Palinauseous

SarahPalin Announces Resignation as Governor,
Part 1


Sarah Palin Announces Resignation as Governor,
Part 2


"Um, by the way, sure wish 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." ~ Governor Sarah Palin

… say what?

Well, I suppose by now anyone who is up on current events has seen all the hullabaloo that yet again has been stirred up by Sarah Palin; this time by way of her vacant, uncomfortable, high speed resignation speech on July 3. She said a lot of nothing really, just her standard vague comments, innuendo and abused campaign rhetoric, all punctuated by deep gasps of breath and nervous energy. Amazing how she can spin and spin and barely say anything of consequence. I wonder if I’m the only one who gets distracted from her words by her presence and delivery. I get caught up in her weird granny-like intonations and facial gestures… Bugs.

So anyway… What in tarnation is going on? What new direction is she taking? As we all can deduce, she didn’t specify what it is she plans on doing after resigning as Governor, which beckons the question, “How is it acceptable that she resign a year and a half shy of her full term of office and not fulfill her job commitment?” Doing so sounds unreliable to me. If she loves Alaska as dearly as she repeatedly says she does, what’s the real reason for abandoning her post and not seeing her full term through to the end? She speaks of not being a dead fish and going with the flow, and of not taking the easy way out because that’s what quitter’s do, but she’s giving mixed signals. Her words sound disingenuous and her resignation comes across as the definition of a quitter. She isn’t the straight shooter she’d like us to think she is.

Something is amiss. I’m suspicious of her all the way around. Briefly, I pondered the idea that perhaps the shit’s about to hit the fan in regard to rumored criminal activity. This inkling isn’t too far fetched considering she’s had 19 allegations (so far) based upon ethics violations and what not. Her broad stroke admission that she is personally facing a half-million dollars in legal fees to settle unnamed matters, doesn’t speak well of her on any terms. Hard to say… I get the distinct feeling that by quitting, she is somehow putting herself first and in a more advantageous position. I can only guess what she has up her sleeve. As Lou Dobbs asked today, “Political suicide or political savant?”

She states that she has made herself clear, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. For example, what does resigning free her up to do precisely? Her excuse is weak, suggesting that too much legislative time and money is being spent on her personal issues… Well then, stop creating issues. She took an oath of office and a tax funded pay check. I think the people of Alaska deserve a viable explanation, as do we all if she plans on running for president in 2012. Now there's a real doomsday scenario. Let’s hope she’s not hitting the campaign trail early. (ughh… just kill me now)

For the life of me, I cannot believe so many people buy what she is selling. I'm completely dumbfounded and irritated to no end by the phenomenon that is Sarah Palin. “No more politics as usual” is right. At this point in time Maverick, Jr. does not have what it takes. She had chance after chance to prove herself during the last presidential campaign, but what will be remembered is her dirty laundry and coming up way short when asked fundamental questions that any worthy elected official should know the answers to. (See below for links to transcripts of Katie Couric's interview with Sarah Palin.)

She's plainly not knowledgeable enough, nor savvy enough to handle the highest office in the land. I highly doubt her overall intelligence and wherewithal. I cannot in my wildest imaginings ever see her on par with foreign dignitaries of which she is no peer. I mean, please… this is the woman who publicly dueled with David Letterman for 10 days fueling a blown-out-of-proportion issue over an off color joke he made about her daughter Bristol… Who I’m sorry to say became fair game as fodder for late night TV opening monologues through her own doing and by her mother’s public standing, nudging her entire family into the spotlight. Sure, defend your daughter, but don’t drag the incident through the media for days making it appear as though remaining in the public eye is the constant primary goal.

If she truly cares about Alaskans and our country, Palin will forfeit center stage and the spotlight for a more behind-the-scenes approach to her coveted Do-gooder role. The last thing we need in the Oval Office is someone who more closely resembles a ditz rather than a political wunderkind… a celebutard of sorts whom I’m sick of hearing about and hearing from, who contributes very little and who I wholeheartedly wish would just quietly go away.

Frankly, instead of running around serving her own ambition and misguided intent, I would respect Palin if she settled down and made her 5 children her primary focus, all of whom have "special needs". I would admire her if while earnestly getting herself up to speed on important issues, she stepped back and away from media attention and public affirmation. I would admire her if she supported the endeavors of President O'bama in a productive manner and refrained from publicly squawking criticism that is devoid of any and all constructiveness. Her anti-productive complaints are almost anti-American in nature as she constantly pops up like a wound up Jack-in-the-Box disrupting federal attempts at improvement and progress. Pop goes the weasel indeed.

