In a shocking move, Alaska governor Sarah Palin opted to resign from office yesterday instead of serving out the two+ years remaining in her term. She had already indicated that she wouldn’t be seeking reelection, and mentioned during her press conference that her unwillingness to continue drawing a salary as a lame duck governor was part of the reason for her decision.
But since she didn’t really go into details about what prompted the resignation, which will be effective July 25, everyone’s left speculating about what the real reason could be. Many think that the move shows Palin won’t be seeking the presidency in 2012. Others seem to think that there might be a major scandal on the horizon, which could explain why she chose to make her announcement just before heading into a holiday weekend.
While I don’t think Palin is ready for national office, I am not a hater either. I’m just as puzzled by her decision as anyone else. I doubt she’s going to head into full retirement and start focusing on winning golf trophies at the local Wasilla country club, but what else is she going to do now?
Oh, another idea about Palin that I forgot to mention came from a Time magazine article. The writer speculated that Palin might be following in Ronald Reagan’s footsteps by spending the next few years studying current political issues and touring the country to speak and field questions from citizens.
That actually sounds kind of plausible…. Hmm, I really want to know why she resigned!!
(AP Photo/The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, Robert DeBerry)
July 4th, 2009 at 8:41 am
i just saw that on news this morning and people are thinking she did it because she is already preparing for the presidential elections.
July 4th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Yes, some people think that’s why she resigned. But just as many people say that not finishing her term as governor is really stupid if she’s considering higher office — especially since she didn’t have much governing experience to begin with.