Sarah Palin Steps Down

What’s next for former Governor Sarah Palin?  I’m not sure that even she knows the answer to that question.

Obviously she needed to get into a position where she could make enough money to defend herself.  And regardless of what you think of her, this whole episode of resignation was an interesting exercise in what makes a person make the news.

I believe the opposite of the general wisdom when it comes to what Palin did in Alaska—as far as leaving office.  It kept her name in the public eye, and doesn’t hurt too much in the long term.

Those people that believe that she has somehow opened herself up to be branded a “quitter” will have an interesting time trying make it a big deal.  Yes, she did switch colleges, but it would be tough for me to reasonably say that she would step down from the Presidency (should she choose to run) or somehow back down from a challenge.

And then again, I can think of a lot of second term Presidents (ahem, George W. Bush) whom I would have loved to have stepped down near the end of his term so that someone who actually had a passion for conservatism could have been making the decisions at that time.

But I think this decision was far more practical than anything else.  I think that there were mounting bills and no way to get them under control.  I also think that this allows her (regardless of her future ambitions) to have a voice that’s outside of Alaska.

One of the things that I believe was a big negative for her in the last election was that they could suggest that she didn’t know what was going on in the lower 48¹, and this will give her an opportunity to connect with more people.

Not to say that my reservations are gone—but for her, I think it’s a good move all around.

1. 56, if you believe President Obama [↩]