Why "Sarahcuda" Palin's Crazy Death Panel Lies Are Working...Alaska's Poor Health Care System

NY Times, Politico, Huffington Post, MSNBC----


(Huffington Post’s Shannyn Moore discusses Alaska’s poor health care plans while under the leadership of former Gov. Sarah Palin.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I’m not sure the man who popped off and tweeted that Sonia Sotomayor was a “Latina woman racist” is the best Henry Higgins for the Eliza Doolittle of Alaska.

But Newt Gingrich was a professor. And he does know something about pulling yourself up by dragging down others and imploding when you take center stage — both Palin specialties.

Besides, he agrees with Sarah — who fretted that her parents and son Trig might be in danger from Obama “death panels” — that we should be very wary about trusting government with end-of-life decisions.

So Newt took it upon himself to become Palin’s Pygmalion. He told Politico that the out-of-work pol should write a book; take a commentator gig on TV; get a condo in D.C. or New York to use as an East Coast base; and prepare three types of speeches — one “to make money,” another to “project her brand” before universities and interest groups, and a vivid campaign stump speech to use for Republican candidates in 2010.

Most important, he advised, the dizzy Palin has to be “clear in her own head what she wants to do.”

At the moment, what she wants to do is tap into her visceral talent for aerial-shooting her favorite human prey: cerebral Ivy League Democrats.

Just as she was able to stir up the mob against Barack Obama on the trail, now she is fanning the flames against another Harvard smarty-pants — Dr. Zeke Emanuel, a White House health care adviser and the older brother of Rahmbo.

She took a forum, Facebook, more commonly used by kids hooking up and cyberstalking, and with one catchy phrase, several footnotes and a zesty disregard for facts, managed to hijack the health care debate from Mr. Obama.

Sarahcuda knows, from her brush with Barry on the campaign trail, that he is vulnerable on matters that demand a visceral and muscular response rather than a logical and book-learned one. Mr. Obama was charming and informed at his town hall in Montana on Friday, but he’s going to need some sustained passion, a clear plan and a narrative as gripping as Palin’s I-see-dead-people scenario.

She has successfully caricatured the White House health care effort, making it sound like the plot of the 1976 sci-fi movie “Logan’s Run,” about a post-apocalyptic society with limited resources where you can live only until age 30, when you must take part in an extermination ceremony called “Carousel” or flee the city.

Painting the Giacometti-esque Emanuel as a creepy Dr. Death, Palin attacked him on her Facebook page a week ago, complaining that his “Orwellian thinking” could lead to a “death panel” with bureaucrats deciding whether to pull the plug on less hardy Americans.

Never mind that Palin herself had endorsed some of the same end-of-life counseling she now depicts as putting Grandma down.

As the Democratic National Committee pointed out, Palin put out a 2008 proclamation for Healthcare Decisions Day “to raise public awareness of the need to plan ahead for healthcare decisions, related to end of life care ... and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate these important healthcare decisions.”

Consistency was long ago sent to a death panel in Palin world.

Sensing traction, she took more shots against Dr. Emanuel, quoting the bioethicist’s past writing that some medical services might not be guaranteed to those “who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens. ... An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.”

“Dr. Emanuel,” she wrote ominously, “has also advocated basing medical decisions on a system which ‘produces a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.’ ”

She crowed that she had him on the run, and the White House felt that the doctor, who was being portrayed as a proponent of euthanasia, needed to get out there and explain his opposition to euthanasia. So he interrupted his hiking vacation in the Italian Alps to give a raft of phone interviews saying he was taken out of context and calling Palin’s charges “completely off the wall.”

But, much to Sarah’s delight, he also conceded to The Washington Times that his “thinking has evolved” on the “very vexing” issue of deciding who gets treatment and who doesn’t.

“When I began working in the health policy area about 20 years ago ... I thought we would definitely have to ration care, that there was a need to make a decision and deny people care,” he told the paper, adding that he now feels that if we get rid of expensive “unnecessary care” that “we would have absolutely no reason to even consider rationing except in a few cases.”

A few cases? Sounds like another Facebook entry for Sarah.


Palin stands by "Death Panel" claims

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin refused to retreat from her debunked claim that a proposed health care overhaul would create "death panels," as the growing furor over end-of-life consultations forced a key group of senators to abandon the idea in their bill.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, one of six lawmakers negotiating on a Senate bill, said Thursday they had dropped end-of-life provisions from consideration "entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly."

In a Facebook posting titled "Concerning Death Panels," Palin argued Wednesday night that the elderly and ailing would be coerced into accepting minimal end-of-life care to reduce health care costs based on the Democratic bill in the House.

But there will be no "death panels" under the legislation being considered. In fact, the provision in the bill would allow Medicare to pay doctors for voluntary counseling sessions that address end-of-life issues. The conversations between doctor and patient would include living wills, making a close relative or a trusted friend your health care proxy, learning about hospice as an option for the terminally ill, and information about pain medications for people suffering chronic discomfort.

The sessions would be covered every five years, more frequently if someone is gravely ill.

The American Medical Association and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization support the provision.

In her posting, Palin wrote: "With all due respect, it's misleading for the president to describe this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients." She added, "It's all just more evidence that the Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing."

