Video: Ferraro says Palin made a “big mistake”
posted at 11:15 am on July 4, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
From the network that gave Sarah Palin her best coverage, and from the woman who gave Palin the best treatment among Democrats, Palin’s resignation still gets criticized. Geraldine Ferraro defended Palin from some of the worst excesses of the media attacks and continues to do it in this interview, but also says failing to finish her term would damage her long-term political prospects:
Ferraro makes another good point towards the end. As governor of Alaska, Palin had a seat at the table for policy issues, especially on energy and budgeting. Regardless of how the media treated her, her office gave her access. As Sarah Palin, private citizen, that’s no longer going to be the case. She’ll make her money on the lecture circuit, but she’s all but destroyed her opportunity to force change, at least in Alaska.
Blowback
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But delusion is apparently yours.
dcwvu on July 4, 2009 at 12:31 PM
And that’s the meme the dems have been pushing lately. The big Mitt Romney conspiracy theory. Not buying it. I like both Romney and Palin and am looking forward to their destruction of those rumors. What will you do then, Ann?
zeebeach on July 4, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Also consider:
More on Palin
KittyLowrey on July 4, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Bolton is the magic name for me on either side of the ticket. A girl can dream anyhow..
I have my doubts as to if Palin will be electable in 2012, and I am a fan of hers. However, this move was brilliant. She gained nothing from staying in Alaska getting drained with all the frivolous ethics complaints and constant attacks. She is now free to speak her mind and get some peace from the constant attacks on her family.
A scenario I think may happen is that the left will way overplay their hand with her yet again and the attacks will continue and become more disgusting. Doing that to someone who stepped down will make a lot of everyday people take notice and earn her some sympathy if nothing else.
Even if she does not run, and I’m not convinced that she will, I think she will be a major player for whoever does step up in ’12.
BakerAllie on July 4, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Using that logic, we shouldn’t look to anyone outside of public office to run for public office.
smfoushee on July 4, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Thanks, ann. You’re right, it’s a fun read; e.g.,
Community-organizer in Chief replaced by Moose-hunter in Chief.
petefrt on July 4, 2009 at 12:33 PM
I watched this yesterday on Greta.. Couldn’t believe it when she said if she can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.. WELL, Geraldine, I don’t think there is ANYTHING that compares with the treatment that Sarah Palin has gone thru in the last 8 months.
I hope now that she is a “private citizen”, she’ll go after these A holes…
reshas1 on July 4, 2009 at 12:33 PM
Me too. I nearly gagged when FNC had him on yesterday to talk about whether Palin united or divided the party. Huckabee more than any other candidate divided up the conservative vote and opened the door for McCain to steal the nomination despite the fact that he hates the GOP base and pledged to take the party far to the left of its biggest supporters. For that reason alone, I wish Huckabee would just shut up.
highhopes on July 4, 2009 at 12:35 PM
Seriously, Gerraldine Ferrraro is the expert to speculate on the ramifications of Sarah Palin’s move!? And now we have Ed agreeing with her “good points”…
Hot Air is so hot… it has gone blue…
Truly disappointed.
Buckeye Babe on July 4, 2009 at 12:35 PM
Yup, Palin/Bolton is, unfortunately, a dream. But it’s a very good one.
petefrt on July 4, 2009 at 12:36 PM
For the life of me I can’t figure out why it is so darned hard for people to recognize reality for what it is. Palin realized that she can no longer be effective in her role as Governor due to the daily onslaught of frivolous ethics complaints, burdensome legal expenses, personal attacks against her and her family, etc. Unlike the average politicain who would simply stick it out, be ineffective and collect the paycheck until their term ran out, Palin has the integiry and honesty to recognize thqat it is not fair to the people of Alaska for her to be ineffective under the current climate. And so she had the courage to step aside. When was the last time any politician demonstrated that kind of integrity? If Palin chooses to influence politics from outside of the Governor’s office, then I applaud her for her decision. If she chooses to fade away then I support that decision as well. I do not see Palin as a quiter but rather as someone who is true to her beliefs and an honest and very talented politician who could very well do some very important things for this country outside of Alaska.
glennbo on July 4, 2009 at 12:36 PM
The assumption of my post was that she was going to sit out the 2012 and if she does sit out the 2012 then Mitt cannot beat Huck if SP were to throw her support behind Huck. and Vise Versa. SP has a beloved and motivated fan base of diehard supporters.
If she were to run in 2012 then I dont know. all bets are off.
