# Why did Sarah Palin resign as Alaska's governor?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [August 9, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736 "2010-08-09T17:54:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/61 "2010-08-10T16:09:06Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> > [@Magiver](#):
> >
> > She was being hit with lawsuits she couldn’t afford
>
> See my note about the Clintons, who had 10 or 15 times the legal bills she did.
I’ll save some time here by acknowledging that the Clintons probably had a good deal more personal wealth than the Palins. But like I said, by the end of his second term their legal debts were considerable. [Hillary accepted an $8 million book advance for her memoirs before they left office and she wanted most of the money upfront.](http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/16/nyregion/hillary-clinton-book-advance-8-million-is-near-record.html) And [he agreed to a $10 million advance seven months after he left office](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/08/06/politics/main305105.shtml). That CBS article says they had $11 million in legal costs from their time in office, although a legal fund was expected to pay most of it. They also bought a house in New York ahead of her Senate run and a bigger house in Washington later on.
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/62 "2010-08-10T16:16:47Z")
The Clintons were never rich before they left office, though. Bill’s salary as President was the most money he had ever made at that point. His salary as Governor of Arkansas was $35K a year.
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### Author:  [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/63 "2010-08-10T16:20:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> > [@Marley23](#):
> >
> > See my note about the Clintons, who had 10 or 15 times the legal bills she did.
>
> I’ll save some time here by acknowledging that the Clintons probably had a good deal more personal wealth than the Palins.
But how much more wealth? Being lawyers, I’m sure the Clintons were fairly well-off, but they spent most of their careers in the public arena making government salaries. Granted, at the gubernatorial and presidential levels those salaries are nothing to sniff at, but from what I’ve read they weren’t super-rich when they left the White House.
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/64 "2010-08-10T16:31:02Z")
When they left the White House, they were millions of dollars in debt from legal fees. Their book deals dug them out of that hole, and Bill started making a lot of money from speaking fees as well (and they also had Hillary’s salary as a US Senator and now Secretary of State, of course). They’re well off now, but they were never even millionaires until after they left the White House.
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### Author:  [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/65 "2010-08-10T16:35:43Z")
When you run for office ,you are making a promise and a commitment to all those who gave you money, voted for you and helped your campaign. It is serious and should not be taken lightly. You have declared yourself to be the right person to run the government. Followers and workers make financial and time commitments to help you get elected. It is rare for a politician to just quit . Most think they have a responsibility to do as good a job as they can. Quitting is just plain wrong. But Sarah, barracuda, saw easy money. She let down a lot of people when she became the Quitinator. It is character revealing and it is not pretty.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/66 "2010-08-10T16:36:13Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#):
>
> The Clintons were never rich before they left office, though. Bill’s salary as President was the most money he had ever made at that point. His salary as Governor of Arkansas was $35K a year.
> [@joebuck20](#):
>
> But how much more wealth? Being lawyers, I’m sure the Clintons were fairly well-off, but they spent most of their careers in the public arena making government salaries. Granted, at the gubernatorial and presidential levels those salaries are nothing to sniff at, but from what I’ve read they weren’t super-rich when they left the White House.
_He_ spent most of his career in the public arena. _She_ didn’t. She was a lawyer in private practice until she became First Lady, and obviously for some of that time, she was a lawyer married to the governor. She always made more money than he did and it sounds like she was making a good deal of money by the time he was elected president. [Their combined income in 1999 was $420,000](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQKAq1WjTDjI), and [about $358,000 in 2000.](http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/clintontaxes/2000.pdf) They released their tax returns for the '90s when the was running for president but I think this proves the point.
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/67 "2010-08-10T16:41:14Z")
He was already President in 1999 and 2000, and that’s still pretty low for a sitting Preisident. Most of that is Bill’s salary. I already said his salary as Prez was the most money he’d ever made up to that point.
And their _net_ worth at that time was still in a deep hole because of legal debts.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/68 "2010-08-10T16:43:23Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#):
>
> When they left the White House, they were millions of dollars in debt from legal fees. Their book deals dug them out of that hole, and Bill started making a lot of money from speaking fees as well (and they also had Hillary’s salary as a US Senator and now Secretary of State, of course). They’re well off now, but they were never even millionaires until after they left the White House.
They’re not just well off now, they are extremely rich. Anyway in case my point got lost, here’s what I was saying:
When the Clintons left office in 2001, they had much bigger legal debts ($11 million versus about $500,000). It’s true that they [started off with more money](http://www.slate.com/id/2201650) because of his salary as president and that legal funds covered most of that $11 million. Still, they owed a lot more money and they both signed big book deals to help pay for the rest, and for new houses and other things.
