Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The willow is too close to the house.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

You are here: Home / Politics / The Mona Lisa’s Sister

The Mona Lisa’s Sister

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Any minute now, Lady Starburst will be making an announcement of some kind…probably that she won’t seek re-election as governor of Alaska.

This may be the first time I’ve ever said this, but Mark Halperin’s run-down of reasons she won’t run is pretty good, and I sort of like his Mona Lisa/Palin graphic. Not many people know that da Vinci originally intended to have Mona Lisa winking, rather than half-smiling, in the picture.

Update. From the comments:

Rick Sanchez confirms on CNN that Mooseburger will announce shortly that she’s not seeking re-election in Alaska.

Update update. She’s actually resigning in a few weeks. King David never would have done this.


Update update update. This probably isn’t connected at all, but Palin canned the state health director earlier this week. Let’s hope no one we know uses this likely coincidence as a pretext for more Trig truth-squadding.

Update update update update. Josh quotes her:

“You are naive if you don’t see a full-court press on the national level, picking apart a good point guard.”

His take is that this indicates it is the mother of all sulks. My take is that some form of national media is about to break news of a damaging scandal.

Reader Interactions

199Comments

  1. 1.

    Comrade Stuck

    This may be the first time I’ve ever said this, but Mark Halperin’s run-down of reasons she won’t run is pretty good, and I sort of like his Mona Lisa/Palin graphic.

    The future of Comic Relief hangs in the balance.

  3. 3.

    JenJen

    Rick Sanchez confirms on CNN that Mooseburger will announce shortly that she’s not seeking re-election in Alaska.

    She’s pulling a T-Paw! My guess remains that she wants to hype-up 2012 rumors while actively seeking own hosting gig at Fox News.

  7. 7.

    Comrade Stuck

    Rick Sanchez confirms on CNN that Mooseburger will announce shortly that she’s not seeking re-election in Alaska.

    This completes me.

    edit. You too, Cole, just admit it.

  9. 9.

    Dave

    I’ve heard it said that, whenever Palin gives a presser, if you go somewhere really quiet and listen really hard, off in the distance you can hear Rich Lowry and the sound of one hand fwapping.

    I’m buying heavy into Kimberly-Clark stock (makers of Kleenex) right now.

  10. 10.

    grumpy realist

    I kept reading Halperin’s “incumbent governor” as “incompetent governor.” Which works out pretty well, too.

  12. 12.

    Max

    The 2012 GOP Primary is going to be so much fun. I might go buy stock in Orville Redenbacher.

    I love knowing that we don’t have to deal with a primary and can just go balls to the wall. Arizona and Missouri, we’re turning you blue next time!

  14. 14.

    geg6

    When is Murkowski up for re-election? Think she’s thinking of running against her in the primary? From what I have heard and read, they detest one another. That could be quite entertaining.

  16. 16.

    Comrade Stuck

    @me:

    Will she now move to Des Moines? Poor Iowa.

    Unless she discovers Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.

  18. 18.

    Dennis-SGMM

    It’s nearly time for the campaigning to begin for the House and Senate elections in 2010. Look for Palin to “Barnstorm on behalf of GOP hopefuls” as a means of keeping her face in front of the public and hopefully getting some chits.

  21. 21.

    grumpy realist

    I thought that Murkowski was making noises about going up against Palin, which was one more reason for Palin to get cold feet.

  22. 22.

    Comrade Stuck

    @Pooh:

    Local news is reporting that she is going to RESIGN

    Somebody better tie a rope to Lowry, lest he ejaculate himself into space.

  23. 23.

    Quaker in a Basement

    @Matt F:

    No, not Denver mayor Hickenlooper. He’s a Dem.

    You know, nothing would leave me more speechless than for Ms. Palin to announce: “You know, I’ve had enough. I’m getting out of public life.”

    Well, OK, one thing would leave me more speechless: if pigs fly in a lightning storm and it rains barbecued ribs.

  24. 24.

    Mike P

    Mittens, Huck and Palin are the leaders for the GOP nod in ’12. We have an unprincipled flip flopper, and two people who will attempt to out holier than thou each other, while also making snarky/folksy/mean spirited remarks about SOCALISM! and REAL AMERICANS!

    Make it stop, someone. Please.

  26. 26.

    Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse

    Yep, she’s stepping down, because Palin wants what she wants when she wants it, where it = shitloads of media attention.

  27. 27.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Sarah Palin is perky and has served as a popular executive. She is thus a credit to her gender. This is unlike Barbara Boxer, who is just creepy.

  28. 28.

    demkat620

    That http://www.ktuu.com says she will resign in a few weeks.

    WTF? The not running for re-election I get but resign? What did she do?

    WASILLA, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin will resign her office in a few weeks, she said during a news conference at her home Friday morning.

    Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated at the Governor’s Picnic at the end of the month.

    This is a breaking story. Return to KTUU.com for more information.

  29. 29.

    rob!

