11 resignation theories on The Daily Beast site. Jeff, there's nothing yet by Olberman, because she chose to announce on a 3 day holiday weekend. I found a 12th theory at NPR.org: that quitting worked for her before: after resigning as Chairperson of the Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, she eventually came out of the wilderness as an outsider, and was elected governor. Maybe you feel that she quit because the media hurt her feelings (Theory #1, The Daily Beast.) Or maybe she quit because 'liburls' infiltrated Alaska state politics in the form of ethics investigations (Theory #7, The Daily Beast), which she vaguely referred to in her speech.The only possible positive explanation for her quitting, is for her to prepare for a presidential bid in 2012. The Vanity Fair piece speaks at length of her history of preparation, giving me some justification in thinking such an enterprise would be unlikely. Even if (given her intellectual & oratorial prowess, that's a titanic 'if' ) she didn't quit such a protracted and intense endeavor, and a politically-competent Palin emerged, she can't un-ring all the many bells (scandals, lies, leaked e-mails,...) to date. Perhaps her motive was a compound of several of these theories. Oh BTW, Jeff, the fµ¢ktard Bush and the litany of his colossal screw-ups, along with McCain's failure to distance himself from them, are much more behind our citizenry electing Obama than a lack of thought, or uncritical consumption of media hype or bombast--the latter sounds like your side of the aisle (Fox News, Limbaugh, Heritage Foundation,...)
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Posted by:
tb On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 11:43 AM
Comment Title: Get rid of Bo Bo!
PLEASE just get rid of BO BO...anyone is ok ...but not the clown in office now! Sarah Palin would be GREAT!
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Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 06, 2009 12:22 AM
Comment Title:
Maybe she will move to Bryan and clean it up. The Run for president.
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Posted by:
Steve '00 On:
Saturday, July 04, 2009 11:28 PM
Comment Title:
Faux News gets a new talking head with no brain!
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Posted by:
On:
Saturday, July 04, 2009 8:15 PM
Comment Title: ONE FLEW OVER..........
The spokesperson said that she would work, "toward affecting positive change as a citizen without a title right now." I take that to mean that she will finally address some of her severe mental health issues. That would be a good thing and could encourage some of her groupies to do likewise.
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Posted by:
On:
Saturday, July 04, 2009 5:23 PM
Comment Title:
After that farewell speech it is easy enough to see where her career is heading … straight to Saturday Night Live _ why use Tina Fey when you can have the real thing?
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Posted by:
On:
Saturday, July 04, 2009 3:38 PM
Comment Title: _____THANK GOD AND GREYHOUND_____
Far too much ink has been wasted on this Tammmy Fay wanna be. Can't we just let her fade away from the headlines. Then, we can thank God and Greyhound she's gone.
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Posted by:
Bring Back Goldwater! On:
Saturday, July 04, 2009 2:50 PM
Comment Title:
Sarah Palin is a joke that everyone is in on except for Sarah Palin. She represents the dumb wing of the Republican Party. Those who believe that the earth is 6,000 years old. Lee Hamilton fist courted these voters during Reagan\'s first election. He called them \"the people with the extra chromosome.\" From a purely political perspective, it was brilliant. Unfortunately, these people controlled the White House and both houses of Congress from 2001 to 2007. They spent money like it grew on trees and still managed to run the economy into the ground. A note to Dick Cheney... Deficits *do* matter!
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Posted by:
Foursquare On:
Saturday, July 04, 2009 2:29 PM
Comment Title: Her Fan Club Members Speak
Jeff, I don't need to be a relative of Sarah Palin to know she's a publicity hound. Where have you been for the past 10 months or so ? And the comment by Loser Police is an example of why so many Texans should not be allowed to vote.
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Posted by:
Loser Police On:
Saturday, July 04, 2009 12:11 PM
Comment Title:
If she runs for president, she's gote my vote. We have got to get rid of B.O.!
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Posted by:
Jeff On:
Saturday, July 04, 2009 11:35 AM
Comment Title:
Wow! "foursquare" and "E" have both made comments requiring information that only people who know Palin personally would know! Or they can read minds! Or, they parrot the liberal media like mindless drones. This is why we have Obama. Because people won't think. They just listen to Couric/Olberman/Huff post.
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Posted by:
Foursquare On:
Saturday, July 04, 2009 10:32 AM
Comment Title: Just sit down and be quiet
Everything this woman does is calculated to draw the maximum public attention, so something in this story smells fishy to me. Why did John McCain decide it was necessary to drag her out of obscurity and put her in the spotlight ?
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Posted by:
E On:
Saturday, July 04, 2009 8:59 AM
Comment Title: "Quitters way out."
Go to the CNN site and hear her entire speech. Its hilarious how she equates completing her elected term as a waste of time, resources, and money. She even tries to claim that sticking out her term would somehow be cowardly: "...it may be tempting and more comfortable to just kind of keep your head down, and plod along, and appease those who are demanding: 'hey, just sit down and shut up'. But that's a worthless, easy way out. That's a quitters way out." Now that's irony.
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