Palin to resign as governor

[Northstar]

One has to wonder if she is just trying to extend her 15 minutes as much as possible.

Link because of length.

 

[Delirious]

I respected her for her views on traditional family values and all that jazz but unfortunately she came off very very brash to some people it seems and may have offended too many doing so.

She seems somewhat cool and all to me but I'm Libertarian all the way now...

 

[Joey D]

Apparently it's to focus on her 2012 presidential campaign, and that concerns me because I'm afraid America will get caught up with her like they did Obama just because she isn't an old white guy.

 

[Northstar]

I'm guessing by the 2012 election we will either be
a) Sick of her from over exposure(If she hasn't already reached that point)
b) Forgotten she exists

Although she may be able to make a decent run as the GOP doesn't have any clear leader right now.

(Note: we still use GOP for the Republican Party in Minnesota)

 

[Omnis]

Ron Paul is the leader of what would be a popular and successful GOP. It's a shame that Mark Sanford had to be such an adulterous idiot. Palin + Romney in the 2012 primary is going to be awful. But I doubt Palin will run successfully. Who elects someone who resigns office, anyway?

 

[Solid Fro]

Oh, Sarahcuda. You had me at "hell yeah".

 

[TB]

Need I remind everyone that she is an idiot? Who can't name two newspapers that are published in the entire US? Seriously?

 

[Solid Fro]

Need I remind you that the current president thinks there are 57 states? Seriously, no more kool-aid for you.

To expand on my thought. The question posed by Couric was what newspapers or magazines does she read to stay informed? It's a gotcha question. If she answered with the New York Times or Newsweek, Conservatives would going crazy. If she answered with the Washington Times or The Weekly Standard, Liberals would be going crazy. If she answered with the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, well... shes just dumb and a hick then. The question only exposed Palin's inexperience at a national level, unfortunately.

 

[Joey D]

Ron Paul is the leader of what would be a popular and successful GOP. It's a shame that Mark Sanford had to be such an adulterous idiot. Palin + Romney in the 2012 primary is going to be awful. But I doubt Palin will run successfully. Who elects someone who resigns office, anyway?

The GOP running correct people, now that's funny. If the GOP wants to de-rail the Obama band wagon they really need to run someone that is the polar opposite of Bush on many issues, that speaks to the youth, and actual follows conservative ideas that work for this country (not just the ones imposed by religion and lobbyist)....actually that sounds a lot like Ron Paul.

And I agree, resigning from office was a stupid thing on Palin's part. If she can't focus on running Alaska and her 2012 campaign what does that say about her character? Is she always going to quit when things get overly difficult? Hopefully she's shot herself in the foot enough so she disappears after being the media's flavour of the week.

 

[Omnis]

Hopefully Clint Eastwood or Glenn Jacobs (Kane from WWF) will run for the republican primary.

 

[Northstar]

The GOP running correct people, now that's funny. If the GOP wants to de-rail the Obama band wagon they really need to run someone that is the polar opposite of Bush on many issues, that speaks to the youth, and actual follows conservative ideas that work for this country (not just the ones imposed by religion and lobbyist)....actually that sounds a lot like Ron Paul.

And I agree, resigning from office was a stupid thing on Palin's part. If she can't focus on running Alaska and her 2012 campaign what does that say about her character? Is she always going to quit when things get overly difficult? Hopefully she's shot herself in the foot enough so she disappears after being the media's flavour of the week.

I think this gives our Governor, Tim Pawlenty an upper hand as he isn't resigning, he just isn't running again(except for the white house).

Also, as I said in my first post, Palin had her 15 minutes and now she wants more and obviously will do anything for it.

Yes that means Nalin Palin 2:For real this time

Hopefully Clint Eastwood or Glenn Jacobs (Kane from WWF) will run for the republican primary.

Clint Eastwood would win, than again Glenn might just scare everyone into voting for him.

 

[YSSMAN]

This is an incredibly strong, purely political move on behalf of Palin, and as of right now, I do not know if it was smart or not. On the one hand, I believe this gives her an open opportunity to run for the Senate, pushing herself onto the national stage once again, and surely with hopes for the Presidency in 2012... But all of that could easily be a wash with, as others have pointed out, her semi-tarnished reputation with her resignation, other controversies, as well as the 2008 campaign.

I find her style far too abrasive for most Americans, nearly degrading in some respects when it comes to the female vote, so I really have to wonder about her presumed national political motives. I could see her wanting to lead the RNC and GOP into something, but her brand isn't selling. Or, at least, not in the numbers that it used to.

If the GOP wants to de-rail the Obama band wagon they really need to run someone that is the polar opposite of Bush on many issues, that speaks to the youth, and actualy follows conservative ideas that work for this country (not just the ones imposed by religion and lobbyist)....actually that sounds a lot like Ron Paul.

