If resigning from a post like governor of Alaska is hailed as a potentially "brilliant strategy" for a career, the Editorial Board might as well consider Sarah Palin the Geri Halliwell of the political world - Gubernatorial Spice, if you will. Not as catchy as "Killa from Wasilla," but we've gotta keep it current.
Palin announced Friday that she will leave the governor's office 18 months early, saying that she didn't want to serve as a lame duck governor (she doesn't plan on running for another term - hint, hint) and that she wanted to protect her family from media scrutiny.
The Editorial Board doesn't understand what makes Palin believe that the end of her gubernatorial tenure will cause all media attention to cease and desist. For one, she is an extremely polarizing and captivating figure, the kind people will listen to even if they can't stand him or her (sort of like Ann Coulter, except that she has - or wait - had, a day job). Secondly, running for the leader of the free world is a pretty big deal.
Regardless, some politicians are saying the move could be a brilliant tactical maneuver that we just don't "get" at this time.
We disagree, but with a tiny bit of reservation; the whole two-third-of-a-term-in-office-will-catapult-me-into-a-bigger-office strategy seemed to work for Barack Obama.
But if Palin's quitting parallels Ginger Spice, Obama is like the Michael Jordan of quitters in an I'm-so-good-at-everything-it-doesn't-even-matter kind of way. We think Palin's "strategy" will backfire (assuming she does plan on running for president in 2012), but, hey, maybe she'll end up with four No.1 singles as a solo artist. Or, at the very least, because a source close to Palin told ABC News that the soon-to-be ex-governor was planning on campaigning for other candidates, Palin could parallel the quitting of Jerry Seinfeld and leave an illustrious, high-profile career for a job that is basically a "TV commercial star."
Overall, no one knows what will come of Palin's resignation or which "famous quitter from history" she will resemble in a few years. But, if Karl Rove is left speechless by her "architectural" skills, her decision was probably not in the best interests of the Republican Party.
