# How will quitting as governor affect Palin's chances. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 2, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051 "2011-06-02T05:13:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/221 "2011-07-09T04:48:12Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > But…but…guyyys! New Yorkers _trusted_ her! They passed out pamphlets and everything! And she turned her back on them to take a job with more prestige which she hornswaggled out of Obama in order to get her to concede the election. In her new job she doesn’t do jack shit for all those millions of New Yorkers who were counting on her to senatorize for them! This is the same reaction a lot of conservatives had when she ran for the Senate. _“But…but…but…don’t you understand?..she’s Hillary Clinton…HILLARY CLINTON…you can’t vote for her…she’s evil”_ And then we went ahead and did it. Twice. I don’t make up these rules but they exist. You’re allowed to quit a political office to take another political office - you’re still “serving the public”. You’re allowed to quit an appointed office. But if you’re elected and you quit for personal reasons, you’re done - you’ll never get elected to another major office. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/222 "2011-07-09T04:51:55Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Do you also feel that it’s a logical conclusion based on what we’ve said that we think Obama betrayed the people of Illinois by leaving them to become president? He probably thinks we should. Here’s a better example. Should the people of Arizona be mad at John McCain because of the way he was willing to abandon them in 2008? Apparently they weren’t because they re-elected him in 2010. Again, the key issue was he had been running for another office in 2008. So it didn’t count against him. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/223 "2011-07-09T05:13:40Z")
I personally think people should be free to leave office as they see fit. I also think whinging about how doing so betrays the public trust is silly. ---
**Author:** ![Recovering\_Republican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Recovering\_Republican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recovering_Republican)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/224 "2011-07-09T09:35:56Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Maybe so. Although I don’t think 99% of us would have wanted the difficulties of being Governor in the first place. > > But that’s not the point of this thread. It’s not about Palin’s motives for quitting. It’s about our reaction to her quitting. > > Palin should have known she can’t quit a job in the middle in order to take a better offer - and then turn around and ask people to hire her for another job. Well, it I think it’s about YOUR reaction. Most other Americans don’t care. They don’t care that Palin got a better job, they care about the fact that 16.2% (the REAL unemployment number) can’t get a job at all, and many of the rest of us are stuck in jobs we don’t like because the economy has sludged to a standstill. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/225 "2011-07-09T11:09:41Z")
To use an extreme hypothetical. Let’s say she was elected to city council. She quit after day 1. A few years later she decided to run for mayor. She was elected, and quit after day 1. A few years later she decided to run for state senate, and won, and quit after day 1. A few years later she runs for governor, wins, and quits after day 1. A few years later she runs for president. Now a person who says “what the fuck is up with this woman, I’m not going to vote for her if she has just shown herself as someone who quits if elected” is just purely partisan making up the issue just as some nonsense way to justify their partisan hatred, right? There can be no legitimate concern about it. Is this your position? ---
**Author:** ![Recovering\_Republican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Recovering\_Republican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recovering_Republican)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/226 "2011-07-09T12:34:36Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > To use an extreme hypothetical. > > Let’s say she was elected to city council. She quit after day 1. A few years later she decided to run for mayor. She was elected, and quit after day 1. A few years later she decided to run for state senate, and won, and quit after day 1. A few years later she runs for governor, wins, and quits after day 1. A few years later she runs for president. Now a person who says “what the fuck is up with this woman, I’m not going to vote for her if she has just shown herself as someone who quits if elected” is just purely partisan making up the issue just as some nonsense way to justify their partisan hatred, right? There can be no legitimate concern about it. Is this your position? Well, in that extreme hypothetical, she wouldn’t have a record to run on. She has a record to run on in the 2 1/2 years she was governor, and it’s a pretty decent one. It’s actualy also a pretty moderate one. She took a strong position on climate change before realizing it’s RW heresy. She didn’t serve her full four years as governor, and Obama didn’t serve his full six years as Senator. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/227 "2011-07-09T12:37:36Z")
Still, your position is that it just doesn’t matter why she quit, so in this hypothetical, it would be wrong for the voter to look at her history of quitting when judging whether to vote for her or not, right? And also to be clear, your contention that Obama taking the presidency is the equivelant degree of abandonment as Palin quitting her job as governor to become a pundit, right? ---
