Posted by
David Zublick on Sunday, July 05, 2009 1:17:11 PM
Sarah Palin's abrupt decision to step down as governor of Alaska has left many people on both sides of the aisle scratching their heads.
Palin
has successfully survived fifteen ethics complaints. Her Lt. Governor,
Sean Parnell who will succeed her at the end of this month, said Sunday
that "she has plenty of time now within which to define how she will
further her core values."
Her announcement leaves open the possibility that she will run for higher office. Some on the right, such as William Kristol of the Weekly Standard, have said her move was 'crazy like a fox', and that this will be the launching pad for a GOP presidential bid.
The
reasoning that putting the distractions of her current office behind
her to concentrate on a higher calling doesn't wash with some, however,
who believe that she will be viewed as a quitter. Others have said that
if she believes that resigning the governorship will help her to avoid
further scrutiny, she is sadlymistaken. Mike Huckabee, appearing on Fox News Sunday,
said "it could be a brilliant strategy. The point is we don't know.
It's risky in that there's no forgone conclusion as to whether it will
play out."
Palin
is a polarizing figure in American politics. She has a huge fan base,
who like her spunk, her down-to-earth attitude and her common sense
approach to the issues.
But she has her detractors who view her as less than competent. Quin Hillyer, in a piece in the American Spectator, wrote that "Sarah Palin's
resignation is an appalling dereliction of duty and a highly cynical
move to set herself up for a presidential run for which she is
manifestly unqualified."
It is highly doubtful that Palin's
resignation means that she is retiring from public life. More than
likely, it is probably a move meant to keep her popularity as a
national figure high, even as her popularity within her own state
continues to decline.
The issue of whether she should have
finished out her term as governor before launching a campaign for
higher office is the one that has people talking. If she was afraid
that running for a second term as governor and losing would make her
damaged goods as a presidential candidate, she could have simply chosen
to sit out the next gubernatorial election. But why quit in the middle
of here first term?
We don't know the answer to that question
yet. But if indeed she has aspirations for higher office, her move may
prove to be a risky one.
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