Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated Governor on July 26 in Fairbanks. This after Governor Sarah Palin says that she is stepping down in a couple of weeks.
This could be a brilliant move or a dumb move or the right move for her or her family. As per normal with Governor Palin, it is not the conventional move.
It seems to me that once she decided to not run next year and feeling she has accomplished most of her promised agenda, she decided that moving on and letting Lt Gov Parnell take up the reins now seemed like the logical thing to do.
At this point people are "saying," but I am not sure who is "knowing."
Regards — Cliff
PS: And, yes, I liked Sarah Palin a lot better than Joe Biden. If the Presidential and VP races were separated, she might have beaten Joe and be sitting at home in the Naval Observatory right now.
Sarah Palin has got to be the strangest politician ever.
ReplyDeleteTo say you are quitting half way through your term because you suddenly realize that you are a lame duck governor is about the most bizarre excuse I have ever heard.
The only politicians that don't get to be lame ducks are the ones who get assassinated or wind up in jail before their term.
Some Conservative supporters are patting her on the back for her "wise political move so she could better position herself for a presidential run". That's like congratulating a general for abandoning his troops in the middle of the battle so he can work on his political future.
So here's how it usually works in the real world, Sarah. You finish the job you were hired to do...then AFTER YOU FINISH YOUR TERM you announce you aren't running for another office...then you start working on your next career goal.
A lot of her supporters spent a lot of time and money to put her into office. She’s betrayed all of them.
Not that Parnell won’t be a good Governor…but then she should have been campaigning for Parnell instead of running herself.
This is political stupidity.
Perhaps it’s just as well McCain/Palin ticket went down to defeat.
Had they won She probably would have quit the vice presidency half way through to start working on her next goal...president
"This is political stupidity"
ReplyDeleteBut maybe politics is stupid?
Seriously for a moment. I have relatives who voted for Obama, but really liked Sarah Palin.
The media and those who oppose her are obsessed with her, more then her supporters. Due to this its hard for her to be an effective policy maker as an elected official, because everything turns into a circus show and distracting.
She was pretty much a nobody, until thr VP nomination. I only knew of her through Pro-Life Feminists and the Susan B. Anthony List (first feminists were pro-life).
http://www.sba-list.org
Palin-obsession is now a non-issue.
Here is what I wrote on it here on Right Side of Lowell....
http://right-side-of-lowell.blogspot.com/2009/06/out-back-question-of-week_29.html?showComment=1246294448052#c2154480442903400519
"I admit I'm a big fan of Sarah. Still I think her niche is dealing with children with special needs, and other pro-life issues to help pregnant women which may not be in the position of being an elected official.
She doesn't just talk the talk, she walks the walk. She herself had an unexpected pregnancy in the midst of her professional career, 80% of the unborn detected with Down Syndrome are aborted. If that isn't enough, she experience a social faux pas of her daughter being pregnant. She handled it like a good mother. When a young women gets pregnant in my own family. We help her out, and even make sure the father-to-be is 'on the right track' too."
I thank you both for your comments. It is strange, but then Governor Palin does not seem bound to the rules the boys use. That might not be all bad.
ReplyDeleteSometime, when I get the time to research this, I am going to blog about how the President and Vice President shouldn't be elected as a "ticket." Having them run as a "ticket" is fine with me. It is just the election where they should be separated.
Regards — Cliff
Cliff and crowd,
ReplyDeleteSeparate from the issue of whether someone should resign mid-term over future, larger plans, I will give credit to someone who leaves an office (usually by not running again) when they know they won't be focused on it because they'll be involved in a bigger race. I'm thinking of Romney and Pawlenty here, but I'm sure we could cook up tons of examples.
The way Cliff phrased it in his post, it was about Palin stepping out of the left seat to hand the keys to Mr. Parnell. That's what democracy is all about -- doing the job and then getting out of the way to let someone else have at it..seems more noble than trying to have it every which way all at once (i.e. Lieberman in 2000actually running for two offices!)
Not to mention, once you've become a household name in government circles, you can have the Best Job Ever -- make a handsome living doing the university-and-think-tank lecture series, attaching your name to Boards, and having books written by ghostwriters who can bring you millions. (I don't mean that facetiously, I think 'Ex-[insert name of major office]' has to be one of the coolest jobs out there..
best,
gp
Ex-Presidents do make big dollars on the lecture circuit.
ReplyDeleteBill Clinton made 9.2 Million back in 2001.
"Clinton is hardly the first ex-President to cash in after leaving the White House. In 1989, Ronald Reagan earned $2 million for making two short speeches in Japan. In 1998, George Bush made a huge score when he was paid in stock for a speech to Global Crossing.
But sources close to several former Presidents said Clinton's gainful globetrotting far exceeds that of his predecessors.
"He's cashing in at a Clintonian scale," said Gary Ruskin of Ralph Nader's Congressional Accountability Project.
Clinton aides pointed out that the ex-President made some free speeches and donated his time to raise money for a variety of charitable causes.
The former First Family reportedly paid more than $1.3 million in legal fees "for themselves and former staff members."
Sources said the Clintons now make monthly payments of their legal bills to the Williams & Connolly law firm, which represented the ex-President in the impeachment battle and other scandal investigations.
They also reported giving $800,000 to a foundation they set up for charitable giving."
Per Matt Drudge, "MAUREEN DOWD TRASHES 'NUTTY' PALIN." I can't wait to read my favorite OpEd writer on Sunday morning in The NYT.
ReplyDeleteI have another take. I realize this is much more of a personal dream than anything I know for sure, but here is my prediction.
Sarah Palin is going to join the entering class as National War College in the Fall, to study Clausewitz and George Kennen and economics and regional issues and to study frameworks for strategic thinking.
I know it won't be happening, but it is what I would do with her if I was her campaign manager.
Regards — Cliff