What Else Was She Supposed To Do?
posted at 11:59 am on July 4, 2009 by CK MacLeod
[ Politicians ] regular view
It’s never the right time for a leader to resign – except when no other decision makes sense.
If you take a step back and think about Sarah Palin’s “bombshell” resignation, it becomes difficult to imagine why she would have considered doing anything else. In the future, when we pause to compare anything that Palin finds herself doing (even if it’s kicking back in Wasilla except for the occasional jog) with the choice of staying on as governor, we may marvel at the idea that so many people were certain she’d done the wrong thing.
First, consider the declining value of the Palin Governorship, both to Palin herself and to her constituents. According to Palin in her resignation speech, her effectiveness has been greatly impeded by complaints, attacks, and other distractions whose basis has had little or nothing to do with the job itself, and whose real origins lied outside the state – that is, in her national prominence. At the same time, the main objectives of her administration seem either to have already been achieved or to be far enough along to be handed off to her loyal Lieutenant Govenor, who will in turn be able to run as an incumbent, in critical parts likely extending her legacy.
Next consider the cost to Palin of remaining governor. Distant from the rest of the country, further confined by the peculiarities of her predicament and the nature of the Alaska governor’s office, Palin has been unable to take full advantage of the many opportunities – personal and political – before her. Once her resignation is final, however, she should be able to travel widely, speaking, writing, consulting, organizing, and fundraising freely, without being accused of neglecting her responsibilities and without being harassed by in-state enemies who have become expert at misusing Alaska’s ethics complaint process against her. (It’s also worth recalling in this context that a previous resignation in an untenable position – chair of the Alaska Oil & Gas Commission – helped accelerate her political ascent.)
Nor can or should the demands of her family life be easily discounted: Being a mother of five, including a young child and an infant, as well as being governor, political celebrity/lightning rod, student of world affairs, and Great Conservative Hope may simply have been too much for her – may be too much for anyone, emotionally, physically, and morally.
In sum, while the governorship was losing value and encumbering her, the advantages of becoming a private citizen were becoming ever more clear. In many different ways, she – or her political persona – had gotten too big for the job.
This problem becomes even more apparent if we take Palin’s actual or potential presidential aspirations into account, and even as we acknowledge that questions about her stability have been reinforced – or may have newly arisen even in the minds of many people inclined to support her.
As far as 2012 was concerned, has she really given anything up? If she was already committed to running that soon, or at least to holding the option open, she would be at a severe disadvantage as a sitting governor in Alaska, both logistically and politically. In her particular case, considering the heavy, one might even say extreme negative attention devoted to her by political adversaries, distance and distraction made responding effectively to constant criticism and developing her own critique of national policy virtually impossible: More than most politicians, she may need to be on the active offensive if she’s going to be in the game at all.
It’s possible that an unequivocal disavowal of presidential aspirations would have reduced the pressure on her, but it would also have devalued her as a political-cultural commodity, and would likely have been seen as a victory for her enemies. In the meantime, even without a positive decision to run in 2012, simple uncertainty about her intentions keeps her much more interesting. Preserving or, better, enhancing that personal exchange value required her to be more engaged nationally than being both a governor and a mother allowed her to be.
The two main, interrelated arguments against her resignation are 1) that she would be breaking a promise to her constituents, and 2) that resigning will mark her as a “quitter.” As for the first, it’s well understood that a governor or senator who is drafted to higher office, or who decides to seek it, will conventionally be excused from any implicit commitment. (Among our recent presidents, two have run for the highest office despite explicit promises to fill out their full terms in lower ones.) In addition, public officials are not slaves or indentured servants: They can quit if they want to – with the understanding that their constituents and allies may be less likely to trust them in the future.
We don’t know yet whether many Alaskans feel a substantial sense of betrayal. We can expect reports along those lines, but need not take them very seriously for now, and we can at least provisionally accept that the Governor knows her state as well as anyone. If her successor is as competent as she says, if she campaigns effectively for the state’s interests, and if we accept her claims regarding her predicament as a state-level “lame duck” being harried by national-level predators, she can claim that the state hasn’t lost a governor so much as gained a high profile advocate.