Amadeus on July 4, 2009 at 12:36 PM
OT: Fox needs to give Shannon Bream more air time. She’s cute as hell.
BuckeyeSam on July 4, 2009 at 12:36 PM
She solidifies her label as maverick, for sure.
She’ll appeal to a lot of people on that alone.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 12:37 PM
So, in other words, she quit when it got really tough for her. Exactly the qualities people are looking for in a leader! Look out 2012!
dcwvu on July 4, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Oh, I think it would be as credible for her to run for President as it would be for say… an anti-American muslim with ZERO actual accomplishments who stated that he was only qualified to sharpen pencils in the Senate and would not be running for the office might be… I know, the press will be brutal. Whereas on the other hand, if she had stayed and finished her term, they would have been sweet as roses.
Anyone that would withhold support for her against the dipsh!t in chief… well, there are no appropriate words that wouldn’t get me banned.
CC
CapedConservative on July 4, 2009 at 12:38 PM
That a radical social liberal like you hates Romney with such irrational vigor is nothing but a recommendation for the man.
I hope he gets the nomination and throws you into one of your signature leftist tirades.
highhopes on July 4, 2009 at 12:39 PM
I can’t believe some are promoting a “Palin/Bolton” ticket !!?? Bolton/Palin I could support. Bolton will hopefully be a mentor/trainer for Palin as she gets up to speed on foreign policy. But, in the very unlikely event they wound up on the same ticket, he would definitely be the top of the ticket. If you don’t see that, you’re definitely delusional in the same way the Obamabots are.
zeebeach on July 4, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Ferraro? The woman thoroughly trounced by Ronaldus Magnus when she tried to present herself as being nearly as exciting as Walter Mondale? Ferraro should be the last person one would ask for political advice.
Palin is effectively distancing herself from the elitists establishment politicians whom have now infected and infested the GOP. A wise move should she seek further political office running as a true Conservative rather than what now passes for Republican.
viking01 on July 4, 2009 at 12:39 PM
FIFY.
dcwvu on July 4, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Palin has done something over the past year: she has basically cornered the Reagan/Goldwater wing of the Party. They will follow her and are easily capable of taking over the G.O.P.
The Bushtards who run the Washington G.O.P. know this. They know that Mittens doesn’t draw flies, and that he lost to a Dead Man in the last go-round.
I suspect she will take a couple of weeks off, finish off her term, and then come out like gangbusters for midterm candidates who are running as conservatives. She will also campaign for Senate Candidates running for reelect, to show her bona fides to the Party. But she will try to emulate Nixon in 1965-66, during his “wilderness years”.
But pretenders like Romney and Huck do not fool the conservative base, not after being snookered by the Bushies! Palin is the real deal, and the Base won’t take substitutes.
That’s the political reality that the Washington G.O.P. has yet to figure out. I include Ed in that statement.
victor82 on July 4, 2009 at 12:39 PM
No she quit so that someone else could be mor effective in running the business of the state of Alaska. Why is that so hard to see? take the damn blinders off.
glennbo on July 4, 2009 at 12:40 PM
She said that there would be more to follow. I cannot wait until she, as a private citizen stands up on a soapbox and says out loud what nobody dare to say about Globama. She will tell it like it is and people will listen. And the most delicious part? The MSM will be forced to cover it!
Key West Reader on July 4, 2009 at 12:40 PM
Hey, this isn’t a mistake, it’s nothing more than common sense…with the generous new unemployment compensation plan Obama put into place, we should all quit our jobs.
James on July 4, 2009 at 12:41 PM
Quitter… think again troll.. last time she quit worked out really well for her and badly for her enemies..
CC
CapedConservative on July 4, 2009 at 12:41 PM
You’re right, in that she was such a lightening rod that going back to governing the state wasn’t really viable. She tried. But when every single Alaskan law/policy/appointment is gnawed over by the national press, the state honestly would have ground to a halt. It’s just not that populated of a state to withstand that type of political treatment day in and day out.
