Looks like Gov. Palin is resigning... speculate below

[longeyes]

Maybe what we should be worrying about is that our next election, if it occurs, will be a dust-up between two candidates--Obama and Palin--neither of whom is anywhere near "fully there."  If Obama is a Marxist technocrat with dictatorial impulses Palin--and I like her--may be a not fully-formed EveryWoman writ large.  Both of these people appeal to our emotions but don't satisfy the hard mind.  I think deficiencies in our culture have brought us to where we are, and until those are plumbed honestly we will thrash about rather ingloriously.

[Waitone]

A few random thoughts in no particular order

--It takes substantial personal wealth to run for president something Palin ain't got now.
--She is a hot media personage now.
--She bailed out on her term now as opposed to beginning the term then commence a run for another office.
--Unless you are a resources commodities mogul Alaska is not a great base to accrue substantial personal wealth.
--If she wants a chance to improve her personal wealth situation it will have to be done in the lower 55 states.
--The media is rough on her as it was rough on Dan Quayle.  Both candidates blindsided the media with their selection.  Media couldn't go to its files and pull up information so it had to actually do some work.  Not the thing to do in an era of horse race journalism.
--Something is afoot out in flyover country as exemplified by the TEA Party movement.  It is happening in spite of national politicians best efforts.  It appears to be spontaneous and grass roots.  The fact that Big Media had a news blackout on recent rallies tells me the power elites don't really know how to deal with it. 
--Palin understands she will get nothing but indigestion and a twitchy eye from beltway republicans. So why not abandon the road map provided by northeastern elites and strike out cross country.
--TEA Parties will not go away any time soon.  They provide a useful vent for the Joe and Martha Sixpack (aka "taxpayers") as they watch an absolute orgy of taxation and spending spill out of DC.
--A traditional way for "poor" politicians to begin the process of building personal wealth is a book deal.  Substantial cash up front which is used to seed guided investments.  Promotional tours provide the excuse for face time with Joe and Martha without a political pall being cast.  Membership in think tanks is also a traditional way legitimately funneling cash to the "poor" politician while gaining some control over them.  I kinda sorta doubt it will work with Palin.

It will be interesting to see how our political Betters from both parties deal with her and her effect.  What democrats have done thus far hasn't worked.  Look to the republican establishment to figure some way of marginalizing her.

[Jamisjockey]

Palin quit her first term as Governor before it was over. 
If she were to run for president, she will be eaten for breakfast by the media, just for that. 
She's done.  Probably make some money speaking and raising money for (R) candidates. 
Otherwise, get the butter, cause that toast is done.

[Balog]

While I like a number of things about her, I think leaving the way she has is going to be very bad for her career.

[Perd Hapley]

Palin quit her first term as Governor before it was over. 
If she were to run for president, she will be eaten for breakfast by the media, just for that. 
She's done.  Probably make some money speaking and raising money for (R) candidates. 
Otherwise, get the butter, cause that toast is done.

The media has been feeding on her for almost a year now, so I'm not sure what difference it will make.  But if this keeps her from serious consideration as a pres. candidate, all the better. 

[agricola]

Palin quit her first term as Governor before it was over. 
If she were to run for president, she will be eaten for breakfast by the media, just for that. 
She's done.  Probably make some money speaking and raising money for (R) candidates. 
Otherwise, get the butter, cause that toast is done.

i) she is on the breakfast menu whatever happens, and that includes retiring from politics absolutely and staying at home;
ii) if she has genuinely decided to run in 2012 and work totally towards that end, it is a rare example of honesty that she quits now in order to focus on it;
iii) as Waitone says, it is taxation and what govt is doing with the money that looks like being the issue for the short and medium term - indeed, it is even the issue over here (as the spectacular non-response to the Tory "gaffe" that they would cut spending by 10% in most departments over here showed). 

[Stand_watie]

This includes the speculation of Trig's parentage and a baker's dozen of other sordid stories later shown to be exercises in fiction.