The only question left over is whether or not a quitter label will impair Palin’s ambitions, especially if it’s tied to a notion that she couldn’t hack the pressure. Of course, if the role Palin imagines for herself is to campaign for conservative ideas and causes, but not on her own behalf as a candidate, then the label won’t mean anything. If she retains electoral ambitions, or if they’re thrust upon her, the line of attack might harm her in some future campaign, but her conduct will probably determine whether or not it hurts. If she becomes a national presence, fearlessly facing down and defeating critics and attackers, such charges won’t stick.
In some scenarios, and in my view the only ones that make the discussion worthwhile, having shown disinterest in holding office for its own sake might even serve her well. At the same time, to whatever extent “readiness” or “experience” issues have been problematic for her, they wouldn’t be affected much by an additional 18 months as governor, especially if they came at the expense of broadening her experience, knowledge, and support – and, more important, at the expense of serving her nation in a time of need.
For her and most likely for any Republican even to matter in 2012, the Obama Presidency will have to be widely considered a failure – not just a “miserable failure,” as the Democrats used to like to say about George W Bush, but, considering the hopes invested in Obama and the times we live in, a tragic failure. If, as a result, 2012 (or perhaps some later cycle) is profoundly an “outsider” election, calling for a re-direction of American governance at a political and cultural inflection point, then nothing about this move harms Palin substantially. “Yes,” she could say to critics. “I could have stuck it out as governor of Alaska – but for what? To fill out my term as another political time-server like thousands of others, attending to my ‘long-term political viability’ while our nation destroyed itself?”
If Sarah Palin believes, along with many other Americans, that our country is entering a phase of extraordinarily heightened danger, but also of historical opportunity for advocates of conservative solutions, there might not be time for her (or anyone else) to await the building of a more conventional political resume. If she arrives someday at the figurative gates of DC at the head of a vigorous, uncompromisingly anti-statist conservative movement, having spent the previous years, going back to before the ‘08 election, rallying her followers nationwide, then being out of office by her own decision may reinforce her message. We should be clear, however, that the message would be, in fact already is, not just unconventional, but radical – an implicit, though often incomprehensible threat to every comfortably ensconced “insider” asked to offer an opinion about it.
It’s never the right time for such a message – except when no other message makes sense.
UPDATE: JE Dyer has made some thoughtful comments along similar lines, though from a different angle, dealing more specifically with pundit criticisms, and with Palin’s resignation speech.
UPDATE II: A few more comments from the radical/contrarian caucus.
Fernandez
Kristol: Two More Contrarians
mamapundit
VDH at the Corner
Goldberg at the Corner
and, of course, Palin’s own very interesting 4th of July statement:
and, oh yeah,
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Where are all the articles on What Should Have People Done to Stop These Disgusting Attacks on Palin? And What Should We Be Doing Now? — For PayBack!
Blake on July 4, 2009 at 12:31 PM
my condolences.
sesquipedalian on July 4, 2009 at 12:51 PM
exactly. time will tell…
homesickamerican on July 4, 2009 at 12:54 PM
.
Dear “one and a half metrical foot” person,
.
That is how or what your handle translates into isn’t it?
Your Canadian, eh? Medical student and/or a nurse I propose. Tell us how the national health care programs are working out for your country, eh? If you are an educated individual, then why are you more likely to be on the wrong side of the arguments presented here at HA?
Americannodash on July 4, 2009 at 2:05 PM
I think your analysis and that of JE Dyer’s in Mad Resignation are terrific and give a full perspective on the story.
I was also struck with the basketball analogy when I read her speech. I thought that’s exactly what Sarah is doing. I think she sees that full-court press of destruction bearing down on this country and she knows that it’s time to change tactics to win the game, whether or not she gets to score that basket.
INC on July 4, 2009 at 2:10 PM
Lets separate two separate issues
I had the Sarah Palin fan club decoder ring back in 2008.
Let say Resigning is the bestest thing in the world for Sarah (and I don’t agree) and the political career many of us want her to continue with (which I am beginning to think she may not want)
If she wanted to do it lets lay it out there
*I am resigning as Governor of Alaska
**I am resigning because of the numerous and bogus Ethics charged filed against me by political forces on the left from the lower 48
*** These charges have cost me a large amount of money personally, and continues to cost the State of Alaska money
**** These charges prevent me from finishing my term of office and committing to serve the people of alaska in the way they deserve
***** I have been blessed with an ability to speak with a larger voice on larger issues of national concern
****** If I continued as governor and used this blessing I have been given these forces who hounded me out of office would make it even harder and cost more money for my family and the state of Alaska
******* I feel with the challenges we face as a nation right now that I need to use this blessing I have been given to stand up not just for the people in Alaska but the people in the lower 48 as well.
