# 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:** 34
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/661 "2009-07-14T03:04:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > In a feeble attempt to reconnect this thread with the original intent, [this article](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/us/politics/13palin.html?ref=global-home) in today’s NYT is a sober, non-hysterical look at what probably led to the resignation. > [@NYT](#): > > That’s why Palin won’t go gently into the good night, much as some Republicans in Washington might wish. She is not just the party’s biggest star and most charismatic television performer; she is its only star and charismatic performer. Most important, she stands for a genuine movement: a dwindling white nonurban America that is aflame with grievances and awash in self-pity as the country hurtles into the 21st century and leaves it behind. Palin gives this movement a major party brand and political plausibility that its open-throated media auxiliary, exemplified by Glenn Beck, cannot. She loves the spotlight, can raise millions of dollars and has no discernible reason to go fishing now except for self-promotional photo ops. So she’s the Republican party’s William Jennings Bryan? Sorry, but he was much tougher and INFINITELY more erudite. Even in a world of political soundbites the ability to string more than three words into a conherent soundbite is valuable. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/662 "2009-07-14T03:07:36Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Hmmm… you are pretty specific with 1968… (ie not “the late 60’s”), so what was it in 1968 that caused this decline in moral standards? The release of _Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida_ by Iron Butterfly. Extended drum solos are bad enough influences, but random noises from a Farfisa have the potential to destroy civilization. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/663 "2009-07-14T09:00:30Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > So she’s the Republican party’s William Jennings Bryan? Sorry, but he was much tougher and INFINITELY more erudite. Even in a world of political soundbites the ability to string more than three words into a conherent soundbite is valuable. If she has to restrict herself to one-word soundbites (“Maverick!”), so much the better to fit into the news reports. It’s not what she is that matters, it’s what people think she is. Which is true of pretty much all politicians, the current President included. Reality has nothing to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/664 "2009-07-14T09:43:04Z")
Ms Palin has “written” an OpEd piece for The Washington Post. > **[Sarah Palin - A 'Cap and Tax' Road to Economic Disaster](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/13/AR2009071302852.html)** > > The Obama climate change proposal would wreak economic havoc. Is there anyone, supporter or hater, that actually thinks this woman wrote those words? ---
**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 14, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/665 "2009-07-14T09:46:38Z")
Why do you ask? Does it seem like a professionally written piece to you? ---
**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 14, 2009, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/666 "2009-07-14T09:54:07Z")
Well, I need to get to bed so I don’t guess I’ll wait for an answer. I think she wrote it. It has grammatical errors and an odd cadence. I do think that she might have written it with the help of an outline prepared by someone else (“the chattering class”? Who the hell came up with that?), but again, I think the finished product was written by her. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/667 "2009-07-14T10:12:20Z")
Here’s the first paragraph" > [@](#): > > There is no shortage of threats to our economy. America’s unemployment rate recently hit its highest mark in more than 25 years and is expected to continue climbing. Worries are widespread that even when the economy finally rebounds, the recovery won’t bring jobs. Our nation’s debt is unsustainable, and the federal government’s reach into the private sector is unprecedented. Does that ‘voice’ sound like anything Ms Palin has ever said or written before? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/668 "2009-07-14T14:18:48Z")
> [@leander](#): > > Here’s the first paragraph" > > > [@](#): > > > > There is no shortage of threats to our economy. America’s unemployment rate recently hit its highest mark in more than 25 years and is expected to continue climbing. Worries are widespread that even when the economy finally rebounds, the recovery won’t bring jobs. Our nation’s debt is unsustainable, and the federal government’s reach into the private sector is unprecedented. > > Does that ‘voice’ sound like anything Ms Palin has ever said or written before? I am neither a fan of Palin’s nor a careful student of her written and spoken record, but I think it’s certain that she wrote it, with help from her staff. Just like any other politician would get staff help when writing an Op Ed for the Washington Post. For example, I don’t think Obama’s Wash Post Op Ed this past Sunday on the stimulus was a solo effort. Since Obama has proven writing skills and talent, I suspect he had more of a hand in the words under his name than Palin did the words under her name. I’m sure they both had final approval of their respective texts. Palin’s Op Ed sounds more like the quotes I’ve heard from her about energy issues than her Katie Couric interview or her resignation speech. Palin knows something when it comes to energy issues. In my snarky opinion I see no evidence in her Op Ed that she read the Wikipedia page on [Emissions trading](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_trading) before she sent her missive to the WaPo. Also IMO, drilling our way out of dependence on foreign oil is like overdosing your way out of heroin addiction. Those are disagreements in opinion, not grammar. In the Op Ed Palin’s sentences parse, she does not appear to be blithering, and she only has one possibly extraneous exclamation point. The Op Ed is a big improvement over her resignation speech. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/669 "2009-07-14T14:26:01Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > The Op Ed is a big improvement over her resignation speech. It’s amazing what a good copy editor can do with even the cruddiest manuscript: make it comprehensible and readable while not totally obliterating the voice of the original author. I know; I’ve done it; and the persons I cleaned up were happy to claim credit for the final result without at all feeling embarrassed at how radical the surgery had been. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/670 "2009-07-14T14:34:42Z")