The issue is no longer viable for the six members of the Senate Finance Committee — three Republicans and three Democrats — working on a bipartisan bill, according to Grassley. In a statement, he criticized the House bill, saying there was a difference between a "simple education campaign, as some advocates want," and paying "physicians to advise patients about end-of-life care."

The provisions remain in the House bill.

Palin's posting came one day after Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said that Palin and other critics were not helping the GOP by tossing out false claims. Portions of the Democratic health care bills "are bad enough that we don't need to be making things up," Murkowski said, invoking a phrase that Palin used in her resignation speech, when she asked the news media to "quit making things up."

Murkowski said she was offended at the "death panel" terminology. "There is no reason to gin up fear in the American public by saying things that are not included in the bill," she said.

Palin hasn't always been against end-of-life counseling. As Alaska governor, she signed a proclamation making April 16, 2008, Healthcare Decision Day with the goal to have health care professionals and others participate in a statewide effort to provide clear and consistent information about advance directives.

The proclamation noted that only about 20 percent of Alaskans, and 50 percent of severely or terminally ill patients, have an advance directive. "It is likely that a significant reason for these low percentages is that there is both a lack of knowledge and considerable confusion in the public about advance directives," it said.

Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican who co-sponsored a similar measure in the Senate, said it was "nuts" to claim the bill encourages euthanasia.

And Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who authored the provision on end-of-life counseling, said he is astounded that Palin has not tempered her bleak descriptions of the health care bill.

"It's deliberate at this point," Blumenauer said. "If she wasn't deliberately lying at the beginning, she is deliberately allowing a terrible falsehood to be spread with her name."

He said the measure would block funds for counseling that presents suicide or assisted suicide as an option, calling references to death panels or euthanasia "mind-numbing."




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Sources: NY Times, MSNBC, Politico, HUffington Post, NY Daily News, Google Maps

Sarah Palin Leaves Public Office, Slams Media, Political Future Remains Unclear...Faces More Ethics Violation Probes

MSNBC, Politico----


(Sarah Palin resigns. As the former GOP vice presidential candidate begins life as a private citizen, her political future remains unsure despite a flood of donations to her political action committee. NBC’s Norah O’Donnell reports.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(Upon announcing her resignation then Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin encourages her constituents but slams the Media.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Sarah Palin stepped down Sunday as Alaska governor to write a book and build a right-of-center coalition, but she left her long-term political plans unclear and refused to address speculation she would seek a 2012 presidential bid.

Her first order of business as a private citizen is to speak Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. She also wants to campaign for political candidates from coast to coast, and continue to speak her mind on the social networking site Twitter.

Free speech was a theme of her farewell speech at a crowded picnic in Fairbanks, as the outgoing governor scolded "some seemingly hell bent on tearing down our nation" and warned Americans to "be wary of accepting government largess. It doesn't come free."

She also took aim at the media, saying her replacement, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, "has a very nice family too, so leave his kids alone!"

And she told television cameras: "How about, in honor of the American soldier, you quit makin' things up?"

Claims unfair treatment by media:

She didn't elaborate, but Palin said when she announced her resignation July 3 that she was tired of the media focus on her family and felt she had been unfairly treated by reporters.

Friend and foe alike have speculated that Palin may host a radio or TV show, launch a lucrative speaking career or seek higher office in Washington.

Palin hasn't ruled out any of those options, and her political action committee, SarahPAC, has raised more than $1 million, said Meghan Stapleton, a spokeswoman for the committee and the Palin family.

Stapleton said Palin is still deciding what her future will be.

"I cannot express enough there is no plan after July 26. There is absolutely no plan," she told The Associated Press.

Palin's surprise announcement she was stepping down 17 months before the end of her first term pushed her favorability rating down to 40 percent, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll. Fifty-three percent of those polled gave her an unfavorable rating.

Last summer, almost six in 10 Americans viewed her favorably. The latest poll was taken from July 15-18.

Parnell sworn in Sunday:

Nearly 20 ethics complaints had been filed against Palin, and the outgoing governor cited the resulting investigation's financial toll — both on her and the state — for stepping down. An independent investigator looking into the complaints found evidence she may have violated ethics laws by trading on her position as she sought money for lawyer fees, according to a report obtained recently by The Associated Press.

Parnell, 46, of Anchorage, was sworn in Sunday as the state's new governor and has promised to push many of Palin's initiatives, including controversial terms to build a natural gas pipeline.

Palin received a warm welcome Sunday, both during her speech and as she served food at Pioneer Park in downtown Fairbanks, where thousands gathered on a hot day.

Among those present was Donna Michaels, 57, of Fairbanks, who wore a red T-shirt that said: "Palintologist."

The T-shirt defined a Palintologist as "someone who studies Palin and shares her conservative values, Maverick attitude and American style."

Michaels also held a poster board sign showing the front page of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner when Palin announced she would resign. Michaels altered the banner headline "Palin steps down," replacing the last word with "up."

"She's really not stepping down. She's stepping up to do something bigger and better," said Michaels, who attended the picnic with her daughter and two granddaughters, one of whom who wore Sarah Palin-style eyeglasses.

Thanks for the laughs:

Larry Landry, 51, of Fairbanks held up a red, white and blue sign that that read, "Quitting: the new American value." The other side read: "Thanks for the laughs."

Landry, a registered independent, said he respected Palin when she ran for governor in 2006, but she changed during last year's presidential campaign.

"She turned into a vicious vixen," he said. "She descended into ugly, divisive politics."

