Palin Resigns: Exit stage right

                          Goodbye Governor!

July 3, 2009: In what can only be called a devastating week of press coverage for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ended today by the stunning announcement that she will resign her office with sixteen months still remaining in her first term as governor.

In a hastily called press conference this morning at her Wasilla home, Palin announced she will be stepping down in less than three weeks and that Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be sworn in during the July 25 Governor's Picnic in Fairbanks.

Why?

While many including myself have openly predicted that she would not seek a second term in order to cash in on her national ambitions, no one ever invisioned her resigning in such haste.

Over the last few weeks there has been growing criticism on both the state and national level about Palin. In addition, local bloggers have raised speculations about damaging information about Palin that was coming down the road.

A few weeks ago, Dennis Zaki posted on his popular website (http://www.alaskareport.com/)  a cryptic message about a pending bombshell that had to do with an investigation into Palin's finances.

Last week, local blogger Linda Kellen-Biegal (http://divasblueoasis.com/) successfully raised roughly $6,000 to pay the cost associated with a freedom of information request of emails between the Palin administration and local talk show host and close friend of Palins, Eddie Burke. The emails were due to be released in a few days.

In addition, Palin has come under intense criticism from various groups for everything from ignoring state business to hiding state business.

In rural Alaska, native leaders have been furious at Palin's inability to focus on their challenges. Meanwhile, last Sunday, Juneau Economist and reporter Gregg Erickson wrote a scathing op/ed about how the Palin administration had become the most secretive administration in his twenty nine years of watching state government.     

All of this combined with the brutal press this week probably pushed Palin over the edge.

A ten thousand word article written by Todd Purdum in Vanity Fair, outlining Palin's behavior on the campaign trail with John McCain set political toungues wagging and launched a fierce debate inside the Republican Party.

On the front page of this morning's Anchorage Daily News was an article detailing how Palin forced out one of her top health officials because the official found it difficult to publicly represent Palin's belief on social policies when the science and data clearly showed the governor to be wrong.

While negative press and administrative disagreements are common and don't typically make politicians resign, Palin must see something coming on the horizon that is far more threatening.  

In a statement released by her office, Palin said "Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional Lame Duck status in this particular climate would just be another dose of politics as usual, something I campaigned against and will always oppose." 

"It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success," she said.

However with sixteen months still remaining in her terms and much of her agenda still unfinished, including getting a deal to build the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline, this is hard to believe.

In addition, Palin's resignation means that the new Lt. Governor will be the commissioner of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. This again shows either Palin's move is one driven by necessity to get the hell out of Dodge or a self serving move without considering the consequences to her constituents.

The bottom line is that there has to be something major that forced Palin to bail out with sixteen months left in her term.

Something so big or so damaging that she feared dealing with it in the public arena.

There is no question that since her return to Alaska from the national stage Palin has been distracted. From her press statements to her tweets, everything has been targeted towards a national audience far beyond the boundaries of Alaska.

But politics being politics, you don't quit mid-term if you hope to have a future at a higher and more pressure filled level (i.e. running for president).

Good luck and God bless.