BUT, she got a huge book deal. She can make far more money free from the job. And she probably is tired of being tied down and told to take the potshots without complaining much. This will allow her to make her own real news.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 12:41 PM
More dreaming: What if GWB had turned the reigns over to Cheney with 2 years left to go (and in 2008 it was Obama v. Cheney.) Doubt we’d be in this predicament today.
petefrt on July 4, 2009 at 12:41 PM
I love Palin and I have since before McCain tapped her, but I am afraid this will play in to the hands of her opponents to the point that she will not be able to run nationally.
darcee on July 4, 2009 at 12:42 PM
The only thing that would keep her out in 2012 is 4 or 5 strong GOP candidates, any of whom she could support. I don’t see that happening.
gh on July 4, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Wow! Big surprise!
conservnut on July 4, 2009 at 12:42 PM
That’s the arguement that was used by McCain. Social conservatives were expected to “hold their noses” and vote for a candidate that showed nothing but contempt for their key values. I would hope the GOP avoids a repeat of 2008 and fields a ticket that the majority of the base can vote for instead of pinning victory hopes on enough people voting AGAINST the other guy.
highhopes on July 4, 2009 at 12:42 PM
The American colonists made a big mistake. They’re finished in politics.
/George III
Christien on July 4, 2009 at 12:42 PM
This is what confounds a lot of her bashers. She quite possibly put integrity and family over politics. Palin gained nothing from staying except constant attacks and petty complaints. And if this was a chess move, it looks like a pretty clever one at least for now.
BakerAllie on July 4, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Ignore the troll … it’s pretty obvious.
gh on July 4, 2009 at 12:43 PM
I don’t hate Romney. He’s pretty good on business stuff. Other than that, I never saw the appeal.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Well then by your logic, if she feels someone else can be more effective a year into her presidency, she will resign immediately. Great way to build confidence. Why waste the voters time at all then?
dcwvu on July 4, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Left on left violence. The best kind :)
JiangxiDad on July 4, 2009 at 12:44 PM
I fail to see how the words of a liberal who hated her from the beginning have any relevance to this conversation. Next!
BakerAllie on July 4, 2009 at 12:45 PM
She would support Rick Perry, if he were to run.
Amadeus on July 4, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Oh yes, you can. If one sees that even the those who hurl the worst insults and slander go unpunished, one need not even accept “the job” in the first place. The Americans seem to deprive themselves of good leaders through failing to protect their leaders from the extremes of contemptuous treatment.
Kralizec on July 4, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Ur more into female candidates. Let’s hope Sarah doesn’t run against Hillary. You may lose all your new friends here.
JiangxiDad on July 4, 2009 at 12:46 PM
She could support him by running herself and take him as VP. Or vice versa. She doesn’t need to stay out of the race.
gh on July 4, 2009 at 12:47 PM
That’s the problem with astro-turfers… sometimes they confuse one another for the real thing and argue with each other.
The heat of this and other threads alone very clearly demonstrates the size of her threat to the left and the DC establishment. That ALONE is reason enough to support her.
CC
CapedConservative on July 4, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Bolton/Palin would have my support too.
But no, I don’t see that. Perhaps someday I’ll achieve your clarity of intellect.
petefrt on July 4, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Hillary would definitely win my support. :) But it worked out OK. She would have inherited this big mess and everything would have been non-stop Clinton attacks from the right. I personally am sick of that stuff.
It’ll be nonstop attacks on Palin, too. But at least, it’s different.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 12:48 PM
Troll alert. She is trying to divide us. Romney is the bad guy now. The Dems had nothing to do with the lawsuits against Plain. Romney Funded it folks. The Troll knows for sure even…she likes Romney but….You know the drill.
Geochelone on July 4, 2009 at 12:48 PM
We look to people who recently (like within 5 years) had a public office and didn’t resign from that term. If its too long, they end up looking like jokes (examples: Gravel and Gingrich).
Speedwagon82 on July 4, 2009 at 12:48 PM
You guys are funny. I made one crack about Romney, and it was actually just a joke.
I really don’t have an opinion on him. He’s boring to me. I never read much at all about him or Pawlenty.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 12:49 PM
As Barry bungles, Palin will glisten.
She knows Obama is an over-reaching megalomaniac, and can bide her time, as a free citizen, while The One screws up the nation week after week, making his 2012 bid more and more farcical and her candicacy more and more plausible.
Let Barry be Barry, and she will rise on his invevitable follies.
profitsbeard on July 4, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Her remaining in the Governorship would ensure a target on her forehead and a “Kick Me” sign on her back in perpetuity. Now she’s free to say and do practically anything she wants and can tell the state-run media (plus Morrissey and everybody else who would like to see her look stupid)to “stuff it” with impunity.
I sure as hell hope she does and then proceeds to mop the floor with the whole lot of them.
Mr. Grump on July 4, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Some even manage to look like jokes while they are still in office… even in their first 100 days or so.
