Regardless of your political leanings, if you’re a woman or you’re sympathetic to women’s efforts to advance on the political stage, you should be royally pissed off at Sarah Palin. Earlier today, in a hastily assembled, rambling, disjointed, and sometimes contradictory press conference, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced that not only does she not plan to run for reelection as Governor of Alaska, but she’s also stepping down as Governor effective at the end of this month.
Well. This little bombshell set off quite a bit of speculation about the real reason(s) for her resignation. The announcement that she wasn’t going to run for reelection wasn’t much of a surprise to anybody, as she was expected to run for the Republican nomination for President in 2012. But resigning with 18 months to go in her first and only term as Governor? Perhaps she or someone in her immediate family is experiencing some health problems that require her full attention? Perhaps there’s a major scandal brewing just under the surface and her resignation is a preemptive strike? Perhaps she’s wanting to relocate her family to the mainland and focus on networking and fundraising in preparation for her nomination bid?
Whatever. It’s her stated reason for resigning that has me so demoralized. Guess whose fault it is, she claims, that she can’t govern any more? Her opponents. Oh, and also the media.
Without a doubt, Sarah Palin was treated unfairly by the media when she was the Republican Vice Presidential candidate and she continues to be skewered, though she brings some criticism upon herself by maintaining this anti-intellectual persona she’s got going, whether it’s genuine or not (I suspect it’s genuine). And the attacks on her kids, especially that hideous distortion of Baby Trig that made the rounds (which I won’t even link to here – it’s that disgusting), are way, way out of bounds. This I will stipulate without reservation.
You know what my parents used to tell me about these kinds of situations? Life isn’t a bowl of cherries. Life isn’t fair.
When women enter the national political arena, they’re going to be held to a different standard. This is certainly not fair or right, but it’s the reality. Just ask Hillary Clinton about how fairly she was treated during the last election. The way the media treated Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton was different, but it was unfair in each case. So much focus on outfits, makeup, cankles, legs, skirt length, neckline plunges, haircuts and hairstyles, etc. It’s ridiculous. It’s also a known, predictable entity.
So for Sarah Palin to stand up there and say basically that she’s getting out of the kitchen because she can’t take the heat makes me sick to my stomach. She had no business on the national stage in the first place. She wasn’t ready for the big game. Today she has fueled the fears of some that a woman isn’t strong enough to be President, that she can’t make the tough decisions, that she can’t govern effectively with a family, that she is weak. Today Sarah Palin has single-handedly repaired way too many of those 18 million cracks that Hillary Clinton put in the glass ceiling. I say goodbye, and good riddance.
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I totally agree with you 100%. I’m thinking there is something going on with troopergate that no one is saying. Something like obvious evidence that she can’t get rid of. I am sure John McCain is especially disappointed. It makes him look like an even weaker candidate, since he seemed to choose a running mate on a whim’s notice.
Hillary is and will always be better than Sarah and in my mind Hill has been treated far worse than Sarah, since she has been in the eyes of the media since 1992.
I don’t know what’s exactly next for Sarah, and it’s hard to speculate. But look at the other women in politics other than Sarah: Ann Richards comes to mind majorly (she was awesome!!!), Madeline Albright, Condi Rice… Just because Sarah has called it quits doesn’t necessarily give women a bad name. It’s just the stigma that she creates.
Seeing how Palin resigned shows you how much of a weak person she is. I think if Sarah were more of a strong willed individual, she would have bit her lips and continued onward by serving the rest of her term. I guess she just couldn’t take it. Seems like she is a victim of her own sword. People said she couldn’t live up to it, and she said that she could, but then falls on her own sword.
To quote Truman, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
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Following that Truman quote, there’s always the ever fabulous Eleanor Roosevelt quote – “A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.”
Sadly, I can’t really post about politics on my blog because I attract the crazy. Maybe I’ll do a protected post…hm.
Goodbye and Good Riddance is right!
Clearly, Sarah Palin is NOT as strong as she needs to be to do what she wants to do.
I have steadfastly remained a member of the Republican Party over the past four years or so, despite the fact that each day I feel like it is moving farther away from my own (rather moderate) beliefs. I feel like the GOP has sold its soul to the far-right wing and it makes me so sad. Sarah Palin is the poster child for them. I posted a link to the Vanity Fair article about her and get tons of crazy comments from the “Knights of Palin” – are you kidding me? Because of her, we are going to be delayed in bringing up a more moderate, progressive side of the party. It drives me CRAZY.
I really wish Meghan McCain would say how she really feels about Sarah Palin, because I imagine I’d agree with it.
I just can’t see how Palin thinks this is a wise decision. Granted, her supporters will remain her supporters. All I can hope is that enough of the moderate GOPers and the independents see this for what it is, which is LAME. Where is the *leadership*?
Also, this doesn’t just roll back all of the progress we had made for ALL women – what kind of irreversible damage did she just do to the future of women in the Republican party? It is almost IMPOSSIBLE to get strong, smart, successful Republican women to run for office. Not because they don’t exist, but because it’s not worth the cost. Finally, I hoped, with Palin being successful (even if I don’t agree with her) we might see other women spurred on. Maybe the media would lighten up a bit. Take us seriously.
I doubt that will happen now. For years to come, any Republican woman who runs for office (especially if she is good looking) will be compared to, and ridiculed with, Sarah Palin. Like the jokes and mockery you face as a woman in the GOP (by people in the party, but mainly people outside it) weren’t horrible and degrading enough.
The feminist in me is FURIOUS.
As you can see from me commandeering your comment section, Ninja
One of my friends who lives in Alaska sent me a text saying that this was the best half-birthday present she’s ever gotten – and it’s truly an Independence Day for her, lol.
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I’m of the persuasion that the other shoe is about to drop, scandal-wise, or else she’s pregnant again. There’s something we haven’t heard.
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Great post. I sincerely doubt that governor S. Palin resigned because of the hits she’s been taking from the press and her political opponents, it just goes with the territory. As you mentioned, SoS H. Clinton has been at the receiving end of this venom since she came to the national stage in 1992, the attacks have been relentless, mean and down right pathological from the left, right and center and she’s still standing tall. S. Palin resigning now does hurt the cause of women at some level. Let’s be patient and we’ll find out what the future holds for S. Palin soon enough.
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Sarah Palin is a woman with a very strong character and personality that is why i like her.
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There are critics of Sarah Palin but in my opinion she is also a very good politician and she also did some good projects in Alaska.
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