    There goes any chance she had to be the 2012 nominee. There must be a HUGE scandal coming down the road she’s trying to head off.

  31. 31.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    @Pooh: Resign?

    Where’s the press conference, Argentina?

    Are there incriminating tapes? Was there a break in? Will Checkers be there?

  34. 34.

    Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse

    rob!, Sarah Palin is about as aware of scandal in her personal and political life as a fish is aware of the water around it. I bet there’s no more scandal than the usual baseline level.

  35. 35.

    grumpy realist

    Rahm and whoever will be helping Obama run for reelection must be popping out the champagne right now. Actually, probably so is Romney. Can probably scoop up a chunk of support from the “business party” Republicans who fled the party last time.

    What’s going to be the real interesting showdown is between Palin and the Huckleman.

  36. 36.

    geg6

    Holy shit. Resign? What the hell could she possibly have in the closet that’s about to come bursting out?

  37. 37.

    tammanycall

    @Mike P:

    God, can’t she just go the fuck away?

    But then what would the comedians do? Won’t somebody think of the comedians?

  38. 38.

    Dave

    @demkat620:

    She didn’t anything beyond her already numerous mistakes. But now with a bad economy and a hostile legislature, she would actually have to, you know, govern.

    Being Governor is easy when the petro-dollars roll in and you can spend like a drunk sailor in Bangkok. But now it’s hard work, so she’s cuttin’ and runnin’.

  40. 40.

    Comrade Stuck

    @rob!:

    There must be a HUGE scandal coming down the road she’s trying to head off.

    There have been persistent rumors of troubles of the Mark Sanford kind in the Palin domestic realm. But it also could be she read Halperin’s list of things to do, numero uno being raising money for a presnit run.

  42. 42.

    Brick Oven Bill

    In my opinion, Sarah Palin herself is not in and of herself turmescent MattF. I would instead define Sarah as a facilitator of tumescence. She is a credit in either case.

  45. 45.

    Zuzu's Petals

    @geg6:

    It has to be something big. Otherwise she’d just finish out the 18 months remaining on her term.

    On a kinder note, I hope it’s not because of family issues. It can’t have been easy on her kids at times.

  48. 48.

    JenJen

    So, like, holy shit, right?

    Pulling the T-Paw and abandoning a reelection bid made sense. Quitting? Doesn’t make sense.

    This is gonna get good. My lawd, has there ever been a more momentous collective GOPFail over the course of a fortnight?

  49. 49.

    Cat Lady

    THe VF article points out how she has thrown everyone who ever supported her under the bus, and doesn’t take advice from anyone other than the first dude and some other hanger on from high school. If she’s been told by the repub ops people to stay home, lower her profile and start working on policy, she’s going to go on the road, be on every Sunday morning show and Fox, and stick to the winking.

    Or, the guy in the Enquirer article that the MSM ignored last year wants to talk.

  50. 50.

    Punchy

    Quitting? I dont see “quitting” in the Bible, schweetie.

    $10 says Playboy offers her $5 mill or so for a spread.

  51. 51.

    PeakVT

    This will make the punditocracy happy: more chances to speculate about 2012 means less risk of having to do any hard thinking.

  52. 52.

    A Mom Anon

    I guess it takes up all one’s free time to raise money for a 2012 Prez run. Ick. I realllly wish she’d just go off and hunt moose or float away on an ice floe. But noooo,she’s gonna be on the teevee even more now. Sigh. Just kill me now.

  56. 56.

    Katie

    There sure isn’t anything on the local news up here other than the KTUU link. John, you better not just be getting my hopes up, only to dash them on the cold hard rocks of reality!

  57. 57.

    DanSmoot'sGhost

    I am announcing soon that I am stepping down as Senior Curmudgeon at Balloon Juice. The duties of the office will be assumed by Lieutenant Curmudgeon, Chuck Butcher.

    I am moving on to become Director of the Sharp Stick Up Your Ass Institute of Intertrons Discourse, where I can complete my life’s work in this field and annoy the greatest number of people possible.

    I want to thank all of you for bending over and becoming stepstools so that I could climb up on your backs and rise to this very prestigious office. Remember that my high-heel prints on your shirt are worth a lot of money, I expect to see these eventually on Antiques Roadshow.

  58. 58.

    Dave C

    Well, my day just got booked. Let the gossip flow like liquid manna from heaven!

  60. 60.

    Indylib

    Jeebus Christ on fucking raisin toast, somehow this means she’ll on my tv even more than she has been, I just know it.

  62. 62.

    Zandar

    So, she’s either getting a 40-month jump on the 2012 election, making her an incredible asshole, or there’s such a ginormous scandal about to explode that she has to resign, making her an incredible asshole.

    Right then.

  63. 63.

    Jean

    Not running for re-election is one thing, but quitting? I don’t see how that helps her on the national political scene at all in any future election. If the reason is a serious health issue in her family, maybe. Any other reason won’t.

  64. 64.

    demkat620

    Um, Did you catch that quote? Basketball reference, more effective outside of government?

