Sarah Palin's decision to quit as governor and thus possibly open up her 2012 candidacy has me torn. On one hand, I would have loved her to run in 2012 because I believe it would have assured Obama another four years. On the other hand, I would be happy to have this woman go home, take care of her children and maybe donate several hours a month to keeping an eye on Russia for us from the vantage point of her back deck.

In the end, what really concerns me is that this woman is still able to engage the public with her rambling and weird announcements and proclamations. It concerns me deeply, that there are a large number of people out there in the good ole USA who listen to Palin, believe they understand her and support her incomprehensible (to me) positions.

Having now lived through 6 months of a Presidency for which I have respect, having listened to a President with whom I may not always agree but who speaks in fluent, logic driven English, who is not a full on embarrassment internationally and seems to have a natural ability to sit back and assess rather than knee jerk himself into predicaments - I find my central nervous system is not up to another showing of "the Palin woman."

I wish Sarah Palin well; now not as governor, hopefully not as Presidential candidate but maybe she can . . . well, maybe she can take up basketball again.

Sincerely,

Skye Leslie

hey - i think your opinions are incredibly worthwhile, otherwise i wouldn't be here again. you have no idea how hard i fight against all the hatred many republicans, including sarah palin, spew out. i also almost totally agree that joan has no control over what people post...but i don't think she has no part in the vibe. i still can't understand how some of these comments help anything or anyone...including the commenter. some are helpful. i just don't think it is therapeutic to be viscous -- and salon seems to be an escape for a lot of venom spewing as well -- how can that help? as horrific as her ideas are, palin and her family are humans...just as the people who i ranted against during the election were...and it makes me sick to read or write that kind of text. joan, when you say sarah "complained" about the treatment of trig...wow, that shocks me. i would complain about that as well. he is a baby. have you read and heard the things said about her children? would you want that written or spoken about your daughter?

hey, svutlov, thanks for your feedback -- just so appreciated.

wasn;t anything important to pass,

on was there?

open message

"dont blink'

"bye-bye!"

"good riddance"

"aurora"

"$borealis"

EH?

did i say something, to upset her?

not, still fishing "for" compliments is she?

signed:

"mrs. knox"

care of

Th. Jefferson.

Shame is that this nutbag believes she is sane. Most depressive personalities can admit their depression. Todd, if you aren't already completely dead, save those kids from your wife.

It was quite painful to watch that speech. I couldn't stay with to the conclusion.

What I experiences was a projection of some awfully raw and powerful fear.

Keep your eyes peeled. Something's coming down.

This is the the calculated move of someone launching a bigger career. (Besided who's going to elect someone for President when she can't finish one term as Governor?)

1. The US purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 during Andrew Johnson's administration, not Abe Lincoln's (that's Abraham to you, Sarah). William Seward was the Secretary of State at the time. Like most of Lincoln's cabinet, he was held over by Johnson.

2. General Douglas McArthur did not make the quote about advancing in another direction. The general who did was O.B. Smith, commander of the Marine 1st Division. His division was cut off at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea in December 1950 when Chinese troops entered that war. The Marines began a long and costly retreat south during a brutal Korean winter. When asked about the retreat, General Smith said, "Retreat hell! We are attacking in another direction!"

3. I was intrigued by Palin's use of the phrase, "politics of personal destruction." That is a phrase coined by Bill Clinton when the GOP was constantly attacking him even before the Lewinsky mess.

4. Can anyone look at this tape or read the transcript and not be struck how ignorant, silly, self-centered, contradictory, and lacking in poise and rationality is Governor Palin? I am sorry C-SPAN never broadcast the Republican Governors' Conferences. They must have been a hoot.

5. Maybe I am being overly optomistic but I think the Republicants are cracking up. GOP senators, governors and entire legislative caucuses (see New York Senate) are freaking out at the prospect of being out of power. Obama is president. Al Franken is Dem Number 60 in the Senate. Now we find out that Republicants have soul mates. Who knew?

Here in New York, the background story is that the NY State GOP knows they will be out of power for years to come and are trying to seize control of the state senate by bribing two asshole Democratic sentaors. Each year the state legislative votes large sums of cash that assemblymen and senators get to distribute in their districts to non-profit groups, little leagues, towns, etc., to ingratiate themselves to the public. Being the minority party, they will get less money so they are fighting to change senate rules to make the distribution of funds equal regardless of who in the majority. New York Dems have had to remind them that for 40 years when the GOP controlled the state senate they never shared equally with the Democratic minority.

I remind the GOP what they told us 8 years ago: "You lost. Get over it."

if maybe in two weeks Palin will try to pull a Ross Perot and "un-resign". In Perot's case it was just a presidential campaign and half of his supporters abandonned him when he came back. This is worse because no one would vote for someone this flakey for president. I don't know what she plans to do but I really doubt she will ever be elected to anything again.