You're right.  It was completely responsible of 44-year-old Sarah to fly from Texas to Alaska leaking amniotic fluid, and anyone looking for a reason, however speculative, for why she might not have treated her baby with such casual disregard is obviously just part of the liberal attack machine. 

Her bizarre behavior didn't start the media attention, but it has sustained it since the election.

Funny hearing the strident "pro-choice" side all of a sudden becoming champions vis-a-vi  "prenatal responsibiity"

[longeyes]

And Obama walked away from his first Senatorial job...  So?

I see that a lot of people here think Palin's resignation makes her a quitter.  Somehow I really doubt most Americans care or will care about that when and if she's running for President (if she does) against someone who will be perceived as an American autocrat bent on stripping away our last freedoms.  What will matter is what she projects in terms of values and potential solutions to a republic in the throes of self-evisceration.

The days of predictable politics, with terms defined by the "elite," are over.  We are up against it, and the issue now is survival, not political business as usual.  I may be wrong; we'll see.  But I think Palin's popularity will not be substantially changed by her resignation; those who didn't like her before will find new reasons not to, that's all.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

While I like a number of things about her, I think leaving the way she has is going to be very bad for her career.

It may well prove bad for her career, but I'm not sure it was the wrong thing to do.  The media *expletive deleted*it storm she engenders was probably getting in the way of her doing her job as governor.  A true leader puts the job ahead of himself (herself), and it sounds like that's what Palin decided to do by resigning.  The media will no doubt try to ignore this fact, but she did a very selfless thing by standing down.

[Boomhauer]

And if the Lt. Governer is competent, as stated earlier in this thread, then the state is not getting shortchanged.

[tyme]

Both Palin (who had already carried four other children to term) and her obstetrician thought her good-to-go.  Not only that, she was induced when she arrived home, indicating she was no where near labor.   

Not quite.  There's more to it than what you found in a few minutes of googling.  The doctor she called (Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who also ended up delivering the baby) was her GP, not an obstetrician.  That was part of the reason the rumor grew wings.  Once Palin landed in Anchorage, which had a NICU, she drove 45 minutes to this place, which doesn't, because she was more comfortable having her GP deliver the baby (she'd also delivered one of Palin's previous babies).

Palin was 44.  That's well into high-risk territory.  Combined with the Down syndrome diagnosis, the fact that she had leaked amniotic fluid and felt contractions (Palin differentiated them from fake contractions she'd been experiencing previously), do you really think you can find an obstetrician who recommends getting on a plane in that situation?  It seems to me like her GP was in over her head, and let Palin do whatever she wanted.

The fact that her labor was induced only seems to confirm that whatever happened in Texas was medically significant.  Palin was just under 8 months pregnant.  Why would they induce labor that early without a good reason?

Funny hearing the strident "pro-choice" side all of a sudden becoming champions vis-a-vi (sic) "prenatal responsibiity"

How is that relevant?  If you decide to have a baby, you should do everything possible to protect it.

Palin had the right to handle her pregnancy and delivery any way she wanted, but for someone so determined to bring a Down syndrome baby into the world, I would think she would be a little (okay, a lot) more cautious.  I wouldn't want a Vice President who was known to take risks like that with her own baby.  Would you?  It almost seems like she wanted to tempt fate.

What does Palin's resignation have to do with lack of experience?  You mean if she were experienced she'd have stayed on?  Is that what it says in the oh so successful Republican playbook?

If she had the political experience necessary to be a viable VP, she wouldn't be quitting halfway through a stint as Governor because of media attention and some unfounded (or so she claims) accusations of corruption.  Part of political experience is learning to deal with increased scrutiny.  I would expect a VP candidate to be able to weather this kind of storm.  Suppose McCain/Palin had won and McCain died after two years.  In that situation, media inquiry into every facet of Palin's life would be much worse than it is now.  What would she do?  Quit?  I'm sure Nancy Pelosi would make a wonderful president. 

A candidate without enough political experience means there's no way to predict how they'll react under intense pressure and media attention.  Evidently 2 years as Governor was not enough to weed her out.

