Sarah Palin to Resign as AK Governor - My Analysis

Woah. I did not see this coming. I was pretty sure she wouldn't run for re-election as Alaska's Governor in 2010 due to her apparent national ambitions, but resigning? That is a little unheard of. Mike Huckabee (Arkansas) and Mitt Romney (Mass.) were both governors who decided against running for a second term, and both ended up running for President later. Current Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty recently decided against running for a third term, and I believe that is to run for President in 2012 as well. However, nobody has resigned to do it before that I know of.

I read Mark Halperin's blog everyday, even though I think his analysis is awful. However, I think he put together a decent list today. Mark Halperin's Ten Reasons why Palin isn't Seeking Re-election:

1. Her political standing has slipped enough that she could lose if she tried to retain her current office.

2. Her political standing has slipped enough that even if she won, she would likely be bloodied in the race, maybe even in a primary.

3. Even more ethics complaints (many frivolous) would be filed against her.

4. She's got a book to write.

5. She's got a special needs baby to raise.

6. It is logistically impossible to run for president as the sitting governor of Alaska -- because of flight times. (Not hard: *impossible*)

7. She can't truly explore her money-making potential as an incumbent governor.

8. She can't truly explore her media potential as an incumbent governor.

9. The legislature has turned so much against her that the job isn't much fun any more.

10. If she wants to be the Republican Party's presidential nominee in 2012, she needs to spend more time raising money, establishing her international and national expertise, and traveling the Lower 48. And she needs to start now.

My initial reaction was...maybe she isn't running for President. Resigning halfway through your first term as Governor doesn't seem like a good thing to do before making a bid for the Presidency, but it makes some sense. Palin's biggest problem is her lack of national and international experience. I think everyone can remember her apparent ability to see Russia from her house. By resigning at the end of the month she is freeing herself up more to try and build up her "creds."

I watched Palin's press conference. She definitely sounded like someone who is looking to run for President. She made countless references to what is best for both the state of Alaska and the nation as a whole.

Another thought I had was that Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney are both practically campaigning already. They don't hold any office currently and are in the news all the time. Palin has only been in the news recently fighting with David Letterman.

For those who were wondering, at the end of the month when Palin leaves office her Lt. Governor Sean Parnell (Republican) will be sworn in as Governor. I know very little about him other than he tried to beat Don Young in a Republican primary for Alaska's sole representative in Congress, but he lost, even though Young was being investigated at the time. To his credit, the Democrat surprisingly lost as well in November, so Young seems to be pretty good at surviving.