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#):
>
> He was already President in 1999 and 2000, and that’s still pretty low for a sitting Preisident. Most of that is Bill’s salary. I already said his salary as Prez was the most money he’d ever made up to that point.
Yes, and the legal fees came from his time as president. But for comparison, [here’s how they were doing when he was elected:](http://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/11/us/the-1992-campaign-clintons-tax-return-shows-36-income-rise.html)
> [@](#):
>
> The 1990 return reports gross income of $268,646, up from $197,651 the previous year. After adjustments, deductions and exemptions, taxable income for the family in 1990 was $179,020, on which the Clintons paid taxes of $50,932, the return shows.
>
> For 1989, the Clintons had taxable income of $138,348, on which they paid $37,883, their 1989 return showed.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/69 "2010-08-10T17:14:29Z")
$138,000? You think you’d make more money if you owned a fishery.
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/70 "2010-08-10T17:22:15Z")
> [@Cinebar](#):
>
> > [@The\_Second\_Stone](#):
> >
> > She saw an opportunity to become a speaker and make a lot of money. If she waited until she was out of office, it might cool down into nothing. She is making boatloads of money with books, speeches and TV appearances. She will never have to work another day in her life. Good for her.
>
> Not “good for her.” She made a commitment to the people of Alaska (although, they’re probably lucky to be rid of her) that she didn’t keep for reasons that had only to do with what she saw was best for her.
>
> She’s a quitter and an opportunist.
Yes, she is a quitter and an opportunist, but let’s face it, she was utterly unqualified to be governor of Alaska and in way over her head. She did Alaska a big favor by quitting. Any President is going to make a lot of money once out of office and on a speaking tour. But if she waited too long, she’d be remembered like Geraldine Ferraro without the brains. She’s made $12 million at least since she quit. None of her hillbilly brood are ever going to be on the public dole. Yes, it was best for her, but it was also best for Alaska the office now has someone a lot more capable in it. I hope.
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### Author:  [@Cinebar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinebar)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/71 "2010-08-10T17:32:34Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#):
>
> Yes, she is a quitter and an opportunist, but let’s face it, she was utterly unqualified to be governor of Alaska and in way over her head. She did Alaska a big favor by quitting.
That could very well be true.
It just burns my butt to see her (and her defenders) still clinging to the party line that her motives were pure and that she did it for the benefit of Alaska.
She quit because it was advantageous for _her_ and all that other crap about swimming upstream (or whatever) and doing it _for Alaska_ is bullshit…pure and simple.
I might even have an iota of respect for her if, just once, she’d admit why she _really_ quit.
Oh, never mind. I can’t imagine her doing anything that would cause me to respect her. ☹
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### Author:  [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/72 "2010-08-10T17:56:22Z")
My own personal theory is that:
A) Palin was smart enough to realize that Alaska’s financial problems required either cutting programs and/or raising taxes. Neither of these solutions was likely to be popular with the voters,
B) Ted Stevens’ exoneration meant he might run for governor next time and very possibly beat Palin like a red-headed stepchild,
C) She and the First Dude realized there were a hell of a lot more idiots in the lower 48 than in Alaska, so she decided to fleece them with the help of Fox News.
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### Author:  [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/73 "2010-08-10T18:24:47Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#):
>
> None of her hillbilly brood are ever going to be on the public dole.
From [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillbilly)
> [@](#):
>
> Due to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of Appalachian heritage
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/74 "2010-08-10T19:02:11Z")
You should write a letter to the producers of the “Beverly Hillbillies.”
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/75 "2010-08-10T19:04:01Z")
Don’t worry, no one from Appalachia can read worth a shit anyway.
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### Author:  [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/76 "2010-08-10T19:06:42Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#):
>
> You should write a letter to the producers of the “Beverly Hillbillies.”
Why don’t you ? And you might as well write to all those American newspapers for their offensive language towards the Japanese in WWII.
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### Author:  [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/77 "2010-08-10T20:15:04Z")
You must have mistaken me for somebody who gives a shit about either word.
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### Author:  [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/78 "2010-08-10T22:51:24Z")
The proper term is Hill-Williams.
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [August 10, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/79 "2010-08-10T22:52:56Z")
> [@Lobohan](#):
>
> The proper term is Hill-Williams.
Allow me to introduce Mr. William-Joseph Robert…
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-sarah-palin-resign-as-alaskas-governor/549736/80 "2010-08-11T00:10:54Z")
**TWEEEET!**
While the classist (not racist) term “hillbilly” was not a particularly appropriate choice of terms for this forum, the hijack over whether it should be permitted is seriously derailing this thread.
That topic is closed in this thread.
\*\*
[/Moderating]\*\*
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