To say that Sarah Palin marches to her own drummer would be an understatement. When she made her pre-Fourth of July announcement that she would be stepping down as Alaska’s Governor, she knew that everyone would call her a quitter. Yet, she didn’t care.
After the Vanity Fair article in which the author and sources pondered whether Palin had postpartum depression during the campaign (as a way to explain her more erratic behavior) and raised the issue of whether she had a diagnosable personality disorder, she had to have known that resigning would just add more fuel to that fire. Yet, she didn’t care.
She rambled through her Alaska farewell with an intensity that suggested she might not ever be on the national stage again, but I think she knew otherwise.
So I keep wondering, is Palin crazy like a fox or just plain crazy?
A lot of people I know say hands down, it’s the latter, but I’m not so sure. (For those of you who insist I’m a closet Republican because I’m trying to see the whole Palin picture, please rest assured my progressive bona fides are intact).
True, it looks like she can’t stand the heat. But I think she’s got Mitt Romney in mind. With GOP presidential hopefuls dropping like flies with one sex scandal after another, Romney may become the front-runner by default. And if he does, he isn’t tied down with any governing duties — he can just take more of his personal fortune and start working on the 2012 campaign. And that’s what Palin is afraid of. There’s an opportunity and she’s trying to find the clearest way there. While staying in Alaska for another two years might increase her knowledge of governing, it does nothing for her political future. She knows that the people who love her and who will be her base won’t care if she’s in her office in Juneau or on the speaking circuit.
Palin is ready to do some rabble rousing. I can feel it.
Her skin is not as thin as she wants us to think — oh poor me and my family and all the mean things people are saying about me! The “woe is me” affect is a big red herring. Staying with the fish theme, barracudas don’t care what the other fish are saying — they just gobble them up. I fear that’s exactly what she’s got in mind.
Having a family and children has never stopped her from going after what she wanted before. She might be spending more time with her family this summer, but I’d bet money that during those evenings at the family home in Wasilla there are going to be some visitors who are putting her grand plan into effect.
We haven’t seen the last of Sarah Palin. You know we can’t be that lucky.
July 9th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Call it, Joanne. I agree with you whole heartedly. Palin is far from being in the politics past. She’ll be back. Probably sooner rather than later.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:01 am
While I didn’t agree with the PPD speculation (and not because I am a recovering Republican or a closeted Palin supporter), I’m with you on the rest. I think the Vanity Fair article actually gives some clues as to why she resigned. During the campaign she worried about how she was perceived in Alaska. Now she’s decided Alaska doesn’t matter, because she needs to build her following in the lower 48. It was a choice between AK and the rest of the country.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Unfortunately, I think you’re right! I’ve been sayin the same thing and people look at me like I’m nuts, but she’s had a taste of the national stage and she wants more.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Crazy like a fox, most definitely. Let’s not underestimate her. It would be to our peril to do so.
July 9th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Unlike the two previous Republican governors of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney chose to stay in office and run around the country belittling his constituents. This is just as much a failure to honor his commitment to the office as Palin’s resignation, if not more so. If she resigned to pursue the Presidency, she should have said so. Blaming the media makes her look weak.
I’m not exactly sure why she thinks she has a chance against Mitt Romney, except the GOP does have that Mormon problem. I think that in spite of his religion he will easily sweep Palin aside, as he did Jane Swift who actually had a brain.
July 9th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I completely understand why she did this. In a time when media seems more important then what actually goes on in someones life I think she has made a good decision to do what she wants to do. I mean she is set for life financially as she probably has $100,000 worth of book deals and other partnerships. Sarah Palin is now a part of history as she is the first woman to have been selected by the Rep’s to be Vice President. Her life will be followed and documented almost as intense as Obamas.
July 9th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
oh, I think she is running in 2012. But I also think she is crazy. Batshit crazy to be exact.
She can’t win. The first question to ask her is, are you going to quit the presidency when that gets tough? And her speech was terrible.
July 11th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
My bet: She’s been found out for perhaps the first time in her life, challenged and mocked. She used to maniupulate her way out of every problem and that tactic failed when she tried to go from beauty pageants/sportscasting/small town governance to national politics. Time up, game over.
She’s tapped out politically so she’s taking her ball and going home to start a new game. Probably as a lobbyist or an author or a faux news commentator. I doubt it will be as a candidate. It’s not about success, it’s about attention. I’ll go with the speculators who were looking up the definition of primary narcissism.
Now want to know what I really feel? Heh.
July 11th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Mom101, I so wouldn’t be surprised if you are right. Palin is all about the attention — I fear that there still may be some political aspirations because of that..
July 12th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
I think you hit the nail on the head. The woman doesn’t have the brains that God gave a rock, runs when the going gets tough and STILL thinks she can run the country. You betcha.
Personally she scares the hell out of me because we have no idea where she’ll pop up next and with what screwy idea because like the South Sarah will rise again.
July 13th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Honestly my brain has been rigged to be Sarah-free because it hurts too much to decipher her blabber – BUT I too, like you, know we have not seen the end of her yet.
I would hate myself forever if I became complacent and sat silent while her destructive, anti-womanhood views to snuck up on us and deflowered our progress.
The only way I would ever acknowledge her as a real threat would be if she hired a coach, higher-ed her ed, and hi-fived her sports analogies before retiring them.
There are those scary folks who actually understand her and that so frightens me though, so I HOPE you will continue to keep her in your writings so that we don’t lose track of her!
(Btw,LOVE the new look!!)
July 17th, 2009 at 11:38 am
I love the ‘lady love’ in this crappy post. Just love it. Love it when a bunch of men — Todd S. Purdom of Vanity Fair and the bulk of his sources (most without names) — try to figure out if a woman suffers from some biological issue. I guess if she hadn’t given birth so recently, Todd would have just pondered whether Palin has PMS?
There’s a lot of sexism and I’m calling you out on it.
And since when does anyone take Todd seriously?
He’s a lousy reporter and was called out long before he ended up at Vanity Fair. Google his name and “dirty jock” or “dirty jock strap” and you’ll find all of his past macho posing.