Palin Does Nixon

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, commenting on Gov. Palin's resignation announcement, said two things in an interview on Fox News Sunday, which I think are quite telling.

First, he claimed that Gov. Palin's press conference to announce her resignation "created more questions" than it answered, and said that you "don't do that." I say, why not? In fact, if you are attempting to raise your political capital, why wouldn't you do just that. I'm also not convinced she created more questions. I believe she confirmed many theories about her own ambitions, but the press conference itself was quite to the point, if lacking any "what next" statements; for the time being, Palin is keeping those close to the vest. To Mike Huckabee I would say, go Google Sarah Palin and you tell me just how effective a little bait and switch can be. 6, 740,000 hits in .46 seconds is a lot of questions answered.

Second, Huckabee tried to compare himself to Palin. He seems convinced that Palin has resigned the governorship in Alaska because the ethics complaints against her are too overwhelming, and literally said, "been there, done that," and was a little condescending about how well he handled it and how poorly it reflects on her. Lt. Governor Sean Parnell, also on the interview panel, was quick to jump to Palin's defense, citing over $2 Million in staffing costs alone to handle the ethics complaints against Palin, and drawing the discussion back to Gov. Palin's point that this is simply wasteful time, money and effort that she would rather spare the state. While this may be only partly true, it is not the interesting part. What is interesting is Huckabee trying to claim he has been through the same thing as Sarah Palin. He also claimed that dealing with a hostile state Congress constantly lodging complaints against him was "harder than running for President," and that he persevered anyway. OK, Mike, first of all, you didn't end up running for President because the GOP electorate liked John McCain better. And second, the only thing anyone knows about Arkansas is that Bill Clinton was governor. The personal and political evisceration that was visited on Sarah Palin and her family in the 2008 election cycle is unlike anything Mike Huckabee has ever experienced. What is telling here is that he is trying to draw comparisons. In a more traditional time, Huckabee, as the runner up for the GOP nomination in 2008, would be the natural successor to the nomination in 2012, yet instead, we see him trying to co-opt Palin's experience as something he's "been there" and "done." He hasn't.

Karl Rove, on the same panel, seemed to think Palin has made a mistake as well. He claims that now that she will no longer be governor in Alaska, she has cleared her calendar so to speak, and this will be a detriment. Rove believes that the GOP in the lower 48 will be clamoring for her time and she won't have the excuse of being needed at home to keep her in demand. Scarcity breeds popularity, etc. Rove claims that she has lost control of her trajectory by doing this, which is entirely contrary to what others are saying. I'm not sure what to make of that part, as Karl Rove can be credited nearly in total for George W. Bush's successful presidential bid. However, Rove may also be (now) the voice of a vanquished convention. Palin was certainly not shy or unclear that she believes "business as usual" is not good enough and called her decision the right one although it may be "unconventional and not so comfortable."

There are no answers as of this time what Sarah Palin intends to do now, or what the deep reasons for her resignation are. She clearly made the decision to resign as governor partly to protect her family. She said it here. Vice President Biden implies here that it is the #1 reason any politician does anything. And Joe Scarborough said it here.

The interesting part is that no one thinks we've seen the last of Palin, and many voices are calling it the first parlay in the 2012 presidential run. The main question most people are asking is, can Palin maintain her visibility and her credibility for 3 years without being in elected office. Clearly she intends to campaign for Republicans in the lower 48 who share her political views, and she intends to use SarahPAC as that platform. She is also freed of conflict of interest between the governor's office and her PAC. I would watch closely which campaigns and what politicians she gets involved with over the next year. Freed of the governor's responsibilities, she's got a lot of time to rack up favors, which could easily turn into endorsements a year later. One of the panelist on Fox News Tonight claimed that Palin has ruined her presidential aspirations by ensuring she will have "less than 2 years on the national stage." It surprises me anyone still thinks this. No one knew who Barack Obama was until his speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention, no one took him as a serious presidential candidate until late in 2007, and he rose to the presidency with "less than 2 years on the national stage." Sarah Palin was the surprise in 2008, and she's still keeping us guessing now. I would not write her off. You'll still have Sarah Palin to kick around.