While nobody knows why Sarah Palin is resigning (so abruptly, and literally in the midst of her first term) as the Governor of Alaska, there are only two possibilities. Both are quite credible.
One possibility is that Governor Palin sincerely feels that electoral politics is constraining, and she wants to contribute to society and polity not necessarily through elected office. May be she is weary of electoral politics. Does this rule her out for an elected office in the future? No, not at all. Let us say she is engaged in speaking and writing, social service, and may be even participation in Republican party politics for the next 8-12 years. Even then she would be only about 53-57 years old, and she could easily contest for the Presidency of the United States and/or Senatorial leadership from Alaska. At that point, Palin would be considered very experienced and credentialed.
The second possibility is that Palin is very seriously considering seeking Republican party’s nomination as its Presidential candidate in 2012. If that is the case, the burdens, duties and constraints of governorship have been all removed with this one decision. Trying to reach and campaign in Iowa and/or New Hampshire from Alaska is a physical challenge if not an impossibility. Further, these are very difficult times to be a governor. The revenues have shrunk. So the cuts in the budget have to be so deep that they would make Solomon look bad. Alternatively, the governor may have to raise taxes. Raising taxes for a conservative candidate like Sarah Palin could be kiss of political death. So why not break the shackles of governorship?
Is there any downside to resigning so abruptly? A little bit. Some political analysts are likely to call her a ‘quitter.’ But that is unlikely to have much traction. In any case, if she was not going to contest for any elected office for the next 8-12 years, this will be faded memory. The charge of a ‘quitter’ may be faded memory even by 2012.
So, while it is completely surprising, it is easy enough to argue that Sarah Palin’s decision to resign as the Governor of Alaska is not as rash or imprudent as it may appear at the first blush.
Tags: Alaska, Governor, Republican party, Sarah Palin, U.S. President, U.S. Senate
