This afternoon Sarah Palin announced that she would be resigning from her position as the Governor of the State of Alaska on July 26, 2009. One of her excuses choosing to resign was the fact that she did not wish to assume "conventional lame duck status" now that her term was coming to an end (it ends in 2010), as this was one of the many things that constitutes "politics as usual," something that apparently the McCain-Palin campaign fought against last year. I'm assuming she ignored the fact that by excusing herself from completing the job that the Alaskan people elected her to do undermines the decision of the people and the capacity that they have to ensure that their chosen leaders lead. And also she would just be replaced with a "lame duck" lieutenant governor who would have to finish the rest of her term.
It could just be that she is wary of the nosedive that her popularity figures in Alaska have taken since the particularly partisan presidential elections last year. Last July, before the nomination, she has an approval rating of 80%. The latest poll numbers have her at 59.8%. And many speculate that she'll use her new-found free time to begin formulating a possible run for the presidency in 2012. My guess is this isn't the last we've heard of Sarah Palin.
BTW: Did anyone read the profile they did of her in Runners' World? You know, the one where she talks about being able to run circles around Obama?
60% is a significant drop from 80% but it's still a good rating. I don't know how the people in Alaska can like her.
ReplyDeleteI was also interested to read that Runner's World article, but the link goes to the NPR article, just to let you know.
Thanks, babe. I fixed the link. And I agree with you, her approval ratings were still very good, but I think the significance lies more in where she was beforehand. Also I'd like to point out that in some polls she was getting ratings of 89%. Now that's surprising.
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't know who Sarah Palin was beforehand, I would say she was a normal, if not likeable, person based on that article. And if everything she says in the interview is true, she probably could run circles around Obama in a long race. She's been training for it, he hasn't (and he's a smoker). Did you have an objection to something she said in the interview?
ReplyDeleteOh, definitely not. I actually really liked the Runners World interview of her because it put her in this normal light that people outside of Alaska haven't seen before. She seemed personable and, frankly speaking, even though I don't agree with her politics it had a positive reflection on her. Although I thought the story with the bandaid was stupid. She did really make me want to go to Alaska over the summer. Or maybe that was The Proposal...
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