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Re: Palin resigning as Alaska gov
Report: Palin resigning as Alaska gov
Former vice presidential hopeful won't finish out first term
BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
updated 3:27 p.m. ET, Fri., July 3, 2009
WASILLA, Alaska - Sarah Palin plans to resign as governor of Alaska in a few weeks, KTUU-TV reported Friday.
Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008, made the announcement at her home Friday morning, the station said.
Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will take over at the end of the month, KTUU reported.
With her at the announcement were Parnell and most of her cabinet.
There was no immediate word as to why she will step down before the end of her first term, though some have speculated in the past that she may be interested in running for president in 2012.
© 2009 msnbc.com
Re: Palin resigning as Alaska gov
Palin stepping down this month
* Story Highlights
* NEW: "Everyone is going assume there's another story," CNN's Ed Rollins says
* Gov. Sarah Palin to step down as governor by the end of the month
* Palin made announcement at home in Wasilla, Alaska
* Announcement move likely to fuel speculation Palin will seek presidency in 2012
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Gov. Sarah Palin announced Friday that she will step down as Alaska's chief executive by the end of the month. She will not seek election to a second gubernatorial term in 2010.
"People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska," Palin said at an announcement from her home in Wasilla. "Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine."
Palin, a Republican, was elected governor in 2006. She was tapped as Arizona Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate last year.
Palin said she was transferring authority to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who will be sworn in at the Governor's Picnic on July 26. VideoWatch Palin's announcement »
Palin added in a statement that she was "determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is not the easiest path. ... Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional lame duck status in this particular climate would just be another dose of politics as usual, something I campaigned against and will always oppose."
A Republican source close to her political team told CNN's John King that it was a "calculation" she made that "it was time to move on." The governor's "book deal and other issues" were "causing a lot of friction" in her home state, the source said, adding that he believes she is "mapping out a path to 2012."
Another source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Palin "thinks she has accomplished goals she has set forward. ... She sees what a positive influence she has had on people's lives from traveling the country in the last year."
Following Palin's announcement, the Democratic National Committee blasted what it called her "bizarre behavior."
"Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long shot national political ambitions or she simply can't handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down," DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said.
"Either way, her decision to abandon her post and the people of Alaska who elected her continues a pattern of bizarre behavior that more than anything else may explain the decision she made today."
Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ed Rollins said, to a certain extent, Palin's announcement makes her look "terribly inept."
"I think everyone is shocked by this, and I think to a certain extent everyone is going to assume there's another story. You don't just quit with a year and a half to go. You certainly don't do this as a stepping stone to run for president. You finish the job that you're in, and obviously she's not doing that," he said.
"I think people are going to be very suspicious because of the timing. You don't quit on the Friday of a three-day holiday. If you are going to do this, you think it through, you give a good speech," Rollins said.
As the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, Palin had been considered one of the front-runners for the GOP nomination in 2012.
In an interview last month with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Palin said she was unsure about her re-election bid because she needed to focus on her state and her family.
"So, no decision yet on either 2010 or let alone 2012?" Blitzer asked.
"No decision that I'd want to announce today," Palin responded.
Palin catapulted on the national stage last August when McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, chose her as his running mate.
CNN's Peter Hamby, John King, Mark Preston, Kristi Keck and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.
All AboutSarah Palin • Alaska
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/03/ … topstories
Re: Palin resigning as Alaska gov
Bizarre. This does not help her 2012 aspirations because she's basically showing she is a quitter. You don't quit mid term if you are a serious politician not facing scandal.
She pretty much killed her presidential aspirations today, and more than likely its due to skeletons on the verge of peeking out of her closet.
Like Crash said, hopefully its a sex tape.
Re: Palin resigning as Alaska gov
yeah i guess you have to figure something comes out regarding this. Probably by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Otherwise, could just be something simple, like taking a TV show or a book deal. The timing sure is suspect though, right before a 3 day holiday weekend, and during the MJ funeral saga where it could be buried in the news wires & peoples minds. We'll see.
Re: Palin resigning as Alaska gov
I'm reading on certain sites that people close to her are saying that she is done with politics forever.
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Palin Resigns. But Why?!
7/3/09, 3:55 pm EST
WTF?
Sarah Palin has pulled the plug on her governorship. Before the end of her only term. At an impromptu press conference. At her house. On a Friday. Before the 4th of July. And refuses to answer questions.
This is not in keeping with a woman with presidential ambitions.
And certainly not in keeping with a politician who has learned to milk a media frenzy for every last drop (see Letterman, David.)
No. This has the hallmarks of a politician slinking away before the shit hits the fan.
Really. If this were some double-bank-shot designed to bolster her presidential standing (as AP seems to suggest) would Sarah Palin choose to duck out on the first day of a three-day weekend? When the entire American mediaplex is off buying ice for the cooler?
No way.
Another shoe is about to drop, but what is it?
The only clue we’ve got, an oblique mention to a reporter from the outgoing Guv:
“You are naive if you don’t see a full-court press on the national level, picking apart a good point guard.”
UPDATE: Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC reporting Palin sources saying ex Guv is “out of politics for good.”
http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaff … n-resigns/
Re: Palin resigning as Alaska gov
Definitely a scandal of some sort brewing. She had presidential aspirations, and in an era of complete idiotic leadership, actually had a chance.
She was probably having an affair of some sort and before it could get out and ruin her marriage and/or political career, she's gonna flush her political ambition down the toilet and cash in on what fame she has.
Re: Palin resigning as Alaska gov
I'm pretty torn on this whole thing. On the one hand I feel that she got a raw deal from the media since being announced as VP. But on the other hand some of the comments she made, made it to easy to poke fun at her.
If she could have fixed her image, she would have been a powerhouse come 2012.