Well, politically, the GOP is going to sink or swim in the next four years. There is such a wide swath of things that the GOP leadership needs to address before they can become a legitimate contender to the Democrats right now, it would be very difficult for them to pull things completely together by 2010 or 2012. However, you mentioned the two most important things there (highlighted in bold).

The GOP is losing on the demographic front, particularly as an increased number of young people are being wooed by Democrats and their message, not to mention the growing number of minorities in the country that are typically more likely to vote Democrat to begin with. It would be safe to say that an adoption of policies that are targeted directly at younger people would surely bring in more votes, focusing in on gay marriage, education costs, the environment and technology as well. However, many of those fly directly in the face of what Palin (and the like) want to talk about, and run on, and its going to continue to hurt the party. Furthering that problem is the rate at which the east coast and the mid-west are going blue, areas which were Republican strongholds little more than 30 years ago. If the GOP can't keep a hold of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and even Michigan, they will be pushed further into the South, and remain otherwise a regional party, one that will not be able to win [national] elections, period.

The point you make on "true" conservatism, however, rings most-true. Despite the increased social Liberalism among the youth, there are still a lot of kids who prefer the more Libertarian message that Ron Paul carried during the 2008 election. Like it or not, the "Conservative" movement that the Republicans talk about is far from the true conservative message. These are universal principles that most Americans agree to, regardless of what their overall political outlook is. Hone in on a clean message with that in mind, really honestly what Ron Paul talked about in 2008, and I really do think the GOP could have a legitimate future ahead of them. The problem is that if you use the "Fourth Republic" mindset (Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Obama), there is one hell of a political tidal wave to get through. Catch it early enough, and I believe that a Ron Paul-esque message could make a big surprise in what will likely be an Obama-Democrat era, but that will come at a massive cost to the Reagan-GOP machine that has dominated the conservative movement for more than a generation.


...But back on topic...

The move by Palin will be interesting to watch, but I don't see it being anywhere close to an easy fight for her in the coming years. The demographics are still too narrow, the message is not hitting the youth vote, much less the female ones. We'll see.

 

[Joey D]

One poll finds that Republicans don't even think Palin is fit for the job. Is her post-election 15 minutes over yet?

Poll: Majority of Republicans don't think Palin's qualified for prez
A majority of Americans think Sarah Palin is stepping down as Alaska's governor for political reasons, according to a new national poll, with a majority of Republicans now saying that they do not believe that Palin would be an effective president.

Only 33 percent of Republicans questioned in a CBS News survey released Monday night say that Palin would have the ability to serve effectively as president. Last fall, 71 percent of registered Republicans felt that way.

"It's unclear whether the change in Republicans' view of Palin is the result of her decision to step down as governor, or whether the GOP rank-and-file felt they had to defend their party's vice-presidential nominee during the campaign but don't feel the same tug of party loyalty today," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Either way, this is bad news for Palin, whose first task in 2012, if she runs for the White House, will be to convince Republican primary voters to support her."

Fifty-two percent of all respondents in the CBS survey said that Palin is resigning because she thinks its better for her political career, with one in four agreeing with Palin's comments that her resignation would benefit Alaska. Most Democrats and independents feel Palin's resignation is politically motivated, while Republicans appear divided, with 36 percent indicating the move is to advance her political career and 31 percent agreeing with Palin's explanation.

"That's another indication that Palin may face a skeptical GOP primary audience if she chooses to run for president," Holland says.

Americans appear divided on whether Palin will run for the White House in 2012, with 43 percent feeling Palin will make a bid for the presidency, 39 percent indicating she will not run, and 18 percent unsure.

Palin has been critical of her coverage in the national media. Nearly half of those questioned, 46 percent, say the media's been harder on Palin compared to other political figures, with only seven percent saying the media's been easier on her than other politicians. Forty-four percent say her treatment's been about the same.

The CBS News poll was conducted July 9-12, with 944 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

 

[YSSMAN]

I don't find it very surprising, the entire situation comes off as extremely opportunist, and ultimately it becomes more confusing as the weeks come on. I always found it odd that my family members who voted for McCain hated her so much, and yet, still cast the ballot in that way.

Either way, the GOP is borked unless they adjust their image and clean up their platform.

 

[Omnis]

Yeah but the people who liked Palin so much also hated McCain. Palin is a slinky B for towing the line. That's why she looked like an idiot too. People who thought she was principled now know that she'll bend for power. That's no good.

 

[YSSMAN]

I occasionally wonder if we could call her the modern day William Jennings Bryan. Problem is, I like WJB, historically speaking. Maybe we can have her fall to obscurity only to embarrass herself on the national stage before exiting permanently.