Jonathan Martin
July 04, 2009 - Politico.com
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Sarah Palin's jaw-dropping announcement that she is quitting her job as Alaska governor before finishing even her first term has divided Republican ranks and the wider political community in a very familiar fashion.
Many establishment GOP operatives and political commentators of various stripes were withering, both about the decision and the way she announced it—in a jittery, hyperkinetic news conference that rambled between self-congratulation and bitter accusations at the foes she says are eager to destroy her.
The performance, by these lights, adds credence to the claims of some associates that Palin—burned by the intense scrutiny on her and the crossfire that swirls around her—is so fed up that she's ready to get out of elective politics. Even if it's only the small stage of Alaska politics she hopes to escape, skeptics say Friday's events also diminished and perhaps even demolished what was left of her viability as a 2012 presidential candiate.
But her defenders believed an unorthodox move, even if risky, has a clear logic and may only further increase her standing with conservatives who don't care what establishment figures in or out of the GOP think. Leaving the governor's office at the end of this month leaves her free to travel the country, command large speaking fees, and begin the process of rallying her devotees without pesky home-state opponents criticizing every move.
These varied reactions were an echo of the debates that have followed Palin every step since her nomination as John McCain's running mate ten months ago—a surprise that turned out to be just the first of many surprises served up by one of the most colorful and polarizing American political figures in a generation.
At the heart of these conflicting interpretations, say people close to Palin, is a woman who is herself deeply conflicted about her brief past in national politics and how to leverage her sudden fame for the future.
Some of her trusted outside advisers were not informed of her plans to suddenly resign from office until today – they thought she was only to announce she would not run for re-election.
Fred Malek, a longtime Republican fundraiser and Palin ally, played host to the governor and her husband, Todd, less than a month again in Washington and said it was "so clear to me that she was terribly unhappy with the position she was in and the role she was playing."
He didn't learn of Palin's decision until he got a phone call from the governor this morning, when she cited the pressures of a job that had become consumed with FOIA requests and ethics investigations and the demands it taken on her family and national political prospects.
Another prominent GOP source who is close to Palin, who also had no inkling of Palin's decision to quit until today, said: "Things had piled up pretty steep on her."
Meg Stapleton, Palin's Alaska-based spokesperson, called it "a fighting move."
But even Stapleton acknowledged that the job Palin said she loved during the press conference had become a drag
"It's a liberating feeling…she can't get out of there soon enough," said Stapleton.
But liberation comes at a potentially steep price. These include brutal reviews from many Republicans, who believe that quitting mid-term in the fashion she did amounts to political suicide.
"There is just no good way to say quitting has made her more qualified to run for higher office," said veteran GOP pollster Glen Bolger.
Until Friday, after all, Stapleton and others close to Palin had been saying for months that the governor would take an Alaska-first approach and eschew national affairs. The hope was to compile more of a record and develop more policy authority.
"I think Sarah Palin is on the verge of becoming the Miami Vice of American politics: Something a lot of people once thought was cool and then 20 years later look back, shake their heads and just kind of laugh," quipped Republican media consultant Todd Harris.
Even those who were less critical of her choice were taken aback by Palin's rambling, hard-to-follow news conference by the side of a lake outside her home. The performance had shades of Richard Nixon's "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore" news promise in 1962, as well as Mark Sanford's bizarre exercise in self-revelation just last month.
Palin mixed analogies to herself as a basketball player who knows "when it's time to pass the ball" with bitter commentary against "political operatives [who] descended on Alaska—digging for dirt" as part of a "superficial, wasteful political bloodsport."
"Palin is at her best when she's being folksy but there is no way to be folksy when you're resigning as governor," said veteran GOP strategist Dan Schnur.
She portrayed her resignation as a selfless choice done for the good of Alaskans.She said they will now be free of the expensive and distracting—and she said bogus—ethics inquiries generated by her new prominence. "Some Alaskans, maybe they don't mind wasting public dollars and state time, but I do," she said.
But some believe Palin, for all the loose and improvisational feel of her news conference, was making a calculated guess that she is now bigger than Alaska's small and remote political stage can handle.
With a recent book deal and ability for paid speaking engagements giving her great financial freedom, reasoned GOP communications strategist Carl Forti, "If she wants to run for national office it makes sense to get out of Alaska and around the lower 48. Resigning makes that possible."
Malek and some of her other outside advisers expressed skepticism that she would run for president in 2012, but others saw in the move today the beginnings of a national campaign.
"She's now made sure that she is entirely a movement candidate," said veteran Democratic strategist Bob Shrum. "She brings no real experience to the table at all, but now this frees her up to carve out her own Goldwater-like movement."
And then there is a practical matter, Shrum noted: Palin and her husband, with five children of their own and a new grandson, will likely never have to worry about money again.
"She could make more in two weeks on just speaking fees than in the rest of her time as governor," said Shrum.
The move may also be pragmatic if Palin really does want to lay the groundwork for a presidential run.
"I don't think you can do a competent job of being a governor of a state next door to Russia and run seriously for president of the United States," said Charlie Cook. "It's hard enough to do one of those two, let alone both. While Bill Clinton ran while being governor of Arkansas and George W. Bush as governor of Texas, Little Rock and Austin are not that far by Cessna Citation or Gulfstream from New Hampshire or Florida or California."
And, Cook noted, there is little political upside to being a governor during difficult economic times, when the options usually range from tax or fee increases to budget cuts.
"Bailing out early may avoid making some of those tough decisions," said Cook.
William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard and an outspoken Palin defender, acknowledged Palin's move was "an enormous gamble" but said it could prove smart.
"Now she can do her book, give speeches, travel the country and the world, campaign for others, meet people, get more educated on the issues--and without being criticized for neglecting her duties in Alaska," said Kristol.
Stapleton cited issues Palin was passionate about – energy, national security and free enterprise – but indicated that the governor was being vague about what she planned to do next for a reason.
"Those blanks need to be filled in," said Stapleton when asked specifically what Palin planned after turning her office over to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.
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