    I think she’s having a breakdown. Buh-bye 2012.

  65. 65.

    geg6

    I don’t know how she can possibly have a national political career after resigning well before her first term is up. There’s no way you can explain away not living up to your commitments to the people of Alaska, who still approve of her despite her sinking numbers there. She’s got something huge that’s about to break. I can’t see any other explanation.

  66. 66.

    Zuzu's Petals

    The KTUU blurb speculates that she may be gearing up for a 2012 run, but I find that hard to believe.

    Aside from the fact that her state office affords her opportunities to enhance her creds and promote them on the national stage, resigning early doesn’t speak for a dedication to public service.

    Neither (none?) of the 2008 candidates resigned before running. Neither did GWB, or Gore or Kerry. Dole resigned from the Senate less than four months before the election.

    Has anyone else heard of a candidate resigning to run this early on? Actually resigning, not just declining to run for reelection.

  67. 67.

    El Cid

    If she were smart (ha) Palin would go where she could get both money and adoring attention — into the televangelism / megachurch industry.

  68. 68.

    gnomedad

    @Katie:

    John, you better not just be getting my hopes up, only to dash them on the cold hard rocks of reality!

    Be careful what you hope for. Nothing Palin decides to do is likely to be good news.

  69. 69.

    Comrade Stuck

    It sounds like from what she said, that the media and others are picking on her too much, so she’s going to take her ball and go home, or something like that. Maybe she’s smarter that we give her credit for.

  70. 70.

    Svensker

    She answered no questions at the announcement. Josh Marshall thinks that resigning now to run for 2012 makes no sense. If Josh is right, then why is she resigning?

    Am I alone here in wishing for a big fat juicy scandal?

  71. 71.

    parksideq

    @Rosali: That’s what I want to know.

    @geg6: If Palin still has 2012 aspirations, I doubt she’s try to run for Murkowski’s seat in 2010. If she lost it would be a ton of wasted money that could have been used on a presidential run. If she won it would be really flaky to ditch the Senate within months in order to run for the presidency.

    Then again, the woman’s a pure narcissist and therefore it’s hard to pinpoint what line she wouldn’t cross in her powerlust.

  73. 73.

    asiangrrlMN

    I’m fucking stunned. I never thought this day would come. I will savor it, though I know it means (probably) gearing up for a presidential run.

    Golly gee, Sarah, being governor is hard, ain’t it?

    Congrats, Alaska!

  74. 74.

    Jon H

    “Aside from the fact that her state office affords her opportunities to enhance her creds and promote them on the national stage, resigning early doesn’t speak for a dedication to public service.”

    I dunno, Alaska’s pretty far away. Candidates running from a seat in the House or Senate, or a lower 48 governorship, have a *much* easier time making at least a pretense of staying involved in their current position.

  75. 75.

    demkat620

    Sorry watching her now. She did something. She’s pissed.

    I’d bet anything she got caught. Don’t know on what. But something.

  77. 77.

    JGabriel

    Quaker in a Basement:

    You know, nothing would leave me more speechless than for Ms. Palin to announce: “You know, I’ve had enough. I’m getting out of public life.”

    Actually, I can think of one announcement that would be even more shocking:

    Trig Palin is not Todd’s son. Trig’s father is a lovely Argentine man I met on a trip 5 years ago. We did not have anything as tawdry as an affair. We made love. Hot, passionate, Latin love! And I DEFY anyone to condemn me for it! That! Also! Too!

  80. 80.

    gwangung

    She answered no questions at the announcement. Josh Marshall thinks that resigning now to run for 2012 makes no sense.

    So? This is Sarah Palin. She doesn’t HAVE the political sense.

  81. 81.

    binzinerator

    @rob!:

    There goes any chance she had to be the 2012 nominee. There must be a HUGE scandal coming down the road she’s trying to head off.

    Could she be getting ready to run for a US senate or house seat? Murkowski maybe? She’s called a moderate repub, which means in the on-going gooper purges she could be vulnerable to just the sort of wingnuttiness that Palin leads.

    Murkowski from the Wiki:

    Murkowski is considered a moderate Republican.

    Not off to a good start vis a vis the Limbaugh Base.

    She is one of ten Republican Senators who refused to commit to Bill Frist’s “nuclear option” to end judicial filibusters, and she supported H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act

    Nope, that’s gonna enrage the base.

    Murkowski voted with Democrats…

    Very bad.

    … and moderate Republicans on H.R. 976, which called for the expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to provide coverage for additional uninsured children.

    Nope, nothing good there either.

    On abortion, Murkowski has a “mixed record” rating (50%) from the National Right to Life Committee, and a pro-life rating (14%) from the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL).

    That’s the clincher. The Wasilla Wingnut is going after Murkowski.

    Jesus. Senator Palin. She’ll become a fucking fixture like Stevens was. God what a fucking nightmare.

  82. 82.

    gbear

    @Zandar: That pretty much sums it up, especially the incredible part.