Alaska's first female governor arrived at the state Capitol in December 2006 on an ethics reform platform after defeating two former governors in the primary and general elections. Her prior political experience consisted of terms as Wasilla's mayor and councilwoman and a stint as head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Unknown on the national stage until Republican John McCain tapped her as his running mate, Palin infused excitement into the Republican's presidential bid. But she also became the butt of talk-show jokes and Democratic criticism, especially after the Republican Party spent $150,000 or more on a designer wardrobe for Palin.

Former state House Speaker John Harris, a Republican with sometimes chilly relations with Palin, said he thinks Palin will run for president in 2012, although he has no inside information.

Stapleton said the answer will emerge in the coming weeks.

On Monday, "we'll sit down and say, 'OK, here are your options. How do you now want to effect that positive change for Alaska from outside the role as governor?"' Stapleton said.



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Sources: MSNBC, Politico, ABC News, Newsweek, Flickr, Google Maps

Another Palin Ethics Scandal...Did She Use Private Donations To Pay Her Legal Bills?

Huffington Post, MSNBC, Politico----



ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated Ethics Laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts.

The report obtained by The Associated Press says Palin is securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust, set up by supporters.

An investigator for the state Personnel Board says in his July 14 report that there is probable cause to believe Palin used or attempted to use her official position for personal gain because she authorized the creation of the trust as the "official" legal defense fund.

The fund aims to help Palin pay off debts stemming from multiple ethics complaints against her, most of which have been dismissed. Palin says she owes more than $500,000 in legal fees.

A call seeking comment from her lawyer was not immediately returned.




Alaska Fund BUST. Sarah Palin's (Il)Legal Defense Fund


The Alaska Fund Trust, the most hubristically-named piece of legal defense fundraising in the state of Alaska, has felt the sunshine of scrutiny, and it isn't holding up too well. It seems as though the Associated Press got its hands on some interesting information involving an ethics complaint against the governor's office that was dismissed as 'frivolous' by the Palin administration. The complaint questioned the legality of the fund itself.

After the independent investigation was completed, the findings seem to indicate that the complaint had merit, and uncovered some unsavory legal fundraising tactics.

The report obtained by The Associated Press says Palin is securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust, set up by supporters.

An investigator for the state Personnel Board says in his July 14 report that there is probable cause to believe Palin used or attempted to use her official position for personal gain because she authorized the creation of the trust as the "official" legal defense fund.


The Alaska Fund Trust is managed by long time friend Kristan Cole who states on the site:

I joined with fellow Alaskans in forming the Alaska Fund Trust to help alleviate the Governor's legal debt incurred while performing her job as well as eliminate the incentive for future attacks by her opponents. In doing so, we have created one of the most restrictive and transparent legal funds in history.

Restrictive? Maybe. Transparent? Apparently. Legal? Not according to the investigation.

As recently as last month, a conservative website was conducting a "webathon" to raise money for the fund, in an attempt to retire Palin's growing legal debt. And despite the fact that the report was dated July 14, one week ago, as of this writing, the Alaska Fund Trust website is still up and running, and still soliciting donations.

The release of this information raises some interesting questions. First of all, how did the Associated Press get this information? Normally the findings of an investigation by the Personnel Board would not be available to the public. Ironically, in 2004 when Palin herself was told that the findings of a complaint that she filed would not be made public, she stated that she wanted to find a "hero" in the legislature who could change that law.

Will the governor have to pay back those who donated to the legal defense fund? The fund has actively been raising funds for months, and reporting tremendous success in their goal of paying off the governor's sizable legal debt, which has been reported as high as $600,000.

Why, when the governor has known about this for a week, is the Alaska Fund Trust still continuing to solicit donations?

The governor delivered a rambling "I'm not a quitter, I'm just leading in another direction" speech on the third of July, leaving the media and Alaskans wondering about the "real" reason she resigned the governorship. What, if anything did this finding have to do with it?

Suddenly the meme of "frivolous ethics complaints" has lost its sting.

[Follow this story as it develops at The Mudflats]




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Sources: Huffington Post, MSNBC, Politico, Adn.com, Alaska Trust Fund, AKMuckrucker, The Mudflats, Google Maps

Tina Fey's Portrayal of Sarah Palin (Throwback Political Humor)

Saturday Night Live----

This 2008 Saturday Night Live skit of Tina Fey's spot-on portrayal of Gov. Sarah Palin was too funny. Emmy material? Most definitely! ...Of course Amy Poehler played Hillary Clinton with the same level of excellence. Great job ladies!

OMG! I just had a thought...now that Palin's stepped down from the Political stage will the mainstream media forget about her?

If you really care let me hear you say, "I can see Russia from my house." Ha-Ha!





Sources: SNL, Flickr

Democrats Don't Want Sarah Palin Campaigning For Them...Either

Politico----

Gov. Sarah Palin said last weekend that she’d be willing to campaign for some Democrats when she leaves office later this month.

She may not have many takers.

Interviews with a number of the most conservative Democrats in the House and Senate induced an awkward, stare-at-your-shoes unease when the prospect of appearing with Palin was posed.

Some of the members lunged for elevators, others moved to get into meetings (or at least behind closed doors), and a few just chuckled nervously and replied in a clipped fashion that reflected an immense desire to not discuss the topic at any length.