******** It is with Deep regret for these reasons I must end my service to the people of Alaska as their Governor. If these partisan forces did not hound me an make this deep fiscal cost for myself and the people of Alaska I would not only remain your governor but serve you for another 4 years
********* I will serve the great state of Alaska and her people as I devote my life to a new kind of service for people all over this great country
********** Thank you and god bless America
There ya go
IF resigning is the best thing for advancing her political career thats what she needed to say
karasoth on July 4, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Save the condolences, Sesqui, you and those of your ilk may be needing them yourselves. This may not be your last experience with Sarah. Too early to tell, but she’s a fighter and she scares people like you, two of her greatest qualities, IMO.
TeeDee on July 4, 2009 at 3:18 PM
Here’s the transcript of her speech.
E
More over there.
INC on July 4, 2009 at 4:18 PM
INC:
Thats fine but lets not be out of context
While the speech I wanted parts of the elements are in their
She also has 2 other speeches in there giving other narratives that conflict with that and make it seem like she is quitting for other reasons
Worse her paralleling the Troops directly assaults her point that she has to quit. Troops don’t quit before the tour of duty is over. It actually hurts her
This is not a tight, focused, or effective speech
karasoth on July 4, 2009 at 5:04 PM
karasoth, I think you exaggerate the contradictions. As for the troops, we have an all-volunteer army made of soldiers and officers who swear their oaths to the Constitution, and who are expected to refuse unlawful orders. Palin’s words speak to a deeper or at least a different truth about duty and about what it means to put your life at risk for your country and your comrades. Surely you don’t believe that our soldiers’ highest calling is to punch the clock.
There were other flaws in the speech – including the misquotation on which she ended (maybe she was just quoting in another direction?), but I think the content of the speech came through to those who have ears to hear, and is pretty astonishing coming from our contemporary class of politicians/future lobbyists. As I argued in my main post at the end, she’s making a rather radical statement here, and a radical promise. To those who can’t comprehend what she’s saying, or who simply don’t believe her, all you can say is, “let’s see.”
In any event, I don’t see why it should be the place of people who identify with the conservative movement, as opposed to the pseudo-conservative wing of the establishment, to attack someone like Palin (and how many others are there?) for refusing to play by “the rules” and instead trying something creative and unexpected. Who makes these particular rules? Whose interests do they serve?
CK MacLeod on July 4, 2009 at 5:32 PM
When our Soldiers Volunteer they volunteer for a term of service that only ends when they are done, have to leave the field in honor (wounded) or dishonor
there is no problem with having to leave the field of battle with a wound and returning to show the price you paid for the republic.
Keep it tight. Most people don’t know the efforts the Soros-Leftist machine have put to try to destroy her
She had a chance to put a big gorram spotlight on them
Its not good.. its not focused and this is my biggest problem with Sarah as a Palin fan. She isn’t showing the ability (and she has time yet) to put a winning team on the field
karasoth on July 4, 2009 at 6:15 PM
I agree she’s got room for improvement, karasoth, though I personally hope she never loses her naturalness. Anyway, you can hire tight and practice precision. It’s something she’s now free to do if she chooses.
Read some of the additional pieces I’ve linked in the 2nd update. By Monday, if not sooner, the contrarian perspective may well be the fashionable one. The masses will make their own decision when and if they’re moved to. Anyway, I’m going to go back to some more 4th of July stuff. Seeyalater!
CK MacLeod on July 4, 2009 at 7:22 PM
hear hear.
the_nile on July 4, 2009 at 7:35 PM
as a cursory research confirms, it’s an adjective generally employed to describe a person given to the use of long words in a ponderous manner; i.e. a sesquipedalian is someone who typically uses words like “sesquipedalian.” few know this gem of a word, though its sheer obnoxiousness compels many to look up and contemplate its meaning. it’s gratifying to know that my nick promotes literary sophistication.
and no, i’m not canadian, neither am i educated, and i don’t always know what’s the right side of an argument. happy 4th!
sesquipedalian on July 4, 2009 at 10:15 PM
Notice that she said, ‘rebuild America’ and not remake America as Obewon says. You take what’s great and good but not doing so well and rebuild it. He wants to remake it into a socialist dream.