    I wish Tim Pawlenty would have done this two months ago.

  83. 83.

    Cat Lady

    Am I alone here in wishing for a big fat juicy scandal?

    No. SATSQ.

    Especially if it makes her finally just go away!

  84. 84.

    GregB

    There has to be a massive scandal about to break. She’s going Appalachian Galt as a pre-emptive strike.

    -G

  86. 86.

    demkat620

    Dear god, I forgot how much of her crap is just one non sequitor after another.

    Make. It. Stop.

  87. 87.

    DanSmoot'sGhost

    Dang, if only I had those squawking birds available when I made MY announcement …….. the perfect touch.

    Tippi Hedren, eat your heart out.

  88. 88.

    Jon H

    @Svensker: “If Josh is right, then why is she resigning?”

    For her, probably the ideal way for her to run would be from a base as host of a Washington-based talk show on FOX News.

  89. 89.

    ksmiami

    Um, guys – her political career is over. She may become a rabble rouser on Fox, but I even question that – there is something amiss

  90. 90.

    DanSmoot'sGhost

    Is it just me, is this little speech (on tv now) the most discombobulated public statement EVER from a widely known public figure?

  91. 91.

    geg6

    Demcat620: I agree. She’s a ball of barely contained fury. She’s being forced out. By someone or something. Gotta be bad.

  92. 92.

    me

    I don’t think that plane behind her will make it to Argentina.

    I’ll bet those ducks would make a good dinner. Break out the shotguns.

  93. 93.

    Keith

    HO-LEEE-SHIT! I cannot fathom how this helps her in the least towards 2012. If she wasn’t going for re-election, that would likely help, IMO, but quitting cooks her goose.
    The only things I can figure happened are either she got word something BIG was going to be leaked about her or else she’s going to work for News Corp.

  95. 95.

    Cat Lady

    I think the guy from the Enquirer article last year got hosed and it’s payback time, or the campaign people want her politically dead, and something’s coming out from that time that even she can’t wink away. (cue Howard Dean yell).

  99. 99.

    Comrade Stuck

    @John Cole:

    She just quoted Macarthur to explain what she’s doing. Not retreating, but attacking in a different direction. Blow, yea, that works for me. Putin better not blink.

  100. 100.

    Tom

    So, when she runs for president in 2012, she can’t even claim to be a one-term governor? She’s done. Maybe she doesn’t think she is. All the wingers ripped Obama for being a celebrity, but now Palin really is the ultimate celebrity politician. She like someone from the Real World who was on TV for 6 months and now can draw a crowd at some ASU bar on dollar shooter nights.

  101. 101.

    Fulcanelli

    My guess is that she’s going to devote herself full time to the destruction of western civilization as we know it, i.e., fund raising appearances for herself and like-minded GOP morans and raising her public profile with the ‘base’ and beyond in the lower 48 in preparation for some future political career move.

    Either that or there’s a “blackey” tape lurking around somewhere…

    Anybody who thinks this woman will just go away quietly into the night, never to be seen again: a) is “starbursting” themselves or b) has never had any long term personal exposure to a narcissist like her.

    She’s about to disappear into a cocoon to metamorphosize into something else. Be afwaid. Be vewy, vewy afwaid.

  102. 102.

    Rosali

    My guess: Nightly show on Fox so she can get media coverage everyday about what she says like Glenn Beck, get paid big bucks now, and run in 2012 or 2016.

  103. 103.

    DonnaInMichigan

    She couldn’t take that the public/media was giving Michael Jackson all this attention.

    So she had to do something drastic.

    I will bet she will take back her resignation next week, when the funeral of MJ is going on.

  104. 104.

    Dave C

    Okay, this is wedding-esque hug line is beyond stupid. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

  105. 105.

    GregB

    Well, let’s not forget that Palin went full metal wingnut on Schmidt.

    He seems to be willing to hit back when swung at.

    I wonder if he has enough goods to have forced her out?

    -G

  106. 106.

    geg6

    For once, Palooza, that might actually be true. LOL! OT, but they have a Billy Mays commercial running on MSNBC right now. Weird.

  108. 108.

    Comrade Stuck

    @ksmiami:

    Um, guys – her political career is over

    Yup, I think you’re right. If she ran in 2012, it would take just one thirty second ad to sink her. Titled Quitter.

    Now I’m depressed, we won’t have Sarah Serendipity to kick around no mo.

  109. 109.

    Zuzu's Petals

    @binzinerator:

    If she were running for the Senate seat, it seems like she would be announcing her candidacy at the same time.

    Plus, declining to run for reelection would still make more sense IMO.

  110. 110.

    dbrown

    Palin running for President or the Senate is about as likely as Russia letting military aircraft fly arms into Afghanistan … wait … WTF … is Putin gone over to Obama, too? Russia is helping the US in Afghanistan by opening its airspace?! OK, something weird is going on and Palin looked out her door into Russia and saw what’s going on. That’s why she is quitting …

  111. 111.

    binzinerator

    @geg6:

    She’s being forced out. By someone or something. Gotta be bad.

