Sarah Palin and the Resignation: Some Posts You May Have Missed

I don't know about your universe, but all the listservs I read have been crammed with Sarah Palin discussions ever since The Resignation.  I went looking, therefore, for some not-so-usual blog posts, beyond the conventional wisdom.  There are lots of great comments and ideas. Among them:

My biggest hope is that the very strange tale of Sarah Palin doesn't dissuade other mothers of small children from running for office. There's something to be said for having that perspective in state houses, governor's offices and in Washington, D.C. I hope the strange path that Sarah Palin seems to be on doesn't keep other moms away from the political world.   Punditmom

It's hard to know what more to make of this until we get a much better explanation, but the view from here is that you won't have Sarah Palin to kick around anymore.  Her Presidential prospects are done, and it's hard to see how Republicans will still consider her a potential leader of the movement.  The Next Right

A few words about Sarah Palin: She is one of the most fascinating women I have ever met. She crackles with energy like a live electrical wire and on first meeting gets about three inches from your face. Her instant subliminal message is: “I don’t know you very well, but I’m very clear about who I am.” She reeks of moxie and self confidence. And she’s fearless.  Mark McKinnon

What is going on right now in the Republican Party—even as the professionals scramble to react with grins and snorts to the news of Palin’s Alaska resignation—are the early scenes of the 2012 campaign for the presidency with Sarah Palin as the once and future hero. Like Joan of Arc,  Catherine the Great,  Elizabeth Regina, and, skipping four centuries of quarrelsome princes,  Margaret Thatcher, the Republican Party has already decided that the governor of Alaska will rescue the GOP from its ruination. What Sarah Palin begins with an announcement from Wasilla is not only a campaign, it is an Iditarod of a crusade—first woman, first mom, and second moose-hunter into the White House.  The Daily Beast

Beyond the basic publicity blunders Palin made (e.g., her spokesperson was on vacation in New York while the announcement was delivered in Alaska), the governor's departing speech was rife with errors of judgment. Every quitter, famous or not, can learn from her mistakes, particularly if you're resigning from a position of leadership.  Harvard Business Blog

As quoted in Disability News, Palin wished that "folks could ever, ever understand that we ALL could learn so much from someone like Trig — I know he needs me, but I need him even more… what a child can offer to set priorities RIGHT – that time is precious… the world needs more 'Trigs', not fewer." That apparently struck Erik Sean Nelson, described on his Huffington Post page as a "fiction author and comedy writer," as hilarious, and he responded with a post titled, “Palin Will Run in '12 on More Retardation Platform". . .(this one is really quite shocking)  Terri's Special Children Blog

THIS IS MY PERSONAL FAVORITE:  “I think Sarah Palin is on the verge of becoming the Miami Vice of American politics: Something a lot of people once thought was cool and then 20 years later look back, shake their heads and just kind of laugh,” quipped Republican media consultant Todd Harris.   Politico

But Sarah Palin didn't quit. Her family was held hostage until she agreed to give her captures (sic) what they wanted - the ransom was her career.  Isn't it a shame that a popular governor of Alaska with a terrific future of contribution to her state, had to give it all up because she made the fatal error of accepting the Republican VP nomination. Too bad a public servant has been slaughtered. Too bad she wasn't giving a fair fight based on her principles. Too bad for women everywhere who have considered a role in politics. I hope Sarah Palin travels the country and speaks to all the folks who like her message and makes oodles of money doing it. She's earned it.   Help4NewMOms

We’re not very interested in bashing Palin; Todd Purdum took care of that for all of us. But she deserves some credit: no matter how much luck is involved, you don’t move from small-town politico to national newsmaker in three years without at least knowing what you want. And Sarah Palin’s resignation makes her goal abundantly clear: she will never again have a chance to make this much money in this short a time, and she’s going to take advantage.  The Stimulist

Finally, take a look at this: three bloggers including my good friend Jill Zimon talking about soon-to-be-ex-Gov. Palin and the impact of her withdrawal from state government.

Comments

[CJ]

I heard someone on Fresh Air a few days ago talking about Palin. (I didn't catch his name because I missed the beginning of the interview.) He is from Alaska. He talked about traveling around the country and different reactions about her. He said in the deep south, when people discover you are from Alaska, they ask if you know Palin personally and tell you how much they love her. In New York, people blame you, as an Alaskan, for her existence. And then there were those who were sure that God had chosen her to be the vice-president and since she wasn't elected terrible things were going to happen, i.e. God's wrath. I just found this all very interesting. It just goes to show how polarized we have become, that we tend to either love or hate public figures, and there is rarely an in between.

[Cynthia Samuels]

Great comments. I'm glad the aggregated stuff was useful; I thought the Harvard piece was intriguing too. Talk to you from London.

[Jill]

Thanks for including the CNN clip! :)

I am going to check out the original post from the Harvard Business blog - that is fascinating and frankly, really what I focus on, in order to stay away from the all too easy slippery slope of personal judgement!

[Mary Margaret Hansen]

All interesting. You've done a lot of homework. It's not over yet, far from.

[Mike Licht]

For Sarah Palin so loves Alaska that she's sacrificing her valuable TITLE.

See:

http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/sarahs-sacrifice/