Mike Klein Online

Heeeere’s …. Sarah !

Thank you, Sarah Palin, for saving us from Mark Sanford’s endless weirdness and mainstream media’s utter obsession with the bizarre and tragic figure, Michael Jackson.

In case you started the holiday early and turned off news, the often ridiculed and controversial Alaska governor did the unpredictable again, something that meant reporters and analysts had to work a bit longer before starting the weekend.  Last Friday Palin quit her job.  Unlike many employers today, she did give several weeks notice.

Officially, Governor Palin becomes Private Citizen Palin later this month. That changes the game for Palin, for other Republicans and it changes the game for the White House.

This is one Republican who can hurt Barack Obama.

Palin is fireworks. When Palin walked onstage at the Republican Convention last year folks from Indiana proudly wore badges that proclaimed “Hoosiers for the Hot Chick.” She’s the highest high wire act in a party that desperately needs one. She fills rooms and raises millions of dollars.  Who else in the GOP does that?

Palin did not lose the election last November. John McCain wrapped up defeat early. Palin breathed excitement into a sinking campaign, but she could not save it. McCain was over matched against the Illinois senator and he seldom looked comfortable in any setting.  That the Palin and McCain camps bickered certainly did not help their cause.

So why did she quit?  At the moment, we have to take her for her word.

Palin’s posting on Facebook suggests her decision surprises only the rest of us.  She has been talking with her family which supports the decision.  She has been talking with Alaska’s lieutenant governor about transition, and Palin said on Facebook that some state decisions were made earlier based on her possible departure from the Juneau statehouse.

This does not sound like a woman who woke up one morning and decided to quit her job.

On the contrary.

National media, Democrats and some Republicans act like she somehow freaked out.

Well, what did you expect?

Conjecture by some national media and also in Alaska is that Palin resigned because of a costly and time consuming ethics investigation. National analysis from some GOP talkers suggested Palin resigned without a coherent future strategy.

Presumably, she did not ask those GOP talkers for coherent future strategy tips.

You never know exactly what to expect from Palin. That’s what makes her so intriguing.

Unlike all the many Predictables, Sarah Palin is The Unpredictable.

Not knowing where she’s going next, there may be lots of room to maneuver.  November 2010 elections will provide Palin with ample platforms … and microphones … from which to build her political credentials.  You can win lots of friends by helping them win their political offices first.

She can focus on government owned industries.  How’s that working out?

She can focus on health care. This scares more Americans than almost any other single topic.

She can focus on energy. It’s part of her credentials. Alaska is a natural resources miracle.

She can focus on jobs. Millions of Americans are newly unemployed since noon on January 20.

She can focus on lost retirements. Will anyone ever comfortably retire again?

She can focus on the stimulus.  Do you know anyone who’s doing better?

She can focus on Barack Obama.

Stay tuned for that one.

July 5, 2009 - Posted by mikekleinonline | Uncategorized