CC
CapedConservative on July 4, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Bolton can never run for office. He was mean to some employees once. He’s finished.
I should add a sarc tag for AnninCa who missed my Pawlenty sarc.
myrenovations on July 4, 2009 at 12:51 PM
That apparently explains why you are so poorly informed…
CC
CapedConservative on July 4, 2009 at 12:51 PM
I never said she would run for the presidency. That was your assumption. My point, as was apparently lost on you twice now is that she has demonstrated integrity unlike most politicians and if she chooses to influence politics for the betterment of this nation, in whatever capacity she choose, then I’m all for it. Now go away!
glennbo on July 4, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Very true….I know zip about Romney or Pawlenty. Don’t really care.
I see them on the news, but they are usually just reciting something about Obama that has been said 1000 times that day.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 12:53 PM
You go away, dbag.
dcwvu on July 4, 2009 at 12:53 PM
I would have agreed with this 5-6 years back, but I think the climate really has started to shift in this country. Clinton, Bush, & Obama have all been pushing for bigger government. You have a Congress who are salivating at every morsel of power they can wrestle into their own hands. People are starting to get sick of it. It would not surprise me if the next batch of candidates came from way outside the beltway.
BakerAllie on July 4, 2009 at 12:53 PM
PDS withdrawal…not a pretty sight. They’ve had their plaything taken away, and now they’re gonna bawl.
Christien on July 4, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Oh, I doubt that it’ll slow down. They are more than capable of cooking up utter nonsense.
They could always revive the birth story nonsense. :)
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Ed, quoting Geralding Ferraro as a “supporter?” You’re off your nut.
james23 on July 4, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Part of me really wants to see Palin as POTUS. Then all you whiners who have made her the perpetual victim will have to face facts as her daily fumblings show her to be inept. Who will you blame them to make your Messiahess the perpetual victim? The go-to, no doubt — the MSM.
dcwvu on July 4, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Now we’re resorting to name calling. Nanny, nanny boo, boo!!
glennbo on July 4, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Ah … a lying troll (not Ann).
gh on July 4, 2009 at 12:58 PM
So let me get this straight. You know little about Romney and what you do know about him you find boring but yet you “joke” that he’s funding a covert smear campaign against Palin. Just how ignorant are you?
highhopes on July 4, 2009 at 12:59 PM
Just read through the whole thread. I love you guys.
Cindy Munford on July 4, 2009 at 1:01 PM
Lighten up. Two posts later I said I was just kidding.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 1:02 PM
Please ease up, you are watching evolution and she is really a nice person.
Cindy Munford on July 4, 2009 at 1:03 PM
she also professes to be “50% liberal, 50% libertarian” and voted for john mccain because “he isn’t a washington insider”.
don’t even bother…
homesickamerican on July 4, 2009 at 1:03 PM
good point by rockmom. If I were in AK right now, I’d be furious, because the dumpster divers just forced out an effective governor for more of the same old sh*t.
james23 on July 4, 2009 at 1:03 PM
Judging from the Troll Explosion the last two days, there are a lot of “very concerned” Liberals out there.
kingsjester on July 4, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Gee, we could talk about public option if you want to get mad. :)
I’m just kidding on that, too.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Her backup is good by all accounts. Stepping out of his way is a good move for Alaska. Should make everyone happy really.
gh on July 4, 2009 at 1:05 PM
You aint kidding!
glennbo on July 4, 2009 at 1:05 PM
How could she know about Romney? She’s a democrat. She just didn’t vote for Obama because he stole the nomination from a woman. Otherwise, she’d be right there in his gestapo.
JiangxiDad on July 4, 2009 at 1:06 PM
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 1:06 PM
AnninCA, you should read more about RomneyCare. I think you might find it somewhat appealing.
myrenovations on July 4, 2009 at 1:06 PM
USED to be Democrat. Independent now.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 1:07 PM
Maybe some of us are just tired of Republican politicians making the news for stupid reasons and thereby burying any bad news about the Obamessiah.
Speedwagon82 on July 4, 2009 at 1:07 PM
I’ll check out Romney if he runs again. Promise.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 1:08 PM
Well that settles it. Nice find Ed!!!!
chief on July 4, 2009 at 1:09 PM
I was a lukewarm fan of Palin’s and if she runs again I’m pretty turned off by her quitting. But a better gauge for how this will hurt Palin’s future political career is my wife. She really liked Palin and she came home from work yesterday after hearing the news and her press event and said she sounded incoherent and her reasoning made no sense. If my wife is saying that… It may be over for her.
oddjob1138 on July 4, 2009 at 1:09 PM
Where is it that you think you are going to hear/read bad news about Obama?
