Sarah Palin running in 2012?

Tell me it ain't so Joe!!

How could anybody have had any doubt that she would run in 2012. I wish the Republicans would get their act together and become a viabable party again for the mainstream and not just the extreme right wing fringe.

This is a very strange development. I could completely see her not running for re-election in order to focus on the Presidential race, but resigning seems like it would be a big black mark on her resume. Her opponents would spin it into: "She abandoned the people of Alaska to focus on her personal ambitions to become President." It would seem to me that there are one of three possibilities:

1. She's tired of all the mud slinging and name calling coming at her from both political parties right now and has decided she doesn't want to take part any more.

2. Some type of scandal is getting ready to come to light and she figures this can head it off by resigning before it comes public.

3. She really does have plans for the White House in 2012 and figures that by getting started now she can raise enough money to overcome the political repercussions of stepping down.

Note that 2 & 3 aren't mutually exclusive.

I agree it is a strange developement. You put it more succinctly than I could have. Her term was not supposed to end until December 2010. While I can see her making a run for president it is a long way off and her term still has a year and a half to run. I don't see how staying in office would hinder her chances. I watched her news conference where she was stepping down. She got her jabs in people taking trips on the taxpayer expense during a lame duck season and then said she did not want to have a lame duck season. It is a good spin on her leaving but sorry I can't help but feel she got a better offer and is going with it. She was elected for a term and she should finish it out. A year and a half is not a lame duck session it is leaving a job. Just because you decide you are not going to run for anouther term does not mean you just up and leave in the middle of the one you have. But on the whole it is a big shrug from me. It will be interesting to see where she lands because I don't think she is ready to leave the limelight. And why should she, she has many supportors right now. It is her time might as well strike while the iron is hot.

It makes no sense for her to step down in order to run for President... Especially from a position as Governor. You finish your job, do a good job, then you run for a higher position... Her stepping down is soooo flaky! If she wanted to run for president, IMO, she just burned her chances with the Republican party... I think there is more to this story... Is she sick? Is there something that she needs to hide?
But again, amazingly she can see Russia from her backyard, maybe she sees things we don't .

Oh wow...you don't think the youngest daughter really IS pregnant, do you?

My personal opinion for whatever it is worth, nope, I do not believe she will try to run for POTUS in 2012.

I think she is finally sick of all the over the top media hatred of her.

I believe it's either exactly as you say, or...there is a new and insurmountable scandal about to erupt. After all, she did make the announcement on a Friday prior to a holiday weekend, and set the effective date for a Sunday. You did say before that's a good way to "bury" something in the news.

Oh Lord, I hope not.

Or she is just not good enough to take the hit of a failed state during these hard times... or... she is so vain that she just wants to expand her 15 minutes of fame writing books and doing book tours, and promoting herself as a brand.

Since when is Alaska "failing"?

Well, AK is in trouble - worst than a lot of states... Their GDP decline was the worst in the whole country.
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regi...ewsrelease.htm

... and It has one of the worst personal income levels,
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regi...ewsrelease.htm

So....

So the state of the economy is now the fault of the Governor's of each individual state?

Oh dear... If you want to distort my words, go right ahead - it will not surprise me a bit, after all she is the Republican sweetheart of the moment, and your response would be expected.
What I said was that AK is in a BAD situation, and the reason to step down might be that she is not good enough to take the hit. Never I said it was her fault.
This is all speculation of course... It is not everyday we see brave governors stepdown on a Friday of a 3-day weekend after a mere 2.5 years of service to know what goes on on her privileged mind.

I don't think she will run in 2012. My two cents: the 2008 election uncovered her incompetence and ignorance. It was her time to shine to the US and show us what she has to offer and she did quite the opposite, she embarassed herself. If she never was selected to be McCain's running mate, she'd probably be happily enjoyoing her term as governor and seeking re election...After all, Alaskans are pretty happy with her, it's the rest of the US that can't understand how someone this ignorant can be elected as governor. So of course the media, always reflecting on the public opinion never stopped targeting her for her mistakes. Of course, I am just repeating myself here, I've said this about her over and over again..It's actually quite sad. She isn't a bad person, I feel sorry for her to have to go through this. She just wasn't fit for the job, that's all- if Alaskans are happy with their governor people should have left her alone after the election ended. I don't know what the joke with Trig was that she referred to in her speech- but whatever it was, making fun of disabled children is a sorry thing to do It seemed like she was hurt by it.
Anyways I am guilty of not leaving her alone- she was always a target of my jokes/making fun of republicans. I think the joke with her kid though is probably way over the top ..I really think it's the thing that made her resign since she talked about it in her speech with such anger.

