Osler's Razor

Well, the story I've heard from most people is that she met with this Council, and they decided that in order to keep the Dark Lord from returning to power, she would have to resign as governor and return this ring to the fires of Mount Redoubt. I think Bobby Jindal is going with her.
 

Does she REALLY think she can win the White House? Can a person be that delusional?
 

A Jindal/Palin ticket is the religious conservatives' wet dream. But I think the "silent majority" is too small to really pull off a 2012 victory. The Repubs would stand a better chance with two moderate, non-histrionic candidates.

But where are those candidates? Argentina?
 

They are in the National Guard still right now. Fighting the war in Indiana.
 

I've talked to a few people today, and the general consensus among Alaskans is that no one really has any idea why she resigned, and no one really minds. The nearest guess I think is from the Washington Post analysis, which said that serving the remainder of her term in Alaska isn't going to give her any more experience with which to run on in 2012, whereas resigning will give her a chance to immerse herself in foreign policy, party contacts, fundraising, etc. without people asking whether she's shirking her gubernatorial duties. I feel like she's going to risk becoming the next John Edwards, not having the positional power to sustain relevance in the political arena (it's been hard enough for her as the governor of Alaska).
 

She plans to be President for 3 yrs and then hand it off to her VP with no notice.

Justin - how is the economic state of Alaska? All governors are struggling with their individual state economy's and budgets (doesn't matter what side of the fence). If sh1t is about to hit the fan in Alaska and she isn't Governor then her name isn't as linked.

That's our theory here in Durham and we are sticking to it. That or she is going to go camping with Mark Sanford on the Appalachian Trail.
 

Christine-

As far as I can tell the economy of AK is pretty good. The state agency hiring freeze is over, and the price of oil is rising, which is what the economy here is based on. I did get one text message saying she's going to need a good public defender, so maybe there's a scandal in the works that she's trying to get out in front of? Only time will tell.
 

Is it possible that she is stepping down to do exactly what many of you said she should've done when she was announced as a VP candidate, stay at home and take care of her children?
 

It's possible. More likely than not? I don't think so. But who knows. Personally I don't really care either way. She's gone soon and this state will be better off for it. Plus I won't have to see her name on every indictment and court paper I get.
 

RRL and JT -- it would seem based on the latest stories that her motivation was that she considered the money being spent by investigatory committees looking in to her ethical decisions wasteful.

Now, whether this is principled fiscal conservatism, grandstanding, or misguided I don't know. But I think we can all agree, we lawyers, that her attorney's representation that he is considering a lawsuit against a blogger and other news organizations for "spreading rumors" is laughable in light of the constitutional rules protecting free speech. Someone needs to sit him down with David Guinn for a few hours.
 

That would be awesome. "Come on now, look alive. What'd Scalia say in that case? Right quick!"
 

From Lane: stories state her motivation was that she considered the money being spent by investigatory committees looking in to her ethical decisions wasteful.

If I take the other side, maybe she was concerned what they might find under those rocks - if they continue looking. Wasteful or not, it would keep her name in the news, negatively or not.

In any case, now she can train for next year's Iditarod ~ mush!
 

I think it makes her look kooky and irresponsible to bail out of her job with three weeks' notice when she has a year and a half left. If I did that, I'd never work again in my field.
 

--waiting for the other shoe to drop--
 

I heard she resigned bc it is about to come out she has been having an affair with a Canadian.
 

Eh?