Kissmygrits on July 5, 2009 at 8:37 AM
Thanks for presenting a measured view.
Doesn’t it raise any red flags for anyone that the same folks — right here at Hot Air — who glibly count Sarah out because “Americans don’t like a quitter” don’t bat an eyelash over America’s willingness to embrace a President who had a plausible allegation of rape brought against him?
Let’s see, rapist, quitter. Hmm, difficult to say.
Let’s cut the crap, we’re in a culture war. America follows whatever the hell rules it wants to follow. There is NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING that could disqualify any political figure today.
Those who suggest otherwise are living in the 70s.
jeff_from_mpls on July 5, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Sarah is a naturally creative, and in the best sense of the term, an “out of the box” thinker. Her resigning as gov. to pursue a wider agenda is a sort of litmus test, a projective test for the rest of us. Look at the responses. All the conventional thinkers are puzzled. Peoples reactions are based on their inner senses of trust and suspicion. Such a situation reveals the inner expectations of people. The dark, in some cases very dark, innards of some are sad but not suprising to see. On the other hand there are those such as Mary Matlin and others who can appreciate the breath taking ability of someone who can see past the conventional and obvious and strike the unexpected path. The basket ball analogy is perfect. She is the championship point guard who broke through the oppositions press and scored the winning shot. Let’s all hope she can do it again.
shmendrick on July 5, 2009 at 12:12 PM
As far as her speech is concerned, I just read it and it is absolutely focused and logical. For those who don’t get it, well look in the mirror for the answer. You’re just not up to her level. Sarah is making a brilliant move. This is what a creative player does when others think they have her boxed in.
shmendrick on July 5, 2009 at 12:35 PM
shmendrick, for the reasons I laid out, I believe that the resignation was, regardless of whether or not you consider it a brilliant move, a necessary one, but only if you believe that the times call for a non-conventional, even radical politics. I don’t want to underestimate either the intrinsic dangers of such a course (failure being the most typical, but not necessarily the worst), or the implications regarding our larger predicament. To believe Palin right, it seems to me, virtually implies a further belief that things have been going very wrong.
CK MacLeod on July 5, 2009 at 1:51 PM
The public at large currently seems unaware of how very wrong things are going. This is due to the MSM only presenting the dems spin on things and omitting a lot of important information that would be embarrassing to the O. By going on the offensive Sarah can focus attention on his short falls and make the public more aware of how things are really going. She can also offer positive alternatives.
The American public is distrustful of big government and rightly so. They are opposed more and more to all of O’s spending and worried about his tax proposals. It’s all grist for Sarah’s mill. Someone needs to step up and be a leader and a spokesperson for the conservatives in this country besides Rush and it looks like Sarahcuda is volunteering to be our point guard. I think I just mixed a metaphor. Oh well. But you get the idea.
shmendrick on July 5, 2009 at 3:11 PM
BTW CK I thought your analysis was quite thoughtful and one of the best I’ve read.
shmendrick on July 5, 2009 at 3:13 PM
I’ll second that! I was thinking about writing on the Palin resignation myself, after I got back to the computer following a largely unplugged weekend, but I don’t know if I could add anything substantial to what you’ve said here. If she wants to retire from politics, I wouldn’t hold it against her for an instant, although I’d try to talk her out of it, if I had the chance. If she’s got plans to run in the future, the resignation will be an obstacle she’ll have to deal with, but I can’t see it as being insurmountable.
Nobody else on Earth could generate 3000-comment monster discussion threads without detonating a nuclear warhead. If that’s what “toast” looks like, then I wish I was “toast” too. Preferably wheat toast, with a light coating of apple butter.
Doctor Zero on July 5, 2009 at 5:56 PM
It’s a joke to think Sarah Palin was not tough enough. This is the same person who didn’t back down to Letterman to the point of forcing him into an apology.
The fact that Maureen Dowd, the ultimate nutty political maven can’t get it makes me sure she did the right thing.
Palin has thrown a monkey wrench directly at convential wisdom and changed the playing field. She’s taking the Reagan route, where Ronald Reagan spent from 1974 to the 1980 election on a series of speaking engagements that articulated the conservative opinion and created a body of work that culminated in his election.