For these Democrats, many of them part of the right-leaning Blue Dog Coalition, Palin presents a quandary: She’s deeply unpopular within their own party, but in the socially conservative, often rural districts or states they represent, the plain-spoken, wader-wearing Alaska governor has a following.

So Palin’s suggestion, floated in a Washington Times interview, that she’d stump for like-minded independents or Democrats prompted many usually loquacious politicians to respond gingerly — and often with the same talking point they would use to explain why they don’t want high-profile liberals to appear in their red-leaning districts.

“I don’t think so,” said Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler, who hails from the conservative far western reaches of North Carolina.

“You know, look,” Shuler continued, clearing his throat, “there may be things we agree on, but there’s a lot of things we disagree on. I’m satisfied by me campaigning for myself in my own district. I don’t need somebody else from, you know — to come into my district.”

So, no help from Alaska?

“I don’t think so,” Shuler said, smiling and glancing over at the friends he was showing around the Capitol.

Rep. John Barrow, who represents a number of rural counties around Augusta and Savannah, Ga., was already walking quickly out of a Democratic Caucus meeting when asked about a Palin visit.

“That’s a new one on me,” Barrow said. “I don’t think she wants to campaign for me.”

Happily getting into an elevator and away from the question, he added: “It’s really not for me to make suggestions to Ms. Palin; she’s got enough to worry about.”

Over in the Senate, Palin didn’t fare much better. But a pair of Democratic senators demonstrated the delicate touch that enables them to win and hold office in red America.

“I don’t know,” Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor said with a good-natured laugh. “I usually don’t ask people to come campaign for me. I hadn’t really thought about that possibility.”

And how would Palin play in Arkansas, a state the GOP ticket carried by 20 points last year?

“I think, like a lot of places, she has some people that really like her and, you know — but overall, I’m not sure how she’d do there,” Pryor said, before ducking into a Democratic Caucus luncheon.

Spoken like the son of a senator and somebody who won with 80 percent of the vote last year.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, perhaps the most conservative Democrat in the upper chamber, might as well have been asked if he wanted self-proclaimed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to bring a bit of Burlington to North Platte.

“I don’t have very many of my colleagues campaign for me,” Nelson responded quickly. “I generally have been out on my own doing it: two terms as governor, now two terms in the Senate.”

So, no Palin appearances in Cornhusker Country?

“Well, I don’t think it’s necessary,” Nelson added. “I don’t look to do that. I’ve had a very limited number of people ever campaign for me, and I’ve never seen the need to expand it.” (One of them was a young, liberal-leaning senator by the name of Barack Obama, whom he asked to come to Omaha in 2006.)

For all the brushoffs, some conservative Democrats did indicate they’d at least have an open mind toward a Palin visit.

“I hadn’t given it a lot of thought,” said Rep. Gene Taylor, a Blue Dog Democrat from Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, adding: “I would not be opposed to it.” But right after opening the door, Taylor quickly closed it. “I generally don’t bring in other folks to campaign for me,” he said.

So how could she be an asset?

“Like I said, I hadn’t given it a lot of thought,” Taylor reminded, allowing only that Palin is “popular” and that “people like her.”

“OK?” he asked, or pleaded, wanting to be done with the subject.

Rep. Jim Marshall, a Democrat who represents a heavily conservative middle and south Georgia seat, sent Palin the warmest signal, if only after a brief filibuster and a bit of prompting.

“That’s an interesting thought,” Marshall said, taking a moment to chat while he took a group of college students around the Capitol. “I’d be happy to talk with her. You know, I think she’s going to have a very interesting career. It’s not surprising to me that she’s decided that she should move from being governor to whatever the next stage of her career is. Wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t see her with a talk show. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a book, one or two.”

Could she be helpful in Georgia?

“I’m sure that there are many ways that she could be helpful,” Marshall said.

For him?

“Well, I suspect so — I just don’t know what ways those are,” he said with a nervous laugh.

How popular is Palin around Marshall’s Macon-area district?

“Oh, I don’t know,” Marshall responded, seeming to tire of the topic.

Asked if Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) carried his district last year, the congressman made clear just why, besides Southern hospitality, he might have been so warm toward Palin.

“McCain got 57 percent,” Marshall said before catching himself.

“McCain-Palin got 57 percent in my district,” he said, emphasizing the governor’s name and offering a final knowing laugh.

Sources: Politico, Flickr

WTF?? B. Kristol Compares Palin's Political Experience With Pres. Obama's ("Its On Par")

Politico----

Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol, who's emerged as one of Sarah Palin's highest profile conservative boosters, defended the Alaska governor's decision to step down today in a panel appearance on "Fox News Sunday," and compared her level of experience to that of Barack Obama, who served less that one full term in the Senate before being elected president.

Kristol, who argued that Obama had markedly limited accomplishments in his brief time in the Senate before kicking off his presidential run, said, "In 2004, Obama had given one good speech at the Democratic convention. And Palin gave one good speech in 2008."

Palin, said, Kristol, is making a sound decision in "a world where people don't value years of experience in Washington, or even conceivably two terms as governor of Alaska."

"It's high risk," he said of Palin's move to resign her office after serving less than one full term. "She's really all-in here. She has no safety net." Comparing her team's national experience unfavorably to those of Bush, McCain and Romney, he said that it will also come down to Palin's personal appeal and talents: "She's really just getting out there and it's going to depend on her talents and abilities."

