Conservatidiot of the Day: Sarah Palin

This Fourth of July weekend, Sarah Palin decided to boost her erratic persona up a notch by announcing her resignation as governor of Alaska, effective at the end of the month. While many political pundits expected Palin would not seek re-election in 2010, presumably to divert her attention to a presidential bid, very few expected her to leave office nearly a year and a half before the end of her first term in office. Though unexpected, this isn't entirely surprising; after all, Sarah Palin certainly wins the award for being the most unconventional and unpredictable politician in modern political history, and this stunt certainly validates that title.

There are several possible reasons why Palin is leaving office early. The most immediate assumption is that she wants to set her sights on the White House as early as possible, and her resignation would allow her to travel the country for nearly three years, winning endorsements and re-introducing herself to the American public. Of course, if Palin really plans to embark on such a tour, maybe she should consider hiring a new speechwriter and a grammar coach, since today's announcement was not only incoherent, but chock full of the same ramblings and hillbilly folk sayings which frightened voters away from the McCain-Palin ticket last year. A second reason for her resignation-- and, in my opinion, is most probably-- is that Palin isn't gearing up for a White House run at all, but is in fact thinking about challenging incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski in next year's Republican Senatorial primary. But Palin would be mortally wounding herself should she decide to go this route, since Murkowski is still extremely popular in Alaska, while Palin's approval ratings are currently hovering near 50%. This stunt will probably hurt her even more among Alaskans, considering they did elect her, after all, to serve four years as governor of their state. A third reason for her resignation is that she is "done with politics"-- that is, a year after Palin subjected herself and her family to intense media scrutiny which she apparently can't handle like a normal politician, she is removing herself from the spotlight altogether to live a sheltered family life. And if you believe that, I have a bridge in Alaska I can sell you for a low price.

My honest opinion is that Palin is gearing up for a political campaign, either for the Senate or the Presidency in 2012. And my educated guess is that Palin will lose both should she pursue them. Alaskans must feel betrayed that their governor-- who abandoned them after losing the presidency to get into petty fights with late night talk show hosts and call for the new, democratically-elected Senator from that state to resign after Ted Stevens' conviction was set aside-- has decided to just stop doing her job altogether. Essentially, Palin is saying that she is bored as governor of Alaska, and she wants to do something else-- whatever that is, the cares and concerns of Alaskans aren't nearly as important as her own ambitions. Should she run for the Senate next year, Alaskans might finally question her rationality, considering Palin easily could have run for the Senate as a sitting governor. Should she run for President in three years, Americans are going to look at her track record and wonder why they should elect a fairly oblivious anti-intellectual who only served 30 months as governor of one of the least-important states in the country as President instead of a fairly popular sitting President. Even better, people will be forced to ask whether she will truly be capable of serving out a full term as governor without leaving early because she can't take the heat. Republicans will probably question this, too, and my bet is that she will be destroyed in the Republican primary for this lopsided decision.

Ultimately, Sarah Palin has ruined her political future by deciding to leave office early. Her credibility is in the tank, and any chance for a national political comeback has been obliterated. Thank you, Sarah, for clearing the 2012 presidential field of yet another contender. Hopefully your replacement will actually do what you failed to do upon his succession of the governorship: The job of the governor of Alaska.