From Michael Carey at the Los Angeles Times (Op-Ed):
Reporting from Anchorage — Sarah Palin’s career as governor of Alaska is over. So is her barely begun career as a serious presidential candidate. The road map to the White House doesn’t include a stop at “I quit.”
In a truly Palinesque moment near the end of her speech in Wasilla on Friday, the departing governor quoted a saying she said her parents kept on their refrigerator. “Don’t explain: Your friends don’t need it, and your enemies won’t believe you anyway.”
The governor might have done better to take her cue from another piece of refrigerator wisdom: “Quitters never win, and winners never quit.”
Palin’s speech was hastily arranged and hastily delivered.
…snip…
The governor seemed to have trouble breathing — was on the verge of panting — as she took a long, clunky windup to make her pitch. She recited her achievements and chastised the media for not appreciating them. She told us how sorry she feels for herself and her family. She praised our brave troops serving abroad, renewed her commitment to the fight for free enterprise, denounced apathy and explained she would not waste public dollars as a lame duck. And she dipped into metaphor, invoking her experience as a high school point guard.
The point-guard metaphor was supposed to leave Alaskans appreciating her willingness to pass the ball. Instead, it raised an obvious question: “What kind of point guard walks off the court in the fourth quarter, refusing to play any more?”
…snip…
The only thing we can be absolutely sure of is this: Palin did not tell the truth when she said she is leaving for the good of Alaskans. She is leaving for her own good. With Sarah Palin, “me” always comes first.
…snip…
But the “why” of why she left may be as simple as this: She couldn’t take it anymore. The scrutiny, the criticism, the mockery, and yes, the hard work of being governor. Palin’s thin skin is legendary. She never ignores a slight. For most of the last year, she has been feuding with the Alaska media and many of the state’s political leaders.
She has almost no support among legislators, even Republicans.
…snip…
Palin will continue as an A-list celebrity in the tabloids and gossip magazines. She and her husband, Todd, provide a rich source of family drama, scandal and compelling photographs. She also will remain a celebrity on the Christian right, which adores her.
She will keep my state in the news. But she is finished as a leader. No leader abandons the battle in mid-fight.
…snip…
Michael Carey is a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News and host of “Anchorage Edition” on Alaska Public Broadcasting.
Keep in mind, kids, this isn’t the first time Princess Sarah quit (or gave up her “title” as she put it). From the Anchorage Daily News:
Published: January 17th, 2004 05:09 PM
Last Modified: September 5th, 2008 06:49 PM
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Chairwoman Sarah Palin said Friday she is resigning amid frustration that she is being forced to keep silent about ethics allegations against Republican Party of Alaska chairman Randy Ruedrich.
…snip…
Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski appointed both Ruedrich and Palin to the state commission last spring. In November, Ruedrich resigned the $118,000 commission job in the face of mounting criticism that his job and his party position presented a conflict of interest.
As a top party official he was raising political funds from the same industries he regulated as a commissioner. In addition, allegations surfaced that Ruedrich was doing party business while he was on the state job as an oil and gas commissioner.
Palin has deflected numerous questions from the press about the Ruedrich affair in recent weeks. The Alaska Department of Law has told her that she cannot talk about the ethics allegations against Ruedrich, even after she resigns.
Palin said frustration over the gag order made her conclude it was time to quit, but she said it wasn’t the only reason. She wouldn’t detail what else contributed to her decision.
…snip…
Palin said it was hard to do her job with potential civil penalties hanging over her head if she talked about what went on at her agency. She said the experience was taking the “oomph” out of her passion for government service and she decided to quit rather than becoming bitter.
Palin is a former mayor of Wasilla. She made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican lieutenant governor nomination in the 2002 election and has been discussed as a possible challenger to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Palin said Friday her decision to leave the commission had nothing to do with such matters.
Palin said she has not discounted running against Murkowski but is leaning against it. The Republican Party is backing Murkowski with money and endorsements, she said. Palin said she has no immediate employment plans.
And, kids, don’t forget her illustrious college career. I guess when the going got too tough at one school, she’d quit and go to the next one.
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
“And though it’s honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make.”
KNOCK, KNOCK…..is anyone home?? Sarah, are you referring to those other politicians who leave their positions because they won an election? What a dingbat. 🙄
that bitch has never done an honorable thing in her life. an honorable person would have said no to capt underpants, knowing that she was completely unprepared and knowing that she would be putting the spotlight on her pregnant daughter when she was most vulnerable. she was even dishonorable to the capt underpants campaign by not telling them in advance that bristol was knocked up.
She might have done something honorable in high school, when she was captain of the girl’s basketball team and won a state championship while playing with a stress fracture. Of course, that’s where she earned the nickname Barracuda. That’s for someone who is ruthless and aggressive; honor might have nothing to do with it.
it depends on her motive. i suspect that she did it for her own aggrandizement. i doubt that it was for the team.
then again david caruso and shelley long REALLY
prospered when they quit
she’ll prosper. she’ll get millions from rethug publishers, and she’ll have a lucrative job at faux news if she wants one.
