but as I saw this press conference I thought of an argument I had with my college roommate about Al Sharpton when I was 19, young, and painfully PC. At the end of about 15 minutes of stereotypical " you dont understaaannndd me" back and forth shouting, my roommate ( god bless him) told me something that left me cold.

"Robert, How much of your soul are you willing to give up for this"

Palin supporters, how much of your soul are you willing to give up for her. This person is a cancer; a moral cancer, intellectual cancer, and cancer to her party. She is WORSE than your Al Sharpton, because when he isn't baiting the press, Sharpton does a modicum of good with interpersonal African American issues. She is your Huey Newton, your Eldridge Cleaver, a figure so radioactive, so violent in tone and rhetoric that she cant help but make moderate voters run from the room. And just as leftists threw away the tradition of liberalism by aligning on to extremists like Newton, you are throwing away the best of your party's tradition by alinging to her.

Until modern conservatives know more about Edmund burkethan Delta Burke, your party will be an impoverished lot. Until modern conservatives cast away this troubled, disturbed demagogue, America will be impoverished as well.

all the "Rader"s were typos. Wonder what the reference was.

So we're not going to have Sarah Palin to kick around any more !?!

Damn!

She'll rack up millions in speaker's fees, she'll write a "tell all" book, she may even land a spot on Faux News.

But at the end of the day, she is what she is: a hillbilly from Alaska. A one-time sportscaster with a telegenic face, a nice pair of gams, and the intellectual acumen of box of rocks who did amazing things with a teleprompter, a wink, and an upscale 5th Avenue wardrobe.

She should slink back to Wasilla, put her kid on the short bus to school every day, put in her miles on the treadmill, and count her blessings that no one will every take her seriously again.

Sarah Palin has had her "15 minutes" in the spotlight. Like Susan Boyle, she was a one-trick pony who shriveled under the blaze of the media spotlight. History will judge her political career as an aberration, a case of "local gal strikes out in the big show."

You crack me up, and I say that with genuine good humor. You dont just see the glass as half-full, you've gone to Target and bought yourself a brand new glass! I'm glad to know you're taking the news well, friend. You may need to send an email of condolence to Camile Paglia, though.

Personally, I'm not ruling out the possibility that this is some political gambit, and that Palin's retreat is strategic. However, if she does eventually run for President, she just provided her primary opponents with a big ol' bazooka to fire at her. You will never hear so many variations on the word 'quitter' as you will hear from Romney and Gingrich during the GOP debates. Even I might be unable to resist the temptation to tune in to Fox News and watch the fun, should that be the case. Mitt and Newt, say what you will about them, dont bring knives to gun fights. It would be ON up in there, as the kids say...

Also, my good man, if there is one place that Sarah Palin will absosmurfly NOT be, it is in New York, campaigning for Rudy. Rudy would be better off having Hitler stump for him on the Upper West Side...I'd be willing to bet (albeit a trifle of a sum) that the Furher would best Palin in popularity polls in a few boroughs. Rudy's only going to become governor by convincing New Yawkers that, despite all of the mocking comments he made about Obama that will be played in an endless loop by the Cuomo campaign, he is, the same good ol' moderate Rudy who once backed Cuomo's father Mario over Pataki, the candidate from his own party. Basically, he's got to pull a Wizard of Oz and have people pay no attention to the Republican behind the moderate curtain. Having Palin stump for him would NOT accomplish that goal.

My gut feeling is that, at least for now, Sarah Palin wants to play the pundit role, do the Fox News Channel thing, and enjoy her family. I wish her luck and happiness in doing that. But I think you and Bill Kristol (and Fineman) were hitting the holiday hootch with way too much gusto if y'all think that this quittin before the term is over and giving a speech that sounded bats*** crazy in doing so thing will help her in the future.

Wow.

Are you a fan of Oceans 11? Recall, the casino owner, Andy Garcia, runs through past scenes in his head at the film's conclusion and realizes how he was had.

Here, I thought it strange when Palin limited donations to her defense fund to just $150. Strange, because it was reported in late 2008 that a cadre of Texas evangelicals flooded her with cash to pay-off the Troopergate tab.

Why strange? It was almost as if she was making it hard to pay off her 2009 bills. A friendly web site raised $100,000 for her in one week, but that still left several hundred thousand more unpaid.

But now . . . she cites the crushing legal bills, and associated State hassles, as the "out" for her to go off and run for president.

Palin is George Clooney here (or Julia Roberts, if you like) from Oceans 11. The DNC goons who descended on Alaska, and drove up these legal fees, are Andy Garcia. Without the Obots' assistance, what other excuse could Palin have for resigning?

I tell you, there is nothing like a couple beers to clarify the mind. (Obama's Dow 8,200 has forced me down from fine wine). This is brilliant. Palin can now hit the interview circuit if she likes, and explain her decision every time with reference to the legal bills (rather than sheer ambition). Makes sense to me.

Oh, and let's throw out a prediction. Palin said she got a "yes" from several relatives on resigning, and a "hell yes" from one, which she wants to explain later. Does that sound like someone who is quitting? She also said going to Kosovo reinforced her resolve . . . to quit. Prediction: the "hell yes" came from eldest son Track. It has something to do with national defense.

Final thought. Palin said in the Runner's World interview: "I would beat Obama in a run." (A marathon run). She also cited the movie Rudy for the concept of dogged devotion over years to meet a goal. Hmmm. Could she be any less subtle? I've never been prouder of her. What a woman!