Kristol added: "I do think the attacks were amazing. She had been the object of more hated, I would say, and more hatred thats been accepted by the mainstream media than any politician I could remember."

Assessing the movie, he concluded, "She had had an interesting political career and I don't rule her out. The odds are against her, but the odds were against her anyway."

Sources: Politico, Weekly Standard, Huffington Post, Fox News Sunday

Palin Seeks To Control Her Media Mess....She Rose Too Quickly, Lacks Real Substance

Washington Post, MSNBC----

(In a hastily arranged news conference at her home in suburban Wasilla, Alaska Gov. Sarah abruptly announced she will formally resign from office at the end of the month. NBC’s Lester Holt and Chuck Todd discuss the possible reasons for the lawmaker’s move.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(Newsweek's Richard Wolffe describes for Countdown guest host David Shuster to the newly revealed tensions within the Sarah Palin campaign during the 2008 election season on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Why did Sarah Palin step down?

Theories abound. But some of the people closest to the Alaska governor say she wanted to regain control of a political script that slipped out of her hands the moment she burst onto the national stage. She also wanted to shield herself and her family from the attacks that seem to have been aimed permanently at them in the 311 days since Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced her as his running mate, according to some former campaign aides and other advisers who speak regularly with Palin or her husband, Todd.

The Sarah Palin who stood outside her Wasilla, Alaska, lakefront home Friday to surrender her term with 18 months remaining appeared vulnerable and anything but the pugnacious hockey mom and combative candidate whom Americans came to either adore or revile. The woman who said she would never blink suddenly tired of what she deemed the "superficial, wasteful political blood sport."

So she quit.

Yet Palin's vulnerability masks her firepower, ambition and strong will, advisers said. Not one to fit comfortably into convention -- and not comfortable being a victim, either -- Palin spoke Friday as if she was rolling the dice and betting on herself. She presented herself as a game-changer stepping onto a stage of her own making.

What that stage may be remains the big question looming over national politics this weekend, and advisers said she is truly undecided about running for president in 2012, or ever. But for the first time, she recently solicited money for her political action committee.

And yesterday she strongly suggested that she intends to remain a player in national politics.

"I've never thought I needed a title before one's name to forge progress in America," Palin wrote in a message to supporters on her Facebook page. "I am now looking ahead and how we can advance this country together with our values of less government intervention, greater energy independence, stronger national security, and much-needed fiscal restraint. I hope you will join me. Now is the time to rebuild and help our nation achieve greatness!"

What is certain, however, is that Palin has tired of being governor -- of working with a legislature increasingly intent on blocking her agenda, of commuting 4 1/2 hours from Wasilla to the state Capitol in Juneau, of watching her family be tabloid fodder.

This spring, as Palin was weighing whether to run for reelection in 2010, she turned to John P. Coale, a prominent Washington lawyer. He had helped her establish a political action committee and has become her political consigliere of sorts.

"She asked me, 'Well, what do you think all this is? Why are all these people attacking me?' " Coale said. "I said to her: 'Look, that's what happens. They did it to Hillary [Rodham Clinton], and Hillary just pushed through it. It's not going to really stop. . . . You just have to ignore it and move on.' "

But, Coale added, "she couldn't ignore the hits on the kids. She said, 'It brought out the mama grizzly in me.' She acted like a mother grizzly bear when her cubs were being attacked."

A leap From obscurity:

Palin's rise has been well chronicled. She was a first-term governor whose previous political experience was as mayor of a city of 9,700 when she received the call on her cellphone from McCain.

Her leap from obscurity to the GOP's national ticket sent shockwaves across the country and dramatically changed her life, bringing her as much animosity as praise. She made her debut before 30,000 cheering supporters at the Republican National Convention, announced her teenage daughter's pregnancy, stumbled through an interview with Katie Couric and saw her caricature go viral through Tina Fey's parodies.

"I just don't think that most people on planet Earth experience that, and I don't think that anybody can really even try to imagine that," said Joe Balash, one of Palin's top gubernatorial aides. He added: "I've never seen her start to buckle or fold. She's always had a pretty amazing resiliency, and her ability to juggle all that she has and does is something pretty rare and pretty special."

With the campaign behind her, Palin flew to Washington in January to build the foundation for a career independent of McCain's, and to try to restore a reputation that was damaged by her own missteps and the harsh criticism from some in McCain's camp.

Fred Malek, McCain's national finance chairman and a Palin booster, threw a party at his McLean home. There she hobnobbed with the likes of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright and former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.

The next night, Palin was Malek's guest at the Alfalfa Club dinner, an annual gathering of the Beltway elite, where Malek said she was "a star. . . . She was very popular, a lot of people wanted to meet her, she was gracious and came away feeling really good for all the right reasons."

Palin returned to Alaska encouraged, Malek and other advisers said, but her popularity back home was falling.

She soon became viewed as not interested in her state's issues, and critics blamed her for focusing too much on her national reputation, Alaska political leaders said.

About 15 ethics complaints were filed against her or her office, costing the state nearly $300,000 and her family about $500,000 in legal expenses. Some allies in Juneau turned against her.

"The way she decided to exit from state politics was surprising, but everybody knew she had essentially checked out a year ago," said Les Gara, a Democratic state representative who partnered with Palin on issues of tax reform and energy before the campaign but is now a political opponent.

