# Palin Resigns as Gov? WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 3, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843 "2009-07-03T19:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/321 "2009-07-04T22:47:33Z")
I don’t know why this hasn’t been mentioned. The reason for her resignation is pretty obvious: she wants to spend more time with Sanford’s family. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/322 "2009-07-04T23:09:33Z")
I’d like to point out that when Limbaugh made the ‘family dog’ joke (I saw it live, and it was clear that it was intentional), he had to back down off that really fast and make up an explanation that it was an ‘accident’ because _his own followers_ crucified him for it. And so, we have this one incident, which happened well over a decade ago, and which he immediately had to back away from, and which is own followers thought was in poor taste, and some of you are STILL harping on it and trying to use it as an example of how Republicans are just the same and throw mud at the children of politicians like anyone else. I also think the threat of treating Limbaugh and Coulter as being the voice of Republicans if Republicans treat Maher and Letterman the same way is laughable, because Liberals HAVE been using them to bash Republicans in general since the first day Limbaugh spoke into a microphone. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/323 "2009-07-04T23:09:39Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Is anyone doing that? Did they do it before she resigned? If not, then how can it be a reason? > > Have you seen the shit that gets said about Barack Obama and his family? It’s far worse than anything that gets said on the internet about Palin, and it comes from elected Republicans and mainstream media voices, not just anonymous assholes on the internet, yet I haven’t seen Obama running away like a pussy or constantly playing the victim card. You think it doesn’t hurt to see Republican staffers circulating emails calling his wife a “gorilla?” > > There really haven’t been any attacks on Palin’s family at all outside of meaningless internet noise, and that would not explain the rush. > > Plus, she’s too much of a narcissist to actually give a shit about her kids. They’re accessories to her, not people. Yeah, but **Dio** , you forget…the pubbies have really thin skins. They can dish it out but they really can’t take it, it seems. I don’t want her children to suffer, they’re kids. Maybe Palin should have thought of that. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/324 "2009-07-04T23:16:20Z")
Could someone point to anything nasty someone on the right has said about Obama’s children? Or even any speculation about them? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/325 "2009-07-04T23:26:47Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Could someone point to anything nasty someone on the right has said about Obama’s children? Or even any speculation about them? The thing is that picture is not an “attack” on her children, its an attack on her. Saying Chelsea looks like a dog is a direct insult to her as a person, saying an 8 year old kid might be pregnant is insulting the parents. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/326 "2009-07-04T23:28:34Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Could someone point to anything nasty someone on the right has said about Obama’s children? Or even any speculation about them? Let’s get this thread back on track. We are here to point at Sarah Palin. And laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/327 "2009-07-04T23:29:14Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’d like to point out that when Limbaugh made the ‘family dog’ joke (I saw it live, and it was clear that it was intentional) … _his own followers_ crucified him for it. This little fantasy world you live in … does it include a pony? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/328 "2009-07-04T23:30:16Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > I don’t want her children to suffer, they’re kids. Maybe Palin should have thought of that. Anyone else remembeer when she trotted one of em out as a human shield before dropping the puck at a hockey game last year? For children to be off limits, they gotta be off limits for both sides. Palin doesn’t seem to have a real good grasp of that. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/329 "2009-07-04T23:33:09Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Yup, sheer Palin craziness is looking more and more like the best explanation as the hours pass. If Osama bin Laden can be crazy and still take out the world trade centers, why can’t Sarah Palin be crazy and still be the Republican candidate for VP? > It’s hardly even a conundrum; shit like this _does_ happen. Osama isn’t crazy, he has a goal and a belief, you don’t have to agree with his tactics to understand him. I don’t understand Palin. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/330 "2009-07-04T23:37:48Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > And so, we have this one incident, which happened well over a decade ago… Of course for most of that decade there was a Republican in the White House, and he did not have any minor children. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/331 "2009-07-04T23:40:58Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I also think the threat of treating Limbaugh and Coulter as being the voice of Republicans if Republicans treat Maher and Letterman the same way is laughable, because Liberals HAVE been using them to bash Republicans in general since the first day Limbaugh spoke into a microphone. Agreeing with comedians isn’t ‘using them’ and lets not lose track of who seems to feel they have to apologize to whom. Or has Harry Reid publicly apologized for dismissing Letterman as an entertainer that I’m not aware of? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/332 "2009-07-04T23:41:09Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’d like to point out that when Limbaugh made the ‘family dog’ joke (I saw it live, and it was clear that it was intentional), he had to back down off that really fast and make up an explanation that it was an ‘accident’ because _his own followers_ crucified him for it. I recall one or two serious conserfvative pundits saying that Limbaugh was out of line for his comments. I recall, (and saw on TV and heard on the radio and worked with), a lot of Limbaugh fans who continued to chortle over his “great” shot for months. It might have been different among the few fans of Rush in the more polite Frozen North. > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I also think the threat of treating Limbaugh and Coulter as being the voice of Republicans if Republicans treat Maher and Letterman the same way is laughable, because Liberals HAVE been using them to bash Republicans in general since the first day Limbaugh spoke into a microphone. And yet, no Democrat politician has ever had to offer apologies to a left wing comedian or risk alienation or even job loss for having disagreed with a left-wing comedian while that scenario has played out multiple times, even within the last year, for Republican politicos and Rush. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/333 "2009-07-04T23:42:49Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Let’s get this thread back on track. We are here to point at Sarah Palin. > > And laugh. Actually, you should be here to discuss the potentially realistic aspects of Palin’s resignation, otherwise you should be posting in The Pit or IMHO or, pehaps, MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/334 "2009-07-04T23:50:06Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Osama isn’t crazy, he has a goal and a belief… Of course not, but it was Republican gospel that he was _incomprehensibly_ mad in the aftermath of 9/11. There being no reasonable explanation for Palin’s resignation, it seems fitting to use the GOP’s own post-9/11 logic against her. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/335 "2009-07-05T00:03:30Z")
I am sure someone in these pages had made the basic points: 1. For Sarah’s core she’s a successful woman, mayor and govenor. 2. For her detractors, no matter how well she performs for the rest of the term, she is an uqualified ditz that lucked into the office 3. She can quit now and devote herself full time to raking in some cash over the next few years as an “author”, speaker, etc 4. She does “own” the right to life base. As such, she probably has quite substantial kingmaker power for the Republican party Sheesh, take this time to make some bucks, try to fix her own family, and take care of a special needs child like he deserves. (although not ruling out scandals or insanity at this point). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/336 "2009-07-05T00:08:08Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Philadelphia Flyers fans did. “Boo! Boo!” They were really saying “Boo-ristol!” ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/337 "2009-07-05T00:24:33Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’d like to point out that when Limbaugh made the ‘family dog’ joke (I saw it live… , Unless you were in the studio, I don’t think you saw it live. > [@](#): > > …and it was clear that it was intentional), he had to back down off that really fast and make up an explanation that it was an ‘accident’ because _his own followers_ crucified him for it. I don’t recall any of my dittohead friends criticizing him for it. I _do_ recall several claiming that it was an ‘‘accident’’. Despite the fact that the TV show was taped. Unless his ‘followers’ didn’t understand that you can edit videotape, the ‘explanation’, far from constituting ‘backing down’, was an attempt to absolve Limbaugh of responsibility for his actions. Saying, “I was wrong, that was rude of me”, etc., would have been ‘backing down’. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/338 "2009-07-05T00:26:29Z")
Or she is ill (stigmatized physical or mental health issue) and wants to withdraw from public view so that later she can re-appear without too much scrutiny about what she was doing during this time. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/339 "2009-07-05T00:33:29Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Could someone point to anything nasty someone on the right has said about Obama’s children? Or even any speculation about them? I hesitate to look, but nothing nasty has been said about Palin’s kids either, so the question is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![MeDrewNotYou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/340 "2009-07-05T01:14:51Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Or she is ill (stigmatized physical or mental health issue) and wants to withdraw from public view so that later she can re-appear without too much scrutiny about what she was doing during this time. That’s an interesting thought. The problem, though, seems that it doesn’t explain the rush. If she has cancer or something, she could’ve still taken a couple of days to get a speech prepared, get the press up there, etc. If she’s had a nervous breakdown or similar, the obvious (to me, at least) course is to quietly put the lt. governor in charge for a few days then either come back when she’s better or come back long enough quietly resign then return to whatever treatment. Either way, a hastily put together press conference with a horrible speech is the worst way to go about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843.md?page=18)