    I hope so. I hope it ain’t the beginning of another run for a more powerful office.

    You know when someone lies like she does and does bizarre things it usually means something’s amiss, and it can escalate to serious shit. I only hoped it would happen sooner. Maybe she has finally done something she can’t lie her way out of or use her office to suppress.

    I wonder if that on-going fight between the Kristol-Palin and Schmidt-Wallace camps finally went nuclear. Someone somewhere in that campaign’s gotta know where some of the bodies are buried.

    God, for the sake of the nation I hope she’s exposed and gone from the political scene for good.

  113. 113.

    gnomedad

    @Tom:

    So, when she runs for president in 2012, she can’t even claim to be a one-term governor?

    Hell, the wingers would like to pair her with a guy who isn’t a one-term plumber.

  114. 114.

    DanSmoot'sGhost

    Well, at least she can see Obama’s visit to Russia from the edge of the lake there on Monday.

  115. 115.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    Geez, the women is barely coherent. It sounds like she’s leaving Alaska to play point guard in the WNBA. Or something like that.

  116. 116.

    Grubstreet

    I’m with Rosali – she needs to strike now to get the money. She’ll be joining the punditocracy. Why do all that hard governing work?

  117. 117.

    DanSmoot'sGhost

    @parksideq:

    Sure did. I think this display today tops Sanford. This has more mystery, and the element of jaw dropping surprise.

    Plus, no two sentences in her statement can be strung together to form a thought.

  119. 119.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    Further, it sounds like Palin’s resignation may have been the infant Trig’s idea.

    Developing…

  122. 122.

    asiangrrlMN

    She has had a dozen ethics complaints filed against her in the last six months or so. It’s a given that there’s a scandal somewhere that’s gonna break concerning her. It’s too damn bad the Mudflats website is down!

  123. 123.

    Nellcote

    Her terrible policies as Gov. are coming home to roost. This winter is going to be terrible. A lot of people living in the Alaska outback barely survived last year, dependent on charity for food and fuel, without government help. This year is looking to be harder already.

  124. 124.

    truculentandunreliable

    I am salivating in anticipation of finding out why she stepped down. I CANNOT WAIT!

  125. 125.

    linda

    damn, see what happens when you go offline for an afternoon… sheesh.

    watching the replay of her presser and, seriously, what.the.fuck. her speaking voice sounded quite agitated. must be something esp nasty coming out.

    just what the repigs deserve. the massively public flameouts of their rising stars… lol.

  127. 127.

    geg6

    Watched it a second time. And it’s quite clear she’s pissed, pissed, pissed. And it’s making her even more incoherent than usual. I’m even more convinced there’s a major scandal about to break.

  128. 128.

    gbear

    @binzinerator:

    You know when someone lies like she does and does bizarre things it usually means something’s amiss, and it can escalate to serious shit. I only hoped it would happen sooner.

    Oh, given that McCain/Palin didn’t win the election, I’d say that the timing for this is damned near perfect. The GOP may be reaching peak stoopid just as Al Franken takes his seat and a bunch of really important bills are coming to a vote.

  130. 130.

    me

    Further, it sounds like Palin’s resignation may have been the infant Trig’s idea.

    Also, it appears she wants Trig cloned.

  132. 132.

    JGabriel

    I think all the Presidential power-tripping and MILF-y coverage went to Palin’s head and she did a Mary Kay Letorneau, taking on a 15 year-old lover / steroid abuser.

    .

  135. 135.

    demkat620

    You know who the happiest man in America is right now?

    Is it Mitt or Mike or Bobby?

    Nope, Mark Sanford. She just knocked him out of the headlines for a day.

  138. 138.

    Katie

    Her replacement will likely be as bad as she is. I don’t like Palin much at all, but I do like her better than Parnell. On the upside he might be as nuts as she is, but at least he’s nuts quietly.

    Palin running against Murkowski, that would be terrible. This is such a conservative state, that any moderate republican will have a difficult time against a right wing screwball. I really like Murkowski, she’s far exceeded my expectations. She was a good state senator also. I think that particular apple fell a long way from the tree, her father is awful.

    I wonder what Palin is up to.

  139. 139.

    CaseyL

    I don’t think a scandal is in the offing, because she’s such a complete pathological narcissist that she wouldn’t even acknowledge there is one.

    Hopping to a very well-paying gig (on Fox seems likely) to use as a launch for a Presidential run in 2012 sounds like something she’d do – and, worst thing is, it’s not that bad an idea, strategically.

    To wit:

    1. She’ll get to pontificate all she wants and NOT have to govern (i.e., craft policy and show it works)

    2. She’ll make googobs of money

    3. She’ll be able to make appearances all over the country, to screaming adoring crowds, and make even more money doing so.

    So, yup, that’s my bet: she’s going to TV land.