**Author:** ![Recovering\_Republican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Recovering\_Republican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recovering_Republican)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/228 "2011-07-09T12:47:50Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Still, your position is that it just doesn’t matter why she quit, so in this hypothetical, it would be wrong for the voter to look at her history of quitting when judging whether to vote for her or not, right? > > And also to be clear, your contention that Obama taking the presidency is the equivelant degree of abandonment as Palin quitting her job as governor to become a pundit, right? Oh, no. My contention is that Obama taking the presidency was far worse. I mean, look how this joker has screwed up the country. 9.2% unemployment for nearly three years straight, $4.00 a gallon gas, trillions in new debt, a trillion wasted on a stimulus that produced no jobs, a health care plan that everyone hates, got us into a third war where a tin-pot dictator is thumbing his nose at us. This guy has never run a state, never run a city, never ran the night shift at a fast food place, but he’s qualified to run the country because he said “Hopey-Change” and you guys all gooed over him. All Palin did was take a job making commentary for more money than she was making as a governor, on the theory that speaking on a national stage, she could do more good for the country. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/229 "2011-07-09T13:29:53Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I personally think people should be free to leave office as they see fit. I also think whinging about how doing so betrays the public trust is silly. No one here is saying that she didn’t have the right to leave the office. What is being said is that her decision to leave the office is indicia of her capability to serve in other offices. Look, many conservatives say they want government run like a business. Let’s say you have an opening for CEO at a company. One of the candidates comes in and says, “My resume clearly shows that while I was a Unit Manager, I did a good job. Then I got the job as Division Director and did great with that until I quit a couple of years in. Why did I quit? Well, I tried to get this job as COO at another company and didn’t get it. Then all these other people at my company started being mean to me and saying I did things wrong and it just got to be a big distraction and a giant personal hassle, so I quit. Plus I got this offer to be a free-lance consultant making a ton of money.” Now, as chairman of the search committee, how would you look at that candidate? ---
**Author:** ![Recovering\_Republican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Recovering\_Republican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recovering_Republican)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/230 "2011-07-09T13:38:24Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > No one here is saying that she didn’t have the right to leave the office. What is being said is that her decision to leave the office is indicia of her capability to serve in other offices. > > Look, many conservatives say they want government run like a business. Let’s say you have an opening for CEO at a company. One of the candidates comes in and says, “My resume clearly shows that while I was a Unit Manager, I did a good job. Then I got the job as Division Director and did great with that until I quit a couple of years in. Why did I quit? Well, I tried to get this job as COO at another company and didn’t get it. Then all these other people at my company started being mean to me and saying I did things wrong and it just got to be a big distraction and a giant personal hassle, so I quit. Plus I got this offer to be a free-lance consultant making a ton of money.” > > Now, as chairman of the search committee, how would you look at that candidate? Again, Palin isn’t really saying that. SHe’s saying she took the job as a national person because she felt she could make more of an impact, which incidently, SHE HAS. the 2010 victory of the GOP is probably the most impressive thing ever in politics, and she had a large hand in a lot of it. Keep in mind, after 2008, people were writing the GOP off as a dead party. now, once again- I don’t think she’s actually running. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/231 "2011-07-09T14:06:56Z")
> [@Recovering\_Republican](#): > > Oh, no. My contention is that Obama taking the presidency was far worse. Haha, do you think that’s an elegant dodge? It’s like you hit a snafu in your programming so you went back to your main talking points as a failsafe. > [@Recovering\_Republican](#): > > the 2010 victory of the GOP is probably the most impressive thing ever in politics, and she had a large hand in a lot of it. A party retaking half of congress in the middle of one of the most trouble economic times in the history of the country where anti-incumbent sentiment is high is the most impressive thing EVER. **EVER!** ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/232 "2011-07-09T14:25:37Z")