Palin barely knocked Michael Jackson out of the news for a few hours.
myrenovations on July 4, 2009 at 1:09 PM
I’m serious about the RomneyCare thing. You should check it out.
myrenovations on July 4, 2009 at 1:10 PM
True. Even Fox News has turned away from attacking Obama to focus 24/7 on the Gloved One.
dcwvu on July 4, 2009 at 1:10 PM
Sarah Palin isn’t a politician. She’s a leader.
It’s not about “her.” It’s about her priorities: her family and Alaska. It doesn’t matter whether she’s scores the point; it matters that the points are scored.
She knows she has a lt. governor who will do the job she wanted to do but can’t. He’s be well-positioned for re-elected on his own merits, not a Sarah II.
I think people are confused because they’re not used to their leaders speaking the plain truth.
Finally, I haven’t heard the speech, but I read it. Perhaps it sounded rambling because of the honest emotion behind it, but in terms of its content, it was very good. I recall our president gets high marks for style, but I’m more concerned with substance.
goddessoftheclassroom on July 4, 2009 at 1:11 PM
Which GOP congressman will win in 2010 without Palin at their rallies?
faraway on July 4, 2009 at 1:11 PM
The ones in the Northeast, Middle Atlantic, Upper Midwest, Southwest and West Coast. Other than that, yeah she is needed.
dcwvu on July 4, 2009 at 1:13 PM
I like many Palin defenders do not bash Gov. Romney .I save all the bashing for that Huckaboo he,s the real joke.
thmcbb on July 4, 2009 at 1:15 PM
I smell an indictment coming down on Gov. Palin, and that she knows it’s coming pretty soon. I have no idea how resigning would avert the consequences of that, but I suppose it breaks the association in the public mind by resigning now. Still, people really aren’t that dumb, are they? (Yeah, right.)
starfleet_dude on July 4, 2009 at 1:15 PM
The critique of the speech is primarily due to the first part. The history of Alaska and her accomplisments in office. Hearing it live was not as good as reading it. The middle and last parts are good live and in written form.
Yesterday most of the coverage was the first part and then cut away after she said she was stepping down.
myrenovations on July 4, 2009 at 1:15 PM
I thought the speech was fine. *shrug* Nobody came out misunderstanding the points she made. She definitely put the breadcrumbs out for the future plan. And I’m apparently alone in that opinion, since everyone is talking about how she rambled on.
But then, I think that she’s iconiclastic. If you like her, you like her and don’t notice small stuff. If you are shocked and afraid by her support levels, then you nitpick her to death.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Iconoclastic. Sorry.
AnninCA on July 4, 2009 at 1:17 PM
There’s someone much worse than Huckabee … lives on Pennsylvania avenue in DC, I believe.
gh on July 4, 2009 at 1:17 PM
oh goody … more trolls to ignore
gh on July 4, 2009 at 1:18 PM
Much worse? Might be pushing it a bit there.
myrenovations on July 4, 2009 at 1:19 PM
Our country is going right down the crapper, hurtling at breathtaking speed into fascism and ed will look anywhere for someone to support his overemotional, shrill condemnation of a leader who is willing to take chances. ed, you have no idea how bad it is, all you look at is your paycheck. It looks like we finally have someone who may be willing to stand up to the enemies of America, the ones you call “good Americans with a different idea of how things should be done.” and you are trying with all your womanly might to damage her any way you can. Our country is on the brink and your limited, myopic view of life is judgeing everything by the past and by the rules invented by the left. Well it looks like Palin is not going to play by the rules of the msm and democrats. I think it is her courage that you cannot accept and are offended by.
peacenprosperity on July 4, 2009 at 1:19 PM
Thats what i’ve saying. Assuming that she is not running, then she is Kingmaker.
and again I say the road to the WH in 2012 will have to pass through wasilla even if she decides to go into hibernation.
Amadeus on July 4, 2009 at 1:21 PM
I thought the announcement was fine too. Reading various blog comments, it seems the people who hated her before the announcement panned the announcement, and those who liked her, liked what she said. So what else is new.
It’s what she does next that’s interesting.
petefrt on July 4, 2009 at 1:21 PM
he’ll “accept it” … he just doesn’t see it yet
gh on July 4, 2009 at 1:21 PM
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