Only the pundits will care that she left office. By then she will have built a portfolio that will trump that.
itsspideyman on July 5, 2009 at 6:18 PM
Doctor Zero on July 5, 2009 at 5:56 PM
Maybe it’s one of those pieces of toast that shows the silhouette of the Virgin Mary or a local ballplayer or something.
CK MacLeod on July 5, 2009 at 8:11 PM
Outstanding analysis and insight. Why couldn’t Ed Morrissey see it this way?
milemarker2020 on July 6, 2009 at 12:46 AM
Point #1. No matter the party affiliation, ideology, or truth behind it, I get queasy when one starts measuring whether or not to stay in office with the “what’s in it for me” litmus test above. Palin committed to public service for a period of time and quitting 18 months early because it no longer benefits her political aspirations is not one of those Profiles in Courage moments.
Point #2. This could be a brilliant move on Palin’s part if she arrives in 2012 as the anti-government candidate- the complete outsider seeking to put right what the political class has torn asunder.
Point #3. And this is the biggie. Is Sarah Palin the right candidate with the right ideas to fix the gigantic mess that she would inherit from the filthy liar in the White House and the Congressional Democrats? I’d say that the jury is still out on this point. There is still 18 months before the Presidential campaigns really kick off and 18 months is a lifetime in politics but, in July 2009, Palin is not ready for primetime. More importantly, she’s not been clear on where she stands on the big issues like cap & trade. If this resignation was designed to get her ready for the Presidential elections, there are many miles to go before Palin will be viewed as a legitimate candidate and it has nothing to do with her sex or home address.
highhopes on July 6, 2009 at 7:05 AM
It’s pretty clear that her unexpected national status as the most magnetic Republican front runner came with a price. The left had hoped to pin her down in Alaska with the frivelous law suits. It was all costing BOTH the state and her a lot of money. She had already accomplished most of her agenda and by having her lieutenant Gov. take over removes these distractions and cost burdens from BOTH her and the state. In other words, because of these problems, which are a consequence of her success and national status, the Alaska governorship is now really better off without her and she and her family are better off without the limitations the governorship places on her.
So to suggest that her leaving is simply a matter of selfish ambition is missing the point. It is a clear case of both parties (Alaska and her) being better off with her becoming a private citizen. If you see this in derogatory terms I suggest that it says more about you than her. She had the courage and the clear vision to do what was best for her state and herself. This is one of the things that makes Sarah Palin great. She’s a natural leader. Please catch up.
shmendrick on July 6, 2009 at 10:06 AM
That her persona had gotten too big for the job strikes me as incontestable – there’s no blame involved. It is what it is. On another level, and setting aside for a moment the other arguments I labored to outline in the top post, the only difference between Palin’s decision and that of a normal pol leaving a governorship or Senate seat to become a cabinet secretary or ambassador or president is that Palin, rather than assuming an office, appears to be seeking to lead a movement.
The terminology may be frightening – though I’d argue that the times are more so – but she is embracing a radical, even a revolutionary conservatism. People are more comfortable talking about “movement conservatism,” “true conservatism,” “populism,” etc. At the Corner today, historian Angelo M. Codevilla refers to her taking leadership of the “Country Party” vs. the entrenched “Court Party,” a la H Ross Perot. The “rules” do not apply in the same way to a leader of the Country Party, because for its members the “rules” are a big part of the problem. They know from hard experience and long observation that the rules were written against them, and are manipulated to enrich and empower the Court insiders.
Exactly. I believe that’s what some of us have been trying to say.
To my mind, there’s no doubt that she’s on the right track in terms of what she advocates, but it’s true that the proof is yet to come. She’s given the right outlines. She upsets and confuses all of the people you’d most wish to see upset and confused, and in pretty much exactly the way you’d like to see them upset and confused.
It’s a bit of a reality shock for a lot of people on the edge, and exposes a lot of them – like certain well known conservative bloggers – as more conventional in their thinking and their interests than you might have suspected beforehand.
CK MacLeod on July 6, 2009 at 11:48 AM
CK MacLeod on July 6, 2009 at 11:48 AM
What he said. Bears repeating.
So if a bear farts in the woods, does it make a …?
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
shmendrick on July 6, 2009 at 10:36 PM