  141. 141.

    binzinerator

    @Zuzu’s Petals:

    If she were running for the Senate seat, it seems like she would be announcing her candidacy at the same time. Plus, declining to run for reelection would still make more sense IMO.

    It would to me too, but this is Palin. Rational women don’t opt to fly for 12 hours after their water has broken, either.

    So a scandal?

    Or maybe I’m letting my hope get the better of me.

    We’ll see.

  142. 142.

    Quaker in a Basement

    Maybe Todd convinced her that the rest of the state would back her play and secede.

  143. 143.

    parksideq

    @DanSmoot’sGhost:

    That’s a fair enough assessment. Speaking of which, I have yet to hear Sanford announce his resignation over what he did. It makes me wonder what shoe and/or dime is about to drop on Palin since she’s cutting and running so abruptly. I’m sure we’ll all know soon enough.

  144. 144.

    DanSmoot'sGhost

    Oh, this is part of her statement that she forgot to read:

    “My apologies to all the people on my staff and in my office, and to the political appointees who serve at my pleasure, for putting you in a position of losing your jobs in the middle of an economic crunch which is being made worse by my gaming the stimulus funding. I know you will land on your feet. Or on each others’ feet, or something.”

    Meanwhile, on MSNBC, the NBC Sage, Pat Buchanan, can only speak of this event today as a step toward running for president. Buchanan has her running for president as “beloved figure,” his exact words just now.

  145. 145.

    linda

    gosh…. i hadn’t realized that lame-duck governors were under such strictly imposed orders to take part in congressional delegations of international trips to promote their states and u.s. policies.

    how horrible and inhuman those expectations…

    good grief/

  146. 146.

    truculentandunreliable

    Watching it now…she’s quoting her parents’ refrigerator?

  148. 148.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    I don’t think a scandal is coming. I just think Palin is crazy. There is no way in hell this women ever gets more than 28% in a general election.

  149. 149.

    Fulcanelli

    Her new job: Full time GOP propaganda artist with no accountability to anybody but who signs her paycheck. Media super whore.

    Happy, happy, joy, joy.

  151. 151.

    parksideq

    @Pasquinade: I quit 0:45 in. Holy crap there’s some bad soup brewing in that pot. And it’s about to boil over.

    EDIT: Ok, I tried again. Let me tell you, you don’t need Jedi skills to see that the batshit is strong in this one.

  152. 152.

    truculentandunreliable

    @binzinerator: She sounded out of breath and panicked and like she hadn’t really prepared…I mean, it was bad, even for her. I’d think she’d at least rehearse something AND I think if she was running for President or getting a job on Fox news, she’d make the announcement when she could get the most press coverage, not right before a holiday weekend. Plus, all her hemming and hawing about how people were mean to her makes me think that something big is coming out. And I will laaaaaaaaugh.

  153. 153.

    Quaker in a Basement

    (listen to the loons in the background)

    There were more loons in the background?

    The thing that jumped out at me…a couple of different times she alluded to “wasting the state’s time and money.” There’s a scandal about to break.

  154. 154.

    Brachiator

    @J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford:

    Geez, the women is barely coherent. It sounds like she’s leaving Alaska to play point guard in the WNBA. Or something like that.

    In a stunning trade, Phil Jackson, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum will go to Alaska in exchange for oil rights and a future NBA franchise, Katie Couric will be named coach of the Lakers, and Sarah Palin will be named the new anchor for the CBS Evening News. Also, and.

  155. 155.

    Michael

    And to think – Sanford and Palin represented the entirety of the depth of the bench.

  156. 156.

    Ripley

    To paraphrase Bill Kristol, Palin’s frequent defender:
    She (for better or worse) has moved in high school-educated circles in her life, and she’s gone weeks without ‘several’ people telling her they had consulted the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

  157. 157.

    Bubblegum Tate

    @ksmiami:

    She sounds panicky in her address… does anyone else think so?

    I’ve only seen the RealClearPolitics clip, but yeah, she seems pretty panicky and, if I may paraphrase the great Tracy Jordan, this honky governor be trippin’.

  158. 158.

    CaseyL

    Andrea Mitchell says her sources say Palin is getting out of politics altogether.

    That doesn’t preclude going on TV, though, and “changing her mind” in 2011-ish. Given her popularity among the crazies who comprise GOP primary voters, which will only increase if she has a forum on Fox, she could wait that long to launch a Presidential bid.

  160. 160.

    Comrade Mary

    You know when someone lies like she does and does bizarre things it usually means something’s amiss, and it can escalate to serious shit.

    Yeah, but she lies like that ALL THE TIME. Fish. Water.

    I think she was sunk as soon as she started wearing that red leather jacket instead of a good Republican cloth coat. Imagine what someone could have done with that image as a central part of a resignation speech.

    (Yes, I’ve shortened my handle. That damn horse never writes, never whinnies. The hell with him.)

  161. 161.

    Leelee for Obama

    @Quaker in a Basement: This was my thought, too, also!