The nightly news here speculated she is going to "cash in" on her current popularity with the republican party while she can. Right now her status is such that she can ask $50,000 per speaking engagement, IF she is not the Governor. If she is an elected official she can't take any payments.

The report was much more detailed and she really does stand to make a significant amount of money in the next 6 month to a year, IF she steps down from her position.

Since she has a baby with an expensive lifelong illness and they are not wealthy people I think this might be part of the equation.

I couldn't help thinking of the old saying..."Quitters never win, and winners never quit".

More frivolous lawsuits. **Yawn**

The windows and wood is the same? What a crime!

But no, I don't think she's going to run, and I don't think she'd be successful if she did. The financial thing is certainly a factor. She has fought off 14 ethics accusations at her own expense, and I imagine she's tired of it. Suppose that some Democrat had had to deal with that; the media would be outraged (and it should), but they've been complicit in the problems Palin has had, since they report every new charge, but fail to mention when each charge has been disproven.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't vote for her for much of anything, and it's not for the reasons you might think. She (and her supporters) have referred to Biblical and religious beliefs, and I'd go by the one that says that a person who can't run their own family should not be in a position of power.

Have you ever quit a job? I have.

It's sad that many people hate her and try their best to denigrate her. She exposed corruption in her own party, I guess that is why some Republicans don't like her, that must be the reason why the Democrats don't like her. After all, we can't have politicians exposing corruption, she might expose US.

And darn it all, that woman, Sarah Palin, walks the walk being pro-life and having a Down's baby, who does she think she is bringing a child like that into the world when she could have killed it.

And people's reasons for hating her are, so lame, especially, when he take into consideration, Joe Biden.

I think the entire thing is disgusting how mean people in this country have become.

I completely agree. It is disgusting how mean people in this country have become...even as far as supporting writing discrimination into our very Constitution.

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Oct...rriage,00.html

I don't have any idea what her "real" reasons are for stepping down. Definitely doesn't seem like the most wise political move, but maybe she's taking a page from Obama's playbook of moving on to run for President before a real record in that office can be established. But he, at least, did have a political record of his state senate service, and not just being a small town governor. If she's stepping down to get her family out of the spotlight, good for her. SHE chose the life of politics, THEY didn't. They shouldn't have to suffer the public indignities that any political figure does, and her more than most.

One thing I will say is that I haven't seen such a polarizing figure except Bush. She's called everything but white and Christian by her detractors, but yet they still feel she's worthy of their attention with everything she does. If she's that dumb and non-threatening as a national political candidate, why bother?

Your quote about the Down's syndrome didn't come through. Stop looking for something to piss about and just read it for what was said.

I couldn't remember what her child had and didn't care enough to look it up. I couldn't remember if he was autistic, downs, CP, just knew it was a situation that would require lifelong, usually specialized and expensive care. This is no matter if the parent(s) are politicians or not.

I didn't know anything about the lawsuits Mike posted about either, which would certainly compound financial problems and the need to make more money.

Nothing bad about her having a child with an illness or birth defect in this case. Nor is there anything wrong with making changes to make more money to help her family.

My point about the quitters never win had to do with all the speculation about her running in 2012. If she is quitting politics now, it doesn't look good for a presidential run in 3 years.

As to quitting a job, putting in a two week to a month notice at a lower paying job to take a higher paying one I don't see as being the same as announcing , I don't want to be a lame duck Governor so I am not finishing out my term and will be done in a month.

I certainly hope the Republican party can come up with a much better presidential candidate in 2012 than her.

I wish she would get the heck out of the news as well... we actually agree on something.

By the way, happy Independence Day.

I don't know but I think you said a naughty word kittymonsters.

Really, I don't care whether she runs in 2012, the Republican Party is in shambles and they, themselves, have no idea what they are doing. I think McCain is trying with his, Country First PAC but that is about all.

I'm tired of both parties, they both suck.

Should have known, well I did know, wish other people would, the above is nothing but more media lies.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090705/D9988SCG0.html

Now the FBI has verified that the stupid embezzlement claims by the Palin haters is total baloney.

We just cannot believe the media anymore folks, the media has turned into one huge National Enquirer.

http://www.redstate.com/gary4205/200...-independence/

Good read. I agree, the media IS clueless, even Fox.

I know Independence really is a bad word now a days

no seriously I tried not to use a bad word and I really didn't want to offend you and at the same time I wanted to get my point across.

We are agreeing way too much in this thread, LOL. Both parties are way too polarized and the media is out of control. The new is more of Entertainment Tonight, as opposed to real news anymore.