If Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle had any aspirations to be the next president of the United States, would it help him or hurt him to quit the office he now holds?
The answer is an easy one. It would hurt him - significantly.
He would rightly be portrayed as a selfish quitter who left the office during tough financial times. It would be a political albatross that would sink any presidential aspirations he might have.
Why should the answer be any different for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin?
Palin, who was the GOP's surprise vice presidential candidate in 2008, announced last week that she would not seek re-election as governor next year. That wasn't a big surprise. But the stunning news came when she said she would be resigning later this month, less than three years into her tenure.
The reason? It wasn't exactly clear, and it's still not.
She didn't want to become a "lame duck" governor - though she put herself in that position by deciding against running for re-election.
She said she doesn't want to waste taxpayer dollars on defending the ethics complaints against her administration. But nearly all of those complaints already have been fought, and won. Is she anticipating more?
She said leaving office would give her a better chance to fight for issues of importance to Alaska. What better place could there be for that task than the governor's office? And following that logic, being president would not be a good place for her to fight for issues important to the American people, we suppose.
Outrageous.
Come to think of it, outrageous is a word that pretty much sums up Sarah Palin at the moment. She's a celebrity, not a politician. Few knew of her before Arizona Sen. John McCain selected her as his presidential running mate last summer. She spent the remainder of the campaign firing on her opponents and dodging questions of any substance from the media. The nation learned very little about her own political viewpoints, assuming she has them.
The spin since Palin's announcement