    I’ve never seen our Sarah quite as confuzzled…

    I think perhaps someone has Todd Palin on film advocating secession, and Sarah smiling in the front row with the witch-hunting Reverend beside her. A girl can dream, can’t seh?

  162. 162.

    ksmiami

    To quote Johnny Depp’s Willy Wonka character, “You’re really wierd…”

  163. 163.

    binzinerator

    Just saw her resignation video. Yes, she’s pissed.

    And how she’s explaining her resignation is just goofy bizzare.

    Fucking bizarre. Rambling. She’s on the edge of losing it.

    Something’s very amiss. No launching another campaign. This was a Sanford-level of a presser. With anger replacing the bewilderment one-for-one.

    Oooo, can’t wait to find out what. Gonna stop and pick up some champagne on the way home today in anticipation. This is gonna be too good for popcorn. Seriously.

  165. 165.

    jacy

    Breaking news story on the Friday before the 4th of July holiday weekend? MSNBC had to break into the middle of another endless “Lockup” marathon to cover it. Seems to me there’s only one reason to announce things on the Friday before a holiday…..

    But what the hell kind of possible scandal could break that would be any worse than what we already know? She’s a cannibal who regularly feast on the flesh of innocent schoolchildren? I seriously can’t come up with anything that would shock me.

  166. 166.

    Zandar

    My god. Just watched the resignation clip.

    She literally looks like a teenager that just got busted for totaling Dad’s new $200,000 Ferrari.

    The words “Something is amiss here” doesn’t begin to describe one-billionth of the wrong evident in the video.

    Somebody or something discovered her ugly secret. We will be finding it out very, very soon.

  167. 167.

    ppcli

    Yep. I figured it was a strategic move in a run for prez, but watching that rushed, scattered, frenzied press conference, something is wrong. Or she’s been taking a few too many trips up to Levi’s mom’s stash of medical opiates.
    .
    She’s shown that given time to prepare herself and her speech she can really send off the starbursts to her base, and this seems like it was composed in the limo to the press conference.

  168. 168.

    jcricket

    It would to me too, but this is Palin. Rational women don’t opt to fly for 12 hours after their water has broken, either.

    Did you see the speculation at Sully’s blog about this (from a commenter, not Sully)? I kind of like his idea – Trig is her baby, but she made up the whole “fly for 12 hours after water breaks” story as some kind of personal embellishment – like everything else in her backstory.

    Palin is, quite honestly, the perfect embodiment of the current conservative ethos. She is John Galt, Ronald Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt and Steven Colbert wrapped into a single person.

    And if she is running, that’s awesome. We shouldn’t be afraid of her at all. The entire time she’s been in the public eye she’s lied, cheated, winked, been an idiot, acted petulantly, etc. The wingnuts may chant her name like she’s the second coming of Bruce Springsteen, but the rest of American (70%+) will be even more turned off by her shenanigans the second time around than they were the first time.

    I welcome Sarah Palin in the Republican field in 2012 :-)

  169. 169.

    Jean

    I made myself listen to the whole thing, and I still don’t know what she said. She gave no reason even though she repeated that she had. Just sounded like stray thoughts unconnected to the topic: Why I am resigning. Soldiers fighting, point guards, kids agree, politics as usual, big government, WTF? Without the words, the music said, “I’m angry. The end.”

  170. 170.

    Brachiator

    @CaseyL:

    That doesn’t preclude going on TV, though, and “changing her mind” in 2011-ish. Given her popularity among the crazies who comprise GOP primary voters, which will only increase if she has a forum on Fox, she could wait that long to launch a Presidential bid.

    Let’s see, now. Ronald Reagan left showbiz, became a governor and went on to become elected president. Sarah Palin is going to resign as governor, enter showbiz and …. what… expect to make a run for national office?

    Having not even finished her term?

    I thought that Trevor Ariza leaving the Lakers was the stupidest job decision that I had read about all week.

    I have absolutely no idea what Palin is up to. This is positively baffling.

  171. 171.

    b-psycho

    So…who gets to tell Palin that being able to pick apart a point guard with a garden-variety full-court press means the point guard sucks compared to the defenders?

    I’m just glad there’s something else to talk about now though.

  172. 172.

    Bubblegum Tate

    @Jean:

    Just sounded like stray thoughts unconnected to the topic

    Seriously. It reminded me of dealing with friends’ drunk talk.

  173. 173.

    Napoleon

    They just ran part of her announcement on NPR and she sounded like an unhinged nut.

  175. 175.

    Michael

    They just ran part of her announcement on NPR and she sounded like an unhinged nut.

    So how’s that different from the way she talks every other day?

  176. 176.

    Bubblegum Tate

    @b-psycho:

    So…who gets to tell Palin that being able to pick apart a point guard with a garden-variety full-court press means the point guard sucks compared to the defenders?

    I know–even her basketball metaphors are full of fail.

  177. 177.