In Palin’s defense, I’ll point out that it’s a whole different thing, writing, from talking. You get to organize what you’re saying, and you aren’t trying to hammer a single “talking point” again and again. You aren’t trying to “fire people up.” Some portions of Obama’s speeches would read pretty silly too. This doesn’t sound like any of Palin’s speeches, but I’ve never read anything she wrote, so I can’t say she didn’t write this. If she did, she certainly got help, as I just don’t see Palin taking the time to get the cites she mentions, but I have no reason to believe her stupid, anymore than I believe George W. Bush was stupid. They both lack intellectual curiosity, and they strive (or strove) to appeal to a base that doesn’t care as long as they say the right buzz words, so why bother? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/671 "2009-07-14T14:52:29Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > The Op Ed is a big improvement over her resignation speech. So are the noises she makes while sitting on the toilet. I don’t agree with the op-ed piece but it isn’t badly written. I suspect it was done by committee. I don’t doubt that she gave general direction but I can’t see her writing this well. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/672 "2009-07-14T15:53:07Z")
And NOW the Republicans don’t think she is [qualified for the Big Chair](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/07/14/poll-majority-of-republicans-dont-think-palins-qualified-to-be-president/). A day late and a dollar short getting on the wagon yet again. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/673 "2009-07-14T15:56:58Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > The Times article makes her seem so… so human. Not weak, not a little girl who can’t handle the pressure, but someone who was grossly unprepared for politics as not portrayed on television. That’s pretty much how I saw it. It seems she was unable to tell the difference between the stuff you’re “supposed” to ignore in politics and the stuff you need to respond to. So she took all of it personally and wasted a lot of time and energy and ultimately got frustrated with it. This horse is long out of the barn, but there’s no particular reason politicians should put through some of the crap Palin and Obama went through last year. Still it sounds like she was more focused on settling her score with Letterman than governing Alaska. She got a taste of the big stage and suddenly being in charge in Alaska didn’t look so interesting. As far as taking the political stuff personally, this reminds me a bit of another famous Republican. Are we going to have Sarah Palin to kick around anymore? ---
**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 14, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/674 "2009-07-14T16:33:14Z")
I think her political viability is over, at least on a national level. There’s been speculation that she might run for US Senate, but that seems doubtful now. I don’t think she has the belly for a campaign, and even if she got elected, she would not be a big fish anymore, just a back bencher in a minority party. That’s not something that’s likely to satisfy her ego and her need for attention. Plus, she does not work well with others, and she’d have to be subordinate to caucus leaders and more senior Senators. She’d quit after a week. I still think she’ll end up on Fox News. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/675 "2009-07-14T19:55:47Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I think her political viability is over, at least on a national level. There’s been speculation that she might run for US Senate, but that seems doubtful now. I don’t think she has the belly for a campaign, and even if she got elected, she would not be a big fish anymore, just a back bencher in a minority party. That’s not something that’s likely to satisfy her ego and her need for attention. Plus, she does not work well with others, and she’d have to be subordinate to caucus leaders and more senior Senators. She’d quit after a week. > > I still think she’ll end up on Fox News. I suppose it’s possible she’ll do what McCain and Hillary did and find a spot where she thinks she can win and move there to become a resident, using her noterity to get votes. The WaPo article seems like an attempt to dispell the meme that she doesn’t really understand the issues. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/676 "2009-07-14T20:12:26Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > I suppose it’s possible she’ll do what McCain and Hillary did and find a spot where she thinks she can win and move there to become a resident, using her noterity to get votes. That doesn’t work as well if you’ve previously held elected office somewhere else. And McCain started off as a Congressman. I don’t think that holds any appeal for her. I think she probably did consider a Senate run, but passed instead of challenging Lisa Murkowski. I don’t think Palin wants to be anything except president. I don’t know if that means she’s running in 2012 - I think so - but I think it’s that or nothing for right now. She probably sees anything else as too much aggravation and too little reward. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/677 "2009-07-14T20:25:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That doesn’t work as well if you’ve previously held elected office somewhere else… With Minnesota’s history of electing oddballs, Palin might succeed against Michelle Bachman. That’d give Sarah a nice base in the lower 48 from which to conspire for the presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/678 "2009-07-14T20:27:00Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > With Minnesota’s history of electing oddballs, Palin might succeed against Michelle Bachman. I think not. But it’d be a hell of an entertaining primary. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/679 "2009-07-14T21:47:39Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > I suppose it’s possible she’ll do what McCain and Hillary did and find a spot where she thinks she can win and move there to become a resident, using her noterity to get votes. She could try that in Alaska. No, wait, she already did. ---
**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 14, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843/680 "2009-07-14T21:57:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That doesn’t work as well if you’ve previously held elected office somewhere else. And McCain started off as a Congressman. I don’t think that holds any appeal for her. I think she probably did consider a Senate run, but passed instead of challenging Lisa Murkowski. > > I don’t think Palin wants to be anything except president. I don’t know if that means she’s running in 2012 - I think so - but I think it’s that or nothing for right now. She probably sees anything else as too much aggravation and too little reward. And the Department of Law won’t stop people from saying mean stuff about her in the Senate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-resigns-as-gov-wtf/501843.md?page=35)