Most of all, I would have respected her had she been more forthcoming in her resignation speech leaving no room for the speculation that is guaranteed to plague our news sources for some time to come. You can be sure that wherever Sarah Palin goes, drama is sure to follow.

*Palin on Foreign Policy
**Palin on the Economy

(Huffington Post: Click here for text of speech)

“Kaa-Pow!”... After writing this blog I came upon an article written by Washington Post reporter, Sally Quinn who says it best…

Palin's Peculiar Family Values

I did not understand one word of what Sarah Palin said in her 18-minute resignation speech the other day. I really tried. What I got out of it is that she wants to spend more time on the issues she cares about, energy independence and national security. It wasn't until the end of her incoherent explanation that she mentioned that her children were all in favor of her stepping down. One of the reasons, she said, was because they were upset that their 14-month-old brother Trig, who has Down Syndrome, was "mocked and ridiculed by some pretty mean spirited adults."

I'd like to know the names of those mean-spirited adults who mocked and ridiculed her special needs child. I don't believe it for a second. I think what she is talking about is that she was criticized for the way she dealt with her pregnancy with Trig and her caregiving of him after his birth.

Remember, Sarah Palin is a right-wing, evangelical Christian for whom "family values" and the role of the mother are paramount. Many right-wing Christians don't believe women should work outside the home. Yet here was Sarah Palin, resigning as the governor of Alaska, for political reasons.

This is not putting your family first. We should not be surprised.

This is a woman who hid her pregnancy until the last two months, and who was so ambivalent about having a Down syndrome child that she admittedly contemplated aborting her child (wasn't it nice that she had the choice to do that?). This is a woman who took off in an airplane from Arizona to Alaska after her water broke and barely made it to the hospital to deliver Trig. This is a woman who accepted the nomination for vice president with a three-months-old special needs child (all studies show that the mother's role in infancy, especially for these children, is crucial) and an unwed 17-year-old daughter pregnant by another high-schooler.

This is a woman who took her children to the convention and paraded them on the stage, including Trig, (not in bed until late hours) and pregnant Bristol and her soon to be announced fiancé ("whatever"). This is a woman who then spent two months on the road, relentlessly campaigning, dragging the baby around with her (or not with her).

This is a woman who continued to exploit her children while she was running, and afterward, whenever she was criticized or they made a good photo op. After the election, she continued to travel, doing television, speaking and partying, making sure she stayed in the limelight. When her extended dysfunctional family, including the father of her daughter's baby, began to surface, she blew that up into a major media event instead of keeping her silence. She then encouraged Bristol to sign up with the Candie's foundation to go on a promotional tour with her baby to promote teen abstinence. By doing so Bristol became an adult public figure, making her a legitimate target for public criticism.

Yet when David Letterman made his remark about her daughter being knocked up, Palin blew it up into a national media fest which lasted for a week. Letterman rightly apologized, and acknowledged that he was not referring to her younger daughter but to Bristol. Palin knew that Letterman was making a joke about Bristol, but she still dragged poor Willow into the mud as well.

Now Palin has resigned as governor. Why? Who knows? She gave so many excuses that one was left reeling. The clearest one was that it was good for the state of Alaska. Again she created another needless media storm, with another photo op surrounded by her children, including Trig, her Down syndrome child. She has been roundly criticized but also has managed to keep the spotlight on herself for nearly a week. She has signed a lucrative book contract, in which I'm sure she will discuss faith and family values. Her ghost writer is a senior writer at the Christian conservative magazine "World". And there will be a special edition by the bible publishing house Zondervan.

I don't know what Palin has in mind. Maybe she'll run for President, maybe she won't. I couldn't care less. What I do feel sad about is her missed opportunity.

She could have stood up in front of her family and said one thing that everyone would have understood and everyone would have applauded. It would be the greatest cliché of all time and for once it could have been true. She could have said, simply, "I'm leaving so that I can spend more time with my family." And she could have elaborated. She could have said that from now on she would use her immense celebrity, her power, her charisma, her popularity among a huge base of Christian conservatives to educate people and advocate for children with special needs.

It might seem exploitative of Trig to some who are so cynical about her that they believe everything she does is for self-aggrandizement. So what? But if she really did it she could change the our culture and the way our world views those with disabilities. She would not only be helping millions of people around the world, but her own child as well.

Leaving her job because it's better for "the state" or to pursue her interest in energy or national security is laughable.

Sarah Palin should live up to her self-proclaimed Christian "family values" and do what she says is the moral thing to do: put her family first and help those who cannot help themselves.

By Sally Quinn | July 8, 2009; 12:39 PM ET