So, I ask: since some of you are so infatuated with her (as a political candidate), do you still think she would have been a good VP choice, and if not, how do you propose to catch future politicians like Palin who seem to be a bright and fresh face but can't really hack it?  Since you don't like my gut instinct that she's got psychological problems, what hard evidence would you look for to avoid supporting someone like Palin on a presidential ticket in the future?

I've started looking through lists of governors from a few states, and I've found two that resigned for reasons other than health, scandals, or moving to D.C.: one was broke and the job wasn't paying enough (Thomas Drew - AR - 1849), and the other was from Alaska back before it became a state, and didn't like the job and wasn't likely to be re-elected (Benjamin Heintzleman - 1957).  They both faded into political obscurity.

So if she wanted to resign like this, there's at least some precedent for it, but there's no precedent I've found yet for quitting while remaining politically active.  Not to mention that none of those other quitters will have run for Vice President.

And Obama walked away from his first Senatorial job...  So?

Quitting in order to move up in politics is completely different than saying "screw this" and walking away.

Carl Rove was on TV tonight saying this.  Quitting her job as Governor in this manner is close to political suicide.  The first question anyone's going to ask her if she starts a national campaign is, "How are you cut out for federal office when you couldn't even serve a full term as governor of Alaska?"

[RocketMan]

Thread drift alert!!!

Something is afoot out in flyover country as exemplified by the TEA Party movement.  It is happening in spite of national politicians best efforts.  It appears to be spontaneous and grass roots.  The fact that Big Media had a news blackout on recent rallies tells me the power elites don't really know how to deal with it.  
--<snip>
--TEA Parties will not go away any time soon.

Wrong on both counts.
--The Tea Party phenomenon was not covered this last time because far fewer of them occurred.  Those that did occur had fewer attendees.
--By this time next year, the Tea Parties will be forgotten.

Sorry.  I now take you back to your regularly scheduled Palin thread.

[Stand_watie]

Not quite.  There's more to it than what you found in a few minutes of googling.  The doctor she called (Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who also ended up delivering the baby) was her GP, not an obstetrician.  That was part of the reason the rumor grew wings.  Once Palin landed in Anchorage, which had a NICU, she drove 45 minutes to this place, which doesn't, because she was more comfortable having her GP deliver the baby (she'd also delivered one of Palin's previous babies).

Palin was 44.  That's well into high-risk territory.  Combined with the Down syndrome diagnosis, the fact that she had leaked amniotic fluid and felt contractions (Palin differentiated them from fake contractions she'd been experiencing previously), do you really think you can find an obstetrician who recommends getting on a plane in that situation?  It seems to me like her GP was in over her head, and let Palin do whatever she wanted.

The fact that her labor was induced only seems to confirm that whatever happened in Texas was medically significant.  Palin was just under 8 months pregnant.  Why would they induce labor that early without a good reason?

How is that relevant?  If you decide to have a baby, you should do everything possible to protect it.

Palin had the right to handle her pregnancy and delivery any way she wanted, but for someone so determined to bring a Down syndrome baby into the world, I would think she would be a little (okay, a lot) more cautious.  I wouldn't want a Vice President who was known to take risks like that with her own baby.  Would you?  It almost seems like she wanted to tempt fate...

False premise based upon your entirely uninformed knowledge of Obstetrics and of Palin's personal medical condition.  Yeah, I know, reading the smear machine lefty blogs qualifies you to judge Palin's ethics about her own pregnancy.

[longeyes]

I have mixed feelings on Palin, but the problem here, in my opinion, is not Palin's excessive vulnerability to media pressure but the fact that the pressure was cruel and unusual and that it was focused specifically on her because of what she is.

The awful irony is that Barack Obama had NO SCRUTINY, and I'm willing to bet that if he'd had one-tenth the drubbing Palin got he'd have quit before primary season.  

This isn't really about Palin, it's about how the political game has changed and how the media pimp and whore for liberals and leftists in ways never before seen in America.  If Palin can be driven out of politics ANY conservative can be, and you can damn well bet that if conservatives come up with a viable candidate that candidate is going to be ruthlessly and systematically targeted for destruction.  If the Right wants to stop this they are going to have to make not only liberals but the media pay a price for their behavior.