> [@Recovering\_Republican](#): > > Oh, no. My contention is that Obama taking the presidency was far worse. Palin quit. Obama was _promoted_. The two situations aren’t analogous. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/233 "2011-07-09T16:16:24Z")
I doubt Palin is running. it would be impossible to explain away her quitting right after being elected. She betrayed the public trust . She betrayed the citizens of Alaska. She did it for money. She was and is, a self serving selfish bitch who cares only about herself. She also has made tons of ignorant public pronouncements. People who find that acceptable are few . Most find her actions reveal what a low class human she is. ---
**Author:** ![Recovering\_Republican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Recovering\_Republican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recovering_Republican)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/234 "2011-07-09T17:24:58Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Haha, do you think that’s an elegant dodge? It’s like you hit a snafu in your programming so you went back to your main talking points as a failsafe.. Well, it has you sputtering, so yeah, I’d say so. But shhhhh, we aren’t supposed to talk about “The One’s” incompetence. . > [@](#): > > A party retaking half of congress in the middle of one of the most trouble economic times in the history of the country where anti-incumbent sentiment is high is the most impressive thing EVER. **EVER!** Oh, absolutely. People were writing the GOP’s obituary in 2008. 2010, they control most of the governorships, the house and are nearly even in the senate. 2012, they’ll retake the presidency, the Senate and pad their majority in the House. ---
**Author:** ![Recovering\_Republican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Recovering\_Republican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recovering_Republican)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/235 "2011-07-09T17:28:22Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I doubt Palin is running. it would be impossible to explain away her quitting right after being elected. She betrayed the public trust . She betrayed the citizens of Alaska. She did it for money. She was and is, a self serving selfish bitch who cares only about herself. She also has made tons of ignorant public pronouncements. > People who find that acceptable are few . Most find her actions reveal what a low class human she is. Wow, man, how misogynistic of you? “Bitch”? really? Did you want to throw the dreaded C-word in there, too? I don’t think she’s running either, but she’s already helped quite a lot. And she did something for money? Really? Don’t we all do stuff for money? (Still waiting for the Koch Brothers to send me my check.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/236 "2011-07-09T17:40:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Wow, man, how misogynistic of you? “Bitch”? really? Did you want to throw the dreaded C-word in there, too? Conservative? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/237 "2011-07-11T03:47:42Z")
Palin said today " the field is not set’. That would suggest that she will throw her bra into the ring. As for bitch. I know how I would feel if I worked long and hard on a campaign for someone and they cavalierly walked off to make some easy money. I have worked on a few political campaigns. It is long work. You give up a lot of your life and spend a lot of time and effort in a campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Recovering\_Republican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Recovering\_Republican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recovering_Republican)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/238 "2011-07-11T10:06:34Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Palin said today " the field is not set’. That would suggest that she will throw her bra into the ring. > As for bitch. I know how I would feel if I worked long and hard on a campaign for someone and they cavalierly walked off to make some easy money. I have worked on a few political campaigns. It is long work. You give up a lot of your life and spend a lot of time and effort in a campaign. I’ve worked on them, too. I personally can’t fault Palin, given her efforts have furthered the causes of people who supported her far more than her staying in Alaska would have. I really don’t think she will throw in because she’s not lining up the kind of support you need to contend- contributors, organizers, etc. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/239 "2011-07-14T22:54:02Z")
You really believe those who worked for her are fine with her walking off to fill her pockets? She has become a Clown Princess since she quit for the greed train. She makes strings of stupid comments that most political commentators have comedy fun with. Today she claims the debt ceiling deal is unconstitutional. She believes drinking a Pepsi instead of a Coke is unconstitutional. She is a national joke. A fountain of misspeaks and mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051/240 "2011-07-14T23:38:46Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Today she claims the debt ceiling deal is unconstitutional. Cite for this? I don’t disbelieve you, I just couldn’t find it myself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-quitting-as-governor-affect-palins-chances/584051.md?page=13)