As they say in Texas, I’d like to buy her for what she’s worth and sell her for what she thinks she’s worth.
And Caruso and Long had fantastic film careers after they left hit series…lemme see, there was
umm (pause to Google) Kiss of Death and The Brady Bunch Movie…and even more!
there’s no denomination small enough to buy her for what she’s worth.
Not even Zimbabwean dollars?
i swear i was going to google which country it was where the currency isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. then i saw a shiny object and forgot. it’s a good thing you can read my mind, neon vincent! 😉
Wha….? Sounds to me like someone likes to cut-and-run!
I got another folksy saying for the Princess: “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.”
i think she would use the where the good lord split ya version. did you hear her “speech”? at one point she realized she forgot to throw the fundies a bone, so she backtracked a couple of words and then said she prayed over what to do.
Hi, nonnie! I see it’s Carey vs. Palin tonight: sad Sarah’s being double-teamed by Michael (in words) and Mariah (in pictures). Couldn’t happen to a sorrier sad sack/pitiful pol.
Great job!
hey sar!
princess sarah is as good a politician as mariah was an actress. i’m waiting for one of her kids to be old enough to write a palin version of mommie dearest. my money’s on willow.
Were you inspired to use the Mariah Carey poster because the person who wrote the article was M. Carey? Or did you even notice?
doh! 😯 it never occurred to me! good thinkin’, neon vincent! i was going to use another movie poster (don’t ask me which one, because i forgot), chosen for the title. then i noticed it was from maverick entertainment. i wish i could remember which one it was.
Dear Sarah… you want a higher calling??? Get down on your knees and suck on my balls!
michael,
everyone is welcome here. i hate deleting any comments. this is the second comment you’ve left here. i seriously considered deleting the first one, but i let it remain. i was going to delete this one, but, instead, i’ll just ask you to please tone down the rhetoric. i think we all dislike princess sarah, but the violence in your comment is over the line.
What’s the difference between this hockey mom and a pit bull?
Well, a pit bull’s bark is much worse than its bite. Gov. Palin pretty much just whines whenever anyone says anything bad about her.
The “Sarah Cuda” nickname looks less and less appropriate, too.
Frankly, this part of her story is just pitiful.
she’s a bully who can dish it out but can’t take it. she’s a whiner and a quitter, and the rethugs are making a big mistake if they defend her actions. in fact, they should throw capt underpants out of the party for foisting her on the country.
A lot of people on the right want to throw him out of the party, but not for elevating Sarah Palin. They want to do it because he’s not conservative enough. Seriously. On the other hand, the same people love Sarah.
I know die-hard Palin fans in real life.
I have to resist the urge to slap them and say, “Wake up!”
wickle,
slap them! slap them hard! then again, do we really want these people awake? 😉
i would love to see him lose his seat in the senate. it would give me joy to see him humiliated. that doesn’t make me a very nice person, but i can live with being nasty.
We must now regroup from this tragedy before the inevitable national collapse that will occur as a result of this historic socio-cultural catastrophe. I only hope our once proud nation will be able to survive this momentous tectonic shift in the political geography…
It’ll be ugly but I think I will somehow manage to get past this and prosper even. (sigh)
i hope you’re correct, zirgar, but what will happen is putin rears his head, and princess sarah is not there to stop him? 😯 i fear for our country!
She is SUCH a douche. A dumb douche at that. But I adore your poster Nonnie! 😉
dusty,
i always cringe a bit when someone calls people like princess douches. after all, the purpose of a douche is to leave things fresher and smelling better than they were before. i think you’ll agree that princess and her ilk do nothing of the sort. 😉
I was actually hoping she would be the “anointed” one put forth by the rethugs in 2012. Imagine her, attempting to hold her own with Barak Obama. Her laughable thought processes, incoherent speech, and actions would have an end result of her being exposed for what she truly is… superficial, and basically “For Sale”. After experiencing the rigors of scrutiny awaiting anyone seeking the presidency, she wouldn’t hold up, basically imploding. She would be humiliated, and rightly so. I think part of her popularity is that she’s a train wreck going some place to happen. I know that’s why I can’t turn away.
hello jimbo jones,
welcome to the raisin! 😀
on one hand, i would like her to be the nominee in 2012, or at least on the stage with the other contenders. on the other hand, i really resent how she has dumbed down politics and set the bar so low for those who want to hold public office. well, i guess it’s more accurate to say that chimpy did that, but she reinforced that very low bar. then again, on my third hand, i would absolutely love to see her fall flat on her face in a spectacular manner so that even the idiot rethugs who worship her will realize that she’s nothing but an empty suit (an expensive one paid for by the rnc).
Great work, Nonnie…as always
thanks darthstar!
what a treat to see you over here! 😀
Darthstar?
Were you once a regular on Slate Magazine’s The Fray, War Stories forum?
This would be about five years ago or so.