[longeyes]

I wouldn't want a Vice President who was known to take risks like that with her own baby.  Would you?  It almost seems like she wanted to tempt fate.

And some of us are not okay with a President who takes wild risks with his country, almost seeming to tempt fate by his policies...

[Balog]

I have mixed feelings on Palin, but the problem here, in my opinion, is not Palin's excessive vulnerability to media pressure but the fact that the pressure was cruel and unusual and that it was focused specifically on her because of what she is.

The awful irony is that Barack Obama had NO SCRUTINY, and I'm willing to bet that if he'd had one-tenth the drubbing Palin got he'd have quit before primary season.  

This isn't really about Palin, it's about how the political game has changed and how the media pimps and whores for liberals and leftists in ways never before seen in America.  If Palin can be driven out of politics ANY conservative can be, and you can damn well bet that if conservatives come up with a viable candidate that candidate is going to be ruthlessly and systematically targeted for destruction.  If the Right wants to stop this they are going to have to make not only liberals but the media pay a price for their behavior.

This is one of the occasions I agree with longeyes wholeheartedly.


Also, the conspiracy theory Palin hate amazes me as much as the conspiracy theory Bush hate. Well, not really; it's the same people in both cases.

[RocketMan]

Longeyes called it pretty well in his last post.  It is a different game now.

[Balog]

I think it really shows how the MSM perceive conservatives.

Liberal with a retarded/Downs child? Hero struggling against the odds.

Conservative with a retarded/Downs child? Monster who probably caused it, either through marrying a sibling or being negligent.

[Perd Hapley]

  If you decide to have a baby, you should do everything possible to protect it.

And that quite neatly guts the pro-abortion point of view, yes. 

[BReilley]

"a Palin candidacy would be the greatest self-inflicted disaster since George McGovern or Barry Goldwater"

He missed the whopper: John McCain!  Lamest Republican candidate in a very, very long time.
On a tangent - Goldwater was a great man.  The "conservatism" he stood for back then would be called ultra-right, these days.

--If she wants a chance to improve her personal wealth situation it will have to be done in the lower 55 states.

I do hope this is a reference to Obama's 57-state Union... :D

It almost seems like she wanted to tempt fate.

Now why does that line sound familiar?
Leon Panetta on Dick Cheney: "he's wishing that this country would be attacked again".  Give me a break.

Quitting in order to move up in politics is completely different than saying "screw this" and walking away.

I think what longeyes meant(and could certainly be wrong, but this is what I took from it), in saying that Obama walked away from his Senate position, was that Obama truly did just walk away from it; never seemed to participate in any governance.  He was elected by the people of his state to do a job, and decided that he'd rather skip that part and go straight to the big house on the hill.  As I said, that was just my take... but please don't tell me that you believe Obama ever took his Senate post seriously.  If you need to use a counterexample, find someone else... someone who actually did his job.

Palin, to me, is unproven, but she talks a good conservative game.  I wouldn't mind seeing her get a real shot at the primaries.  I don't believe for a second that there's anything improper going on now, or in her past, that we haven't already been made aware of(and I'm fairly OK with what we know of so far).  Truthfully, the biggest problem I have with her is the "bridge to nowhere" bit.  I expect that the idea for the "thanks but no thanks" bit came from the McCain side of things, him being anti-pork as he is, and it really disgusted me that they repeatedly tried to spin it, in clear conflict with the truth.

[Jamisjockey]

And Obama walked away from his first Senatorial job...  So?

I see that a lot of people here think Palin's resignation makes her a quitter.  Somehow I really doubt most Americans care or will care about that when and if she's running for President (if she does) against someone who will be perceived as an American autocrat bent on stripping away our last freedoms.  What will matter is what she projects in terms of values and potential solutions to a republic in the throes of self-evisceration.

The days of predictable politics, with terms defined by the "elite," are over.  We are up against it, and the issue now is survival, not political business as usual.  I may be wrong; we'll see.  But I think Palin's popularity will not be substantially changed by her resignation; those who didn't like her before will find new reasons not to, that's all.

