From open.salon.com
It does stand to reason that a woman with an ego as large as Sarah Palin's would not realize that leaving gracefully and quietly would say volumes more than any speech she could have given.
She is currently working behind the scenes with creepy ultra conservatives like Erick Erickson to displace moderate Republicans and replace them with far-far right candidates in several races.
This whole deal is making Michael Steele not only sweat, but undoubtedly making his blood pressure soar beyond reason. Erickson and his small band of far right friends could single handedly blow up the Republican party. And they don't care because they think the current party is too moderate. Seriously.
Sarah Palin may be dumber than a sack of sawdust but she's not stupid. She knows only too well that her chances of ever becoming president are slim to none. So you can basically ignore all those little winks and nudges that she's been dishing out ever since she dragged herself and her family back to Nowhere, Alaska.
She may not know much about geography, world affairs, the three branches of government, the duties of the vice president, that Africa is not a country, any Supreme Court rulings other than Roe v Wade, the Bush Doctrine, the Middle East, the power of the governor of Alaska to declare war, or that Levi was shtupping her daughter. But she does know what she likes, what she wants, and how to get it. And there are but three of these: money, fame, and the best of all, revenge.
She has appropriated the most famous mantra of the rich and powerful: "Living well is the best revenge" and she is already living quite well with the book advance, the fees she's demanding for her personal appearances, and of course, the complete line of Sarah Palin action figures. So let's see...money: check; fame: check; revenge: not by a long shot. Sarah has a list of scores to settle with McCain's campaign, the pols who dissed her after she lost, and, most especially, the Republican elite who look down upon her like something they might have stepped in while crossing the street. Those are the ones she really despises. The ones who mocked the way she talked, her voice, her clothes, her family, her "intelligence", and her overall "rubeness". Pay back, as they say, is a bitch.
Palin does not suffer slights and offenses gladly. Nor does this good Christian turn the other cheek. Her political life, as brief as it may be, is replete with examples of her getting even with anyone whom she deems has not shone her proper respect and deference. She has learned though that she must be more subtle than she was with her pettiness in Alaska. She knows that if she wants to bring down the really big game she must be learn the fine art of political annihilation. The pundits keep asking the pooh bahs of the party if Sarah is a "player". Oh, she's a player alright. But it's her own game she's playing.
Palin's first step on this road has been to reinforce her standing and image with the base (or is that the basest?) of the party. In order to do that she had to throw off the confinements of having to govern the state of Alaska. Sitting in Juneau in the dead of winter (which begins around August 1) was not the way to maintain the high media profile that was sine qua non in her plans. She has made sure that she gets into the 24/7 media maw as often as possible. And with the launch of her book(?) this week, the media have been falling all over themselves trying to be first to stick a mic in her face and hang on each and every one of her banal blandishments.
And does that base ever worship her. They are delusional enough to truly believe that only Sarah can save America. Just look at the polls. Unreal and terrifying at the same time. Like I said, Palin doesn't want to be president. That job's too small for her ego. And why should she take a pay cut? She wants more than just eight years in power. She wants power in perpetuity. And that will only come with the destruction of the Republican party in its present incarnation. And in its place will be a new party, the Real America Party, which she will be the leader of for life.
She has already succeeded in getting the collective testicles of the Republican leadership in a
vise. She applied the first tiny bit of pressure with her entry into the congressional election in the 23rd district in New York. It was the first test of her clout as well as the first taste of what is to come in 2010 and 2012. Her power has been magnified, amplified, and consolidated by the twin Titans of the far right, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. Sarah is their money maker. The more they sanctify and bless her, the higher their ratings, the bigger the payday. No one is in this for the welfare and commonweal of Americans.
So now having experienced their first example of testicular tightness, the leaders of the party find themselves in a no-win/no-win situation. The leadership knows that it has to tack more to the political center if they are to win back the independents that Obama scooped up last year. They have begun to play down the family/social values planks in the party in favor of the broader appeal of economic and security issues. This is anathema and outright heresy as far as Palin's followers are concerned. They have already made it quite clear that they will oppose any Republican candidate, incumbent or otherwise, who doesn't meet their criteria of a true believer. Charlie Crist has already been warned.
What does the leadership do? If they run with a "moderate" who can win over independents and disillusioned Democrats, Palin's posse will ride into town with the local keeper of the flame. And if they run Palin's ultra right choice they will probably turn off those voters they need. It's a wonderful plan for Sarah. It's "heads I win" and "tails you lose" played out on the national stage.
Sarah is already laughing all the way to the bank.