    2liberal

    @Punchy:

    $10 says Playboy offers her $5 mill or so for a spread.

    Ugh. $20 says she doesn’t look so great in her birthday suit. I mean she is in her mid 40s with 5 kids.

  178. 178.

    harlana pepper

    countdown complaints: david shuster compares palin to howard dean; someone please get mike allen an upper lip transplant stat

  179. 179.

    Leelee for Obama

    @Napoleon: Sounded like? She IS an unhinged nut! I think she finally got some internal polling info that let her know her chances of winning any national office correlated to her ability to curb said unhinged nut-ness, and she knows that is un-possible.

    Perhaps she will become a FauxSpews anchor; may she be the final nail in that particular coffin!

  180. 180.

    Bubblegum Tate

    My favorite spin on this thus far is Mark Noonan’s in the comments here:

    Re-listening to Governor Palin’s speech its clear why she’s getting out at this particular moment – because it best confounds those who are at war with conservatism…she’s not getting out because of what has happened to here, but because while she’s governor she just allows the left to have more opportunities to attack her, and conservatism through her. If there is a smart liberal out there, he’s very afraid.

  181. 181.

    Jean

    Will anyone in the press say this speech was incoherent? Stepping down from the governorship, if the idea was in the works for a long time (I doubt it), is a BIG DEAL. People expect a carefully prepared explanation for walking away from the state government, particularly in a time like this. Being responsible to Alaskans is the last thing she’s thinking about.
    I say there’s something worse than Sanford about to break.

    Sanford is the luckiest s.o.b. in the country.

  183. 183.

    Leelee for Obama

    Breaking newsflash! Mike Viqueira is a complete and utter asshole! There was rapture at the RNC Convention! She’s thinking outside the box. This is different than politics as usual. Is he fucking kidding?!

    You may now return to your regularly scheduled snark!

    BTW- Mike in NC-my money is on a Moose she didn’t shoot! His eyes looked just like George Clooney’s or some such shit!

  184. 184.

    birthmarker

    I just watched the full tape. Sounds like she is going to some media outlet. Please let it be Faux News. She said she can affect change better outside of politics. What’s the deal with costing Alaskans millions of dollars? What is she talking about?

  185. 185.

    Tonal Crow

    Listen to the news conference (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=10641495# ), especially the propaganda about national priorities. It’s very clear that she’s running for Pres. in 2012. How resigning now helps her is beyond me.

    Palin/Bachmann 2012: One millionth the competence, one million times Teh Crazy.

  186. 186.

    SammyB

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    My world just became unfunny again.
    We will all miss you Sarah Palin.

  187. 187.

    flavortext

    You won’t have Nixon Palin to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference!

  188. 188.

    joe vegas

    I for one think scandal’s a-brewin’ and am look forward to the Sunday NYT. Unless, of course, she’s just got ticked after reading the Vanity Fair piece.

  190. 190.

    Comrade Baron Elmo

    Re-listening to Governor Palin’s speech its clear why she’s getting out at this particular moment – because it best confounds those who are at war with conservatism…she’s not getting out because of what has happened to here, but because while she’s governor she just allows the left to have more opportunities to attack her, and conservatism through her. If there is a smart liberal out there, he’s very afraid.

    This is very good news for John McCain!

  191. 191.

    freelancer

    Oh my christ, it just hit me. This is performance art, and Palin is a genius the likes of which not Andy Kauffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Sasha Baron Cohen, or even Andy Warhol could touch. Since last August, every moment has been carefully played to seem on the edge of babbling insanity, up to today, where the video I just watched needs to be preserved. Palin needs to be inducted into a comedic hall of fame.

    Anyone and everyone not in on the joke who still wants her to run for and be President in 2012 needs help. They need a psych exam, a padded room, and lots of Thorazine.

  194. 194.

    pseudonymous in nc

    I don’t think a scandal is in the offing, because she’s such a complete pathological narcissist that she wouldn’t even acknowledge there is one.

    An indictment, though? Really, the timing on this — not just a Friday newsdump, but a Friday before the 4th? Let’s assume that the Feds are shut today and the weekend, but there’s something she needed to get the fuck away from — I say “shit’s coming down like brown, sticky, smelly snow.”

  196. 196.

    DaBomb

    WOW. I am totally speechless.
    She did sound like a total harpy who is jittery from her coke fix.

    I think she going to TV Land. Which means that unfortunately, she will not be leaving my teevee anytime soon!

    I was just hoping that she would wink her way into oblivion.

  197. 197.

    Donald G

    Waiting for Roger L Simon to announce that Sarah Palin has just become a special correspondent for Pajamas Media in five…four…three…two… ….

  198. 198.

    B. Troglodyte

    Well, Sarah’s Preggers again, poppa Dave Letterman’s to blame for the woops.

    Such a shame she has to resign, just because of ONE answer to Perez HIlton!

    If it’s a boy, it will be named Twink, in honor of Michael J.  And if it’s a girl, Twerp.  Junior.

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