Palin announcement.

Just heard that Palin announced that she will not seek reelection as governor.

Now they are saying (on cnn) that she is stepping down but they had no details as of now.

Amazing, she's resigning. Will be out by July 26th.

The press conference statement she made was a rambling mess. After it I still have no idea what the real motivations behind this are. As recently as a week ago she was making fairly strong and articulate statements about standing tough against the ongoing hatred and personal abuse directed at her by political and mainstream cultural/media outlets. Also saying she's fighting on against the stream of frivolous ethics charges being directed at her. And then this? Our of no where she up an quits?

I don't buy the theory that there is some major scandal about to hit. If there was I would expect her to have resigned immediately, not 3 weeks out. I also would have expected a much more tightly crafted and lawyered statement to the press, not to mention an acknowledgment of some impending announcement or story breaking.

And I do not see how this could possibly be part of a strategy to be the nominee in 2012. Her term would have ended at the end of 2010, leaving the perfect 2 years needed to organize and run a presidential campaign. While that was happening she could have been studying up and getting some serious exposure on international and lower 48 domestic issues. Finish out the term, stand tough and resolute against the critics and the smears and the never ending barrage of personal and family level attacks... get the job done in Alaska. She could have pulled it off.

But now... there is just no way to get past this in a 2012 campaign. At best she's looking at 2016 now and even that will be a stretch. She'd have to find some high profile national level work to do in the interrim. Maybe run for Senate of something. Or head up a national political organization. Something. However, wn matter how much she improves her knowledge, gravitas, and presentation in interviews and whatnot, the voters (particularly base primary voters) are always going to have the question in the backs of their minds: "Does she really have the stones to stick to this campaign and her term as President to the end, no matter what gets thrown at her and her family?" It is, I think, the insurmountable obstacle that this resignation creates.

At this point I hope it was a personal decision by her and her family to get out of the spotlight, save the state government from the partisanship and politically motivated ethics campaign against her, and hopefully allow them to retreat from the abuse being directed at them at the hands of national and state media and cultural outlets. I'm not sure that is the whole story though... If it were she could well have stated it much more cleanly and concisely at the presser.

Please ladies and gentlemen do not get upset with me. I have an opinion, I feel that since she is 45 that just maybe she is feeling female heat flashes and such. I know I know I'm probably full of it, but I asure you after living with a woman that has experienced them first hand they do get the better of you and your brain. If I did offend anyone again I'm sorry, but I just believe that is the cause of this sudden decision.

Nough said.

Lawyers have wasted hers and the States time and fortunes dealing with partisan hacks.

Appears logical to move on rather than waste more resources.

Maybe she signed up to do a reality show, it looks like there is an opening in the John and Kate slot.

She has been beat up and picked apart from both sides of the aisle, maybe a "Bull Moose Redux?"

i think its a bit of all the theory's. the hormone thing will be a natural event at some time.

Personally I believe that since she will recieve 7 million for the book deal, I would say si-ah-norah as well and spend the rest of my days with family and relax.

jeromemsn wrote:I feel that since she is 45 that just maybe she is feeling female heat flashes and such ... they do get the better of you and your brain.

I don't buy it. Not enough brain there to be affected. I think she probably had an affair with Hugo Chavez, she and South Carolina governor Mark Sanford came back on the same plane, and he was planning to spill the beans to deflect some heat from himself.

I heard a theory last night about the party trying to dump some baggage. Coupled with the fact there's probably enough support from the right of the far right to support a 3rd party attempt with her at the helm it could make sense.

My $0.01, there's a scandal in the works. The "let's bury this news" timing is just too weird.

If its the press & political pressure that did she wouldn`t be the first one, Jessie Ventura chose not to seek re-election also mostly because of the press. He did however finish his term not cut & run like Palin, & being a third party candidate he was expected to screw up by everyone. During Palin`s political speeches I recall her saying how she has work ethics & gets things done. So much for that.

Palin Quotes from today :

"How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it's about country," the statement said. "And though it's honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make."

and this one seems to indicate she's not done fighting :

"To the extent several websites, most notably liberal Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore, are now claiming as 'fact' that Governor Palin resigned because she is 'under federal investigation' for embezzlement or other criminal wrongdoing, we will be exploring legal options this week to address such defamation," Van Flein said in a statement. "This is to provide notice to Ms. Moore, and those who re-publish the defamation, such as Huffington Post, MSNBC, the New York Times and The Washington Post, that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law."

The whole article is at http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090705/D9988SCG0.html