"Everything became about her instead of state issues. She had a choice between personal fame and state policy, and it became personal fame 24 hours a day since she got bit by the national bug."

Uneasy in the spotlight:

Nationally things have not gone well, either, drama following Palin's every move.

"It's been hell for them," Coale said.

She couldn't visit a turkey farm in Wasilla to grant the traditional Thanksgiving pardon without the event becoming an Internet video sensation. (Behind her stood a farm worker slaughtering other turkeys.)

Her staffers wrestled publicly over whether she would appear at a big Republican fundraiser in Washington this spring. (She attended but did not speak.) Meanwhile, her teenage daughter, Bristol, and Bristol's ex-boyfriend, Levi Johnston, aired their feuds, including over the care of their infant son. Even talk show host David Letterman weighed in, joking that one of her daughters had gotten "knocked up" by baseball star Alex Rodriguez in New York.

That joke, which Palin criticized, helped persuade her to step down, Coale said.

By June, when Palin returned to Washington, she seemed less upbeat, Malek said. He had organized a foreign policy briefing on North Korea for her and met with her and Todd Palin in his downtown office.

"I came away feeling that the job, along with all the other tugs and pulls, were taking a toll on their family life," Malek said.

Former Massachusetts governor Jane Swift, a Republican who, like Palin, gave birth in office, is friendly with the Alaska governor and said, "I don't think if you asked 1,000 mothers, you'd find one who would want to trade places with her."

Another reason Palin decided to leave office is her income potential, advisers said. As governor, she earns $125,000, and Todd Palin, an oil production operator and commercial fisherman, took home about $86,000 (not counting $5,600 for winning the Iron Dog snowmobile race), according to her latest financial disclosure.

Palin told the Anchorage Daily News that her legal debt was at least $500,000 and that she was thinking of creating a defense fund to pay the bills. "Obviously, we cannot afford to personally pay these bills," she said.

The governor agreed to a book contract, the terms of which have been kept secret, and when she leaves office could begin amassing a small fortune on the speaking circuit. One adviser said she could net at least $60,000 a speech.

Squashing rumors:

The Palin camp has been trying to squash rumors that she resigned because of ethical problems. Yesterday, her private attorney, Thomas Van Flein, released a statement saying that neither the governor nor her husband gained any sort of benefit from construction of a sports facility in Wasilla.

Palin spoke to few people about her decision to step down until the announcement. "Her brother didn't even know about this," Coale said.

Her parents, Sally and Chuck Heath, in an interview with The Washington Post yesterday, offered few details about their daughter's decision.

"I know she gave it a lot of thought and prayer," Sally Heath said a few minutes before she marched in Wasilla's Fourth of July parade. "She doesn't make decisions without that. I think she made the right decision."

Most of all, others close to Palin said, the governor feels relieved that her title will soon be gone -- and with it, she hopes, some of the scrutiny.

"They're not watching much of the news, but what they have seen makes them think this is the right decision," said Jason Recher, a former McCain campaign adviser who remains close to Palin and was in touch with the family yesterday. "All the punditry and Beltway binoculars just makes their point."


Sources: Washington Post, MSNBC, Flickr

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK) Blasts Sarah Palin: "You've Abandoned Our State!"

Huffington Post----


Alaska's Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski issued a surprisingly harsh statement late on Friday, ripping Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to leave office at the end of the month. "I am deeply disappointed that the Governor has decided to abandon the State and her constituents before her term has concluded," Murkowski wrote.

Palin had announced mere months ago that she would help Murkowski raise money for her 2010 Senate race.

And so the question remains: Why did Sarah Palin decide to 'abandon the state'? Is she planning to run for president in 2012, or was this her exit from politics? Was she sick of the personal attacks or was there a devastating new scandal on the horizon?

Or, perhaps the answer is something more immediate and universal: she did it for the money.

With a book due out next spring and the opportunity to make a good amount of money on the speaking circuit, Palin's motivation could have been simply to capitalize financially on her fame.

As Fox News puts it, Palin will have "a variety of potential platforms, from writing books to hitting the public speaking circuit to working directly with the Republican Party to get candidates elected" from which to pursue her goals. And in the process, "the ability to make a lot of money -- far more than the $125,000 or so a year she has earned as governor."

Similarly, Democratic strategist Bob Shrum told Politico that the Palins would likely never have to worry about money again given the Alaska governor's earning power.

"She could make more in two weeks on just speaking fees than in the rest of her time as governor," said Shrum.

According to Politico's Mike Allen, Palin's close friends say that among her immediate plans are "paid speeches, and [she] will spend time writing her book, which is due this fall, then promote it heavily when it comes out in spring 2010."

The advance Palin received for the book, which will be published by HarperCollins and has been described as a tell-all memoir, is not known. The Anchorage Daily News reported in May:

The governor said details will be disclosed as required under Alaska law when her annual financial disclosures are due next March. Her advance from the publisher is likely to be paid in stages, though, and it's not clear if she has to disclose the full amount on that report or only the portion received in 2009, according to the state public offices commission.

At the very least, Time notes, this can only prove to be good publicity for her memoir:

One project that will receive a boost from Sarah Palin's plan to step down as the governor of Alaska is her much-touted autobiography, for which it will provide a hotly anticipated chapter.



