Yesterday, Sarah Palin resigned from her position as governor of Alaska. Her supporters are left reeling in confusion, and her critics are chalking this up to more bizarre behavior from the 2008 vice-presidential candidate.
To some, such as the Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse, her motives are completely self-involved:
"Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long-shot national political ambitions, or she simply can't handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down."
Palin, however, said in her announcement that she wants to work for all Americans, not just Alaskans:
"And finally, I polled the most important people
in my life, my kids. And the count was unanimous. While in response to asking,
'Hey, do you want me to be a positive influence and fight for all our
children's futures from outside the governor's office?' it was four yeses and
one 'Hell, yeah.' The 'Hell, yeah' sold it."
One of the qualities we look for in a leader is the ability to sometimes put aside the needs of the few in order to serve the needs of the many. However we rarely look for a leader who has a history of abandonment, regardless of the reasons behind that abandonment.
What
do you think? If Palin made this decision in order to
enact positive change in America, was it the ethical choice? Or should she have
respected her commitment to the people of Alaska and finished out her term?
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She should have completed the job she was elected to do. That is always a good work ethic.
Maybe she should give Rush Limbaugh some competition on another network and have a show much like his. She studied Journalism in one of her colleges she attended, didn't she? Also pays well.
I would like to abstract the discussion for a moment.
I find it interesting the way that we sometimes place people in an untenable position. We decide (sometimes arbitrarily) that we do not like them, or do not like what they believe in, and so we want to marginalize them or see them fail. In politics, they cannot win us over, no matter what choices they make, because they do not believe in what we believe.
We criticize them for their perceived or actual shortcomings and minimize their successes. If they persist, we call them stubborn; if they adapt, we call them weak-willed or hypocrites; if they withdraw, we call them quitters; if they fail, we call them losers; and if they succeed, we call them cheaters. If we cannot find fault with their job performance, we attack their character, or their families, or whatever group they belong to.
In politics, such poor behavior crosses party lines. Every politician has skeletons in the closet, some are better at concealing them, others seem to leave the door open. Concentrating on the politician rather than the politics merely dilutes any meaningful discussion of the issues.
I have said elsewhere that right and wrong transcends politics. Neither of the major political parties is "right" on every issue. As such, the best interests of this Nation (as a collective), and its citizens (as individuals) will not be found by exclusively following Democratic or Republican ideology. The sooner we all realize this, stop playing party politics, and work to reestablish our position in the world, the better off we will be as a country.
She didn't seem too upset in her small press conference that she was basicly quiting the job that we assume she worked hard to be elected to..governor of Alaska. If somehow in a land far, far away , she was elected leader of a whole, entire country, would she quit when times got tough? IMO the Republicans would be out of their tiny brains if they even thought of Palin as a possible candidate for 2012!
Even if you agreed with her politics, (which I most certainly don't) why would you vote for someone as unreliable as she now seems to be?
To expect ethical behavior from a politician is to expect the Sun to stand still in the heavens. I'm waiting for the scandal to break.
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