Sarah Palin’s decision to resign as governor of Alaska, at the very least, will not hurt her prospects for becoming the Republican Party presidential nominee in 2012.
In the best-case scenario, Palin’s resignation will prove to be a shrewd political maneuver that allows her to raise enough money and build up her profile to where she is a serious presidential contender in 2012. The only downside for Palin will be if she fails to become a serious contender in 2012. Then her future prospects likely will dim.
Resigning as governor of Alaska is a good move if Palin is considering running for president in 2012 because she will be freed up to begin building a national political organization. Running for president takes more advance preparation than ever. A serious candidate must begin raising money and working on a national profile two or perhaps three years in advance. Candidates must be ready to debate at least a year in advance.
Palin would not be ready in any of these respects if she remained governor of Alaska.
She is too far away to make quick trips to campaign for candidates in other states, which is essential to running for president. She would have to fly a long distance to these states, and critics would say she was using taxpayer money to make the trips and that she was ignoring her job as governor. By resigning, Palin has short circuited any such criticism, and she now is free to campaign for other candidates and raise money.
Remaining as governor of Alaska, on the other hand, would have brought little reward for Palin in a possible 2012 presidential bid. Critics who now claim that she is too inexperienced because she is governor of Alaska would be making the same claims whether she finished her term or not. Additionally, with her status as a national figure, governing Alaska likely would become increasingly difficult for Palin.
The only way Palin’s move hurts her is if she tries and does not succeed in running for president in 2012. In that case, she will be out of a job and her political prospects likely would fade.
But it makes the most sense for Palin to try to run for president now while her name is fresh and conservatives like her.
The Republican Party is without a clear leader, and Palin could step right in. To make her move pay off, Palin must spend her time becoming well versed in economics and foreign policy. She needs to be able to discuss these issues as if she has studied them all her life.
When voters are looking for an alternative to President Obama in 2012, Sarah Palin could emerge as a viable option. Now that she has resigned as governor of Alaska, she must build her national contact and fundraising network. She must be well versed in economics and foreign policy to the point where she can offer a conservative alternative to Obama’s big spending.
The path to the Republican nomination could be wide open. If Palin could get the nomination, she will have a good chance, depending on the issues in 2012, of actually winning the presidency.
Her resignation as governor of Alaska is just the first step toward this goal.
July 9, 2009
OUR VIEW: SARAH’S BOLD MOVE
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When she accepted the VP nomination, she knew she needed to bring her professional game up to another level, she never did. She knew that her family would get attacked as did Hilary and Chelsea before her (by even her twin maverick brother McCain in 1998), let face it she knew her family affairs would come out. But now she plays the victim card again, a card she played after those comical first extended interviews that we all enjoyed and SNL immortalized. But for the icing on the cake, she quits, because she does not want to be a lame duck governor, because the lawsuits keep coming, because it was the media’s fault, because seeing Russia from her house finally got to her, because its not fair that Alaskan’s paid her salary while she was running for the VP position, take your pick. So what does she tells us? Dear Mr. President, when things get tough, quit. Dear military men and women, if you are not having fun, quit. Dear son or daughter, if things are not going your way, quit. Sure, I agree when she first was introduced and gave a descent speech, sure the polls went up, but after the extended interviews, they went where they ended, down. She showed her true character, I real hope the book deal, Radio/ TV shows and the lecture circuits make up for what her party has lost by her actions. She may go down in history as the quitter that twittered.
Comment by Benito — July 9, 2009 @ 9:42 pm
She cost McCain the election, her folkyness, accent and winking do not ring true, her intellect is below par (our vivid memory of the last one who delegates and follows because of their lack of intellect), but lets face it with the right type of marketing (vote folky, vote god) it can be sold to US, history tends to repeat itself. God help us!
Comment by Paul — July 9, 2009 @ 9:43 pm