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Sources: Huffington, Politico, Flickr, Google Maps

Palin's Resignation Possibly Linked To A Pending Criminal Investigation... More G.O.P. Scandals Brewing

The Daily Beast----

(Palin suddenly announces her resignation without prior notice? Hmmm something smells fishy here. What is she running from?)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The suddenness of Sarah Palin’s resignation raises questions about whether a coming scandal caused her to leave office. Max Blumenthal looks at one possibility.

CNN and other major news outlets have reported that Sarah Palin has abruptly resigned as governor of Alaska. The suddenness of her announcement raises the question about whether Palin resigned to avert a major scandal. One logical place to start looking is the affair that has Alaska political circles buzzing: an alleged scandal centered around a building contractor, Spenard Building Supplies, with close ties to Palin and her husband, Todd.

Many political observers in Alaska are fixated on rumors that federal investigators have been seizing paperwork from SBS in recent months, searching for evidence that Palin and her husband Todd steered lucrative contracts to the well-connected company in exchange for gifts like the construction of their home on pristine Lake Lucille in 2002. The home was built just two months before Palin began campaigning for governor, a job which would have provided her enhanced power to grant building contracts in the wide-open state.

SBS has close ties to the Palins. The company has not only sponsored Todd Palin's snowmobile team, according to the Village Voice's Wayne Barrett, it hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television commercial in 2004.

Though Todd Palin told Fox News he built his Lake Lucille home with the help of a few "buddies," according to Barrett’s report, public records revealed that SBS supplied the materials for the house. While serving as mayor of Wasilla, Sarah Palin blocked an initiative that would have required the public filing of building permits—thus momentarily preventing the revelation of such suspicious information.

Just months before Palin left city hall to campaign for governor, she awarded a contract to SBS to help build the $13 million Wasilla Sports Complex. The most expensive building project in Wasilla history, the complex cost the city an additional $1.3 million in legal fees and threw it into severe long-term debt. For SBS, however, the bloated and bungled project was a cash cow.

Prior to her sudden announcement, Palin gave every indication that she intended to complete her tenure as governor.

On July 1, Palin met with Alaska Senator Mark Begich to discuss funding for the missile-defense systems that would be stationed in Alaska. In May, Palin initiated a plan to circumvent the state legislature by introducing a ballot measure that would ban minors from receiving abortions without parental consent. She vowed to be the first to sign the measure event though it would not be certified until August 2010.

In a press conference today, Palin blamed the media for her demise. "You are naïve if you don't see a full-court press on the national level, picking apart a good point guard," she declared, using a basketball metaphor to refer to the flood of critical stories published about her.

On July 1, CBS reported that a story authored by me and journalist David Neiwert for Salon.com in October 2008 about Palin's ties to a secessionist political party caused her deep personal distress, and provoked a rancorous series of exchanges with her campaign manager, Steve Schmidt. Coupled with a withering profile of Palin published in the August 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, the new round of exposés may have been too much for Palin to stomach.

Palin may have resigned from politics altogether. According to NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Palin "has told some of her biggest backers in the national Republican Party that they are free to choose other candidates for 2012." But those choices are dwindling at a surprisingly rapid pace.


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Sources: The Daily Beast, MSNBC, Huffington Post, Politico, Buzz Newsroom, Google Maps

Sarah Palin Gives Up AK Governor's Seat... May Seek White House Bid In 2012 (Is She Ready?)

Politico, Huffington Post, MSNBC----

(Charlie Gibson interviews then Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin. Remember her crazy answer to Charlie's question about the Bush Doctrine? Man that was funny! She made Senator McCain the laughing stock of the G.O.P.)




Today Sarah Palin announced that she would be stepping down from her role as Alaska's governor.

Many think her resignation is a prelude to what could be a possible White House bid in 2012.

It could very well be that she's bailing out before some bad news about her hits the press.

Whatever the case she's resigning.

Is Palin ready for the White House?

Good question, now let's evaluate that theory.

Since quitting in the middle of her term without offering a logical reason for doing so makes her look unstable, she'll probably need to sit down for a while and get her family/ household in order.
(The G.O.P. doesn't need any more John Ensign/ Mark Sanford type scandals.)

She also needs to take a few extensive courses in Political Science, Foreign Policy, Economics, Public Speaking and Debate.

In addition its imperative that Palin proves she isn't a Racist.

Last Summer while she was on the campaign trail with Senator John McCain, there was a rumor floating that she was heard calling then Presidential Candidate a "Sambo" while sitting in a restaurant with some friends.

Palin NEVER addressed that rumor and she never denied it.

In order to be an effective Republican Candidate she would need to appear less polarizing or not racially insensitive and... more accepting of Minorities.

This has to come from her heart. If its phony and not sincere, forget it!

After completing those tasks if Palin still wants to remain in Politics, perhaps she needs to seek a seat in Congress first and learn the ropes.

Will she be ready for the White House even then?

Well....let me put it this way...Sarah Palin is NO Hillary Clinton!

She would make a pretty decent Congresswoman but President?

I wouldn't count on it.

Palin is not a potential candidate who leaves President Obama shaking in his boots, but of course he would NEVER underestimate her either.

But what do I know right? Now what do you think?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

WASILLA, Alaska - Sarah Palin made a surprise announcement Friday that she will resign as governor of Alaska in a few weeks, saying she will try to "affect positive change" from outside government.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate hastily called a news conference Friday morning at her home in suburban Wasilla, giving such short notice that only a few reporters actually made it to the announcement.

