I blame our current state of hate and partisanship on the last 8 years of leadership from an administration using invectives, backwards logic, exaggeration, lies and irrational sidetracking in order to stir up public enmity.

Think, Axis of Evil, WMD's, and just about anything that came out the mouth of genius boy Karl Rove. Think about people relating to Bush's buffoonery because "he's just like one of us."

Leadership matters. It sets the tone for the country and gives permission and encouragement to followers.

And it worked quite well, apparently, to justify invading another country on false pretenses, and imprison and torture people for years without adjudication. It kept us off track from what was going on in the housing market, the development of banking monopolies, and on Wall Street. And it preoccupied us so well we didn't even notice the loss of regulation in the FCC - which is why we don't get news on TV "news programs" anymore.

It kept the public so busy with fear and with fighting over false "Christian" and "family" values that no one dared point out the emperor's lack of clothes. It was like setting a swarm of bees on anyone with a rational mind.

Now here we are with complete nutcases feeling they have power and permission to shout from the roof tops... Fox "News" and people like Limbaugh and Hannity and O'Reilly mouthing the most utter nonsense over the air, and Sarah Palin garnering an actual following, despite her evincing extraordinary inappropriateness for leadership.

There's nothing mysterious about it, and there's no reason to allow it to continue. Don't participate in partisanship, challenge those who do, demand a more respectful tone from your legislators, and encourage others to think through the implications of unreasonable positions.

We have a lot of work to do, but it was 8 years in the making and a concerted effort to regain some balance might actually take less time. Especially since the politics of the last 8 years have landed us in so much trouble.

We are all looking for the real reason(s) for Sarah Palin's resigning. Maybe she's having an affair with the Governor of South Carolina.

:-)

Sure, Palin has a big house, but her inferior education stains her. She has acquired the moniker, Wasilla Hillbilly, because she's a hick in a big house. Maybe the rage from the Left is due to the odd ambition of this woman, who, by dint of her inexpertise, isn't qualified to sit in the Oval Office, but believes that she is and in this country where many people's retirement plan is the win the lottery, they believe that she is too, that one doesn't have to prepare for the presidency. On an unconscious level, they might be encouraged by Palin's rise. If Palin can do it, with her clear deficiencies, then they too can win the lottery or be nominated for president or some other ludicrous improbability. For Palin supporters, many of whom are likely unprepared for retirement and recession, supporting Palin isn't about supporting Palin: it's about floating their dream of being whisked to a big white house.

I guess Failin' Palin couldn't stand the fact that she's out of the news. She's obviously nutty as a fruit cake. One has to wonder if she had (God Help Us) been elected VP along with (God Help Us) McPain, would she have point-guarded her way down the court for a slam dunk, or would she have gotten bored, signaled a "T" and sat on the bench for the rest of the season.

Bottom Line: who cares. Alaska won this round with her resignation..

The end-goal is to ensure that Obama will never see a robust economic recovery during his 8-year tenure. Withdraw your economic support and it will happen. Make the liberals taste the bitter bile of defeat.

So you would sacrifice the jobs and well-being of your fellow citizens just to score political points against liberals? Never mind that your fellow conservatives would suffer along with everyone else. You remind me of the Maoists who believe that it is best for a society to crumble and people to suffer terribly, because that will help Maoists gain power.

This is why we liberals view people like you as traitors to the nation. You care only about political power, and nothing about your fellow Americans.

And you actually had the gall to post this anti-American message on the Fourth of July.

What goes around comes around.

Good points, all. We agree on one thing: Mitt is a terrible candidate. And yes, I thought about the fact that Newt also quit as House Speaker mid-term, but Newt has a nasty little habit of conveniently forgetting his own foibles when attacking the failings of others. I dont think for a minute he would hesitate to go after Palin with both barrels in a primary.

You (perhaps inadvertently) made one important point...for me :). You said that Palin whups Romney and Gingrich among "Republican stalwarts". My point is that the number of Republican stalwarts is too small to carry a national election. The GOP's problem is that they automatically start every national election down both coasts. Because of the growing Hispanic population, and the alienation of that population by the GOP, Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, and Colorado are starting to trend Democratic. Therefore, the only chance the Republicans have to win a national election is to present a candidate who can expand the base. Sarah Palin simply doesnt do that.

In other words, the problem isnt that liberals hate Palin; the problem is that moderates hate Palin. And the people who do like Palin--evangelicals, working-class Whites--dont translate to a winning coalition in a national election. Again, the bigwigs in the Republican party know this. Palin will make a comfortable living, and probably wont suspend her PAC, because so long as the threat of her running in 2012 exists, her influence within the party, and her ability to be a kingmaker (or queenmaker) is maximized. But if her quitting her office was a gambit to strengthen her for 2012, I simply dont see how it was a smart move.