Obama got a free ride: Palin did/will not.  Also, Obama only quit his seat once elected. 

I don't think she has the fortitude for the national spotlight, nor the scrutiny a real conservative candidate will receive.  "Quitter" is what the pundits are already calling her, which makes it pretty clear what their line of attack will be should she run further.

[Iain]

I think it really shows how the MSM perceive conservatives.

Liberal with a retarded/Downs child? Hero struggling against the odds.

Conservative with a retarded/Downs child? Monster who probably caused it, either through marrying a sibling or being negligent.

You know something, for once on issues of the press I agree. They had it in for her. I can't say I'm a fan of hers, but this particular angle of attack was abhorrent.

[Balog]

Man, when even our English friends think the coverage is harsh you know it's bad. :)

[roo_ster]

Iain, Ross Douthat (link via instapundit), thinks the treatment of Palin was an attack on / exposed the myth of the idea that anyone with ability and determination can grow up to be POTUS.

    If Palin were exactly what her critics believe she is — the distillation of every right-wing pathology, from anti-intellectualism to apocalyptic Christianity — then she wouldn’t be a terribly interesting figure. But this caricature has always missed the point of the Alaska governor’s appeal — one that extends well outside the Republican Party’s shrinking base.

    In a recent Pew poll, 44 percent of Americans regarded Palin unfavorably. But slightly more had a favorable impression of her. That number included 46 percent of independents, and 48 percent of Americans without a college education.

    That last statistic is a crucial one. Palin’s popularity has as much to do with class as it does with ideology. In this sense, she really is the perfect foil for Barack Obama. Our president represents the meritocratic ideal — that anyone, from any background, can grow up to attend Columbia and Harvard Law School and become a great American success story. But Sarah Palin represents the democratic ideal — that anyone can grow up to be a great success story without graduating from Columbia and Harvard. . . .

    Here are lessons of the Sarah Palin experience, for any aspiring politician who shares her background and her sex. Your children will go through the tabloid wringer. Your religion will be mocked and misrepresented. Your political record will be distorted, to better parody your family and your faith. (And no, gentle reader, Palin did not insist on abstinence-only sex education, slash funds for special-needs children or inject creationism into public schools.)

    Male commentators will attack you for parading your children. Female commentators will attack you for not staying home with them. You’ll be sneered at for how you talk and how many colleges you attended. You’ll endure gibes about your “slutty” looks and your “white trash concupiscence,” while a prominent female academic declares that your “greatest hypocrisy” is the “pretense” that you’re a woman. And eight months after the election, the professionals who pressed you into the service of a gimmicky, dreary, idea-free campaign will still be blaming you for their defeat.

    All of this had something to do with ordinary partisan politics. But it had everything to do with Palin’s gender and her social class.

    Sarah Palin is beloved by millions because her rise suggested, however temporarily, that the old American aphorism about how anyone can grow up to be president might actually be true.

    But her unhappy sojourn on the national stage has had a different moral: Don’t even think about it.

[longeyes]

Buried in the philosophical debate about meritocratic versus democratic ideals is this: Harvard and Yale et al. stopped representing the meritocracy some time ago just as they are no longer bastions of open and free inquiry.  In the humanities and social sciences they have largely become arms of leftist ideology, euphemized and sugar-coated, spear-carriers for vogueish radical views that permit no disagreement.  The view of many of this super-elite are, in essence, no different from those of the people in ACORN or La Raza or the ACLU or Morris Dees' organization.  Harvard- and Yale-trained economists and MBAs have played a major role in our financial imbroglio.  Harvard- and Yale-trained law professors are in the vanguard in chipping away at the Constitution.  For personal reasons it gives me no pleasure to say this, but there it is.  I can think of more than one graduate of these schools--one who comes to mine is a former Marine ('Nam service) who was an undergrad at Yale and got a law degree at Harvard--who has sworn to not give his alma maters a bloody cent until they "get it right again."