She said the decision has been "in the works" for a while and comes after "prayer and consideration" and discussions with her family.

She is handing the reins over to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who will be sworn in at the governor's picnic in Fairbanks on July 26. Parnell and most of Palin's cabinet and Palin's family were at the announcement.

Palin was vague about why exactly she is stepping down rather than finish out her first term, which ends in 2010.

"We know we can affect positive change outside government at this point in time on another scale and actually make a difference for our priorities," she said. She added that she was tired of what she described as "superficial, wasteful, political bloodsport."

Some have speculated in the past that Palin may be interested in running for president in 2012, but she did not mention running for another office at her press conference. Sources told NBC's Andrea Mitchell that this resignation announcement indicates Palin is out of politics for good.

No lame duck:

Palin said she didn't want to be a "lame duck" politician.

“Many just accept that lame duck status and they hit the road. They draw a paycheck and they kind of milk it. I’m not going to put Alaskans through that. I promised efficiencies and effectiveness," she said.

Later, on the micro-blogging service Twitter, she promised supporters more details: "We'll soon attach info on decision to not seek re-election ... this is in Alaska's best interest, my family's happy ... it is good. Stay tuned."

Palin's decision even took Parnell by surprise. He said he was told on Wednesday evening, and was not aware that any presidential ambitions were behind the move.

Palin was elected Alaska's youngest and first woman governor in 2006 at age 42. She emerged from relative obscurity nearly a year ago when she was tapped as Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate.

She was only the second woman to appear on a major party presidential ticket — Democrat Geraldine Ferraro was the first when she ran unsuccessfully for vice president with Walter Mondale in 1984.

'You bectha!'

Palin made headlines from the start of the campaign, with comedian Tina Fey famously imitating her elaborate hairstyle and folksy "You betcha!" on "Saturday Night Live."

Most recently, she was involved in a public spat with "Late Show" host David Letterman over a joke he made about one of her daughters being "knocked up" by New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez during the governor's recent visit to New York. Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, is an unwed, teenage mother.

Letterman later apologized for the joke.

Palin's family and the ridicule they endure being in the public eye was apparently part of her decision to step down as governor. She complained that her 14-month-old son, Trig, who was diagnosed with Down's syndrome, had been "mocked and ridiculed by some mean-spirited adults recently." She didn't elaborate.

Palin campaigned on ethics reform in the 2006 election, defeating incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and a former two-term Democratic governor, Tony Knowles, in the general election.

She enjoyed an extended honeymoon with lawmakers and voters alike. Her popularity was in the 80 percentile range, even though that fell after the bruising, partisan presidential campaign.


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Sources: MSNBC, Politico, Huffington Post, TMPTV, Wonkette, Flickr, Youtube, Google Maps

Fame Seeking Gov. Palin Takes Cheap Shots At Pres. Obama's Economic Policies....Blames National Deficit On Him

Politico----

"I think he's growing government way too quickly and he's digging that hole of debt we're going to pass on to our children and grandchildren. I do like some of the talk though he's giving on reining in spending. We have to follow through on that."

Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AL) June 2009



Sources: Politico, CNN, Wikipedia, Flickr, Vogue

David Letterman Calls Gov. Sarah Palin "Pathetic"....She Responds

Politico-----

Sarah Palin called David Letterman “pathetic” Tuesday after the CBS “Late Show” host said the Alaska Republican governor sports a “slutty flight attendant look.”

“What a commentary there,” Palin said of the comment during an interview on conservative host John Ziegler’s Los Angeles-based radio show. “That’s pretty pathetic, good ole David Letterman.”

In a follow up to Palin’s weekend trip to New York, Letterman’s “Top Ten” list on Monday featured “highlights of Sarah Palin’s trip to New York.” Number two on the list was “bought makeup at Bloomingdale’s to update her ‘slutty flight attendant’ look.”

“It’s very sad to not recognize what this trip was all about,” Palin said, pointing to the autism event she participated in during a stop in Westchester, New York.

Palin grouped Letterman in with media outlets “where everything is commentary and facts don’t matter anymore.”

Asked about the allegations that she plagiarized former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in a speech last week in Alaska, Palin said “that latest incident is absolute nonsense.”

Gingrich’s camp told POLITICO Monday that the plagiarism charges were “silly,” pointing out that Palin had cited the former speaker in her remarks.

Palin referred to the reporters and bloggers who accused her of plagiarism as “buffoons.”

“If they are not held accountable, these reporters who repeat lies and repeat distortions all in the name of hard news, then our nation is headed to a very scary place,” she said.

Palin was the first guest on Ziegler’s radio show, which aired for the first time Monday. Ziegler previously interviewed Palin soon after the presidential campaign for his film “Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted.”

The Alaska governor admitted to Ziegler that there have been times when she questioned if her career in politics is worth the accompanying criticism.

“To be brutally honest, yeah, there are some days where I have to ask myself if some of this is worth it,” she said, before adding that she “will not sit down and shut up.”

“I will continue to do that and they can continue taking shots,” Palin said.

Asked later if she would have picked Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, Palin said “I don’t know.”

“I think gender, race, should not be any kind of test you have to pass,” she said. “I’m sure that there are many, many qualified candidates that should have been considered.”


(Gov. Palin responds to Letterman's comments about her.)




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Sources: Politico, Google Maps