Palin Stirs Debate About Her Political Future With Resignation
July 4th, 2009
Palin | 
“She is a source of constant surprise,” said John Feehery, a Washington-based strategist who advised former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican. “Only time will tell if shes a meteor flashing through the sky or a bona fide political star.”
In remarks to reporters yesterday at her home in Wasilla, Alaska, Palin did not directly offer reasons for her decision to quit the governorship before the end of this month.
She provided possible hints of her motivations, including a bitter after-taste from the 2008 campaign, in which she burst on to the national stage as Arizona Senator John McCains running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.
Since then, Palin said in her resignation announcement, shes been subjected to the “the politics of personal destruction” through more than a dozen “frivolous” ethics complaints filed with state officials.
“The state has wasted thousands of hours of your time and shelled out some 2 million of your dollars to respond to opposition research,” she said. And her family was “looking at more than half a million dollars in legal bills just in order to set the record straight,” she said.
Palin, 45, was elected to a four-year gubernatorial term in 2006. Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell will assume the governors office.
Split Reactions
Political observers were split over whether her decision to resign would serve her purposes should she decide to run for the White House.
Palin “made the right decision if she is serious about running,” said Washington-based independent political analyst Charlie Cook. “She could be a good governor or she can be a serious candidate for president, but she cant do both well.”
Soon to be unencumbered by a job thousands of miles away from the major U.S. population centers, Palin will be able to “focus exclusively on political matters, international travel and boning up on policy,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican consultant.
While she will lose “some of the gravity” that comes with being a governor, “that is far outweighed by her inherent star power and the logistical freedom that she gains,” he said.
“You just cant tell what shes up to,” he added.
Nutty Decision
Resigning as governor is a “nutty” decision if Palin plans to run for president, said John Weaver, a former top political adviser to McCain. The best preparation for a White House run is to “be a good governor and get re-elected — not be the point guard who walks off the court,” he said, alluding to her high school basketball experience.
“A very promising political career appears to me to have crumbled,” said Vin Weber, a former House member from Minnesota and Republican strategist.
“Of all the things that are expected of you when you are elected to office, the most minimal is serving out your term,” he said.
Scott Reed, who managed Republican Bob Doles 1996 presidential campaign, predicted that “Palin will still have an impact in 2012 — either as candidate or as a leader of social conservatives. We havent seen the end of Sarah Palin.”
Other Republicans being mentioned as potential White House candidates in 2012 include former governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, both of whom sought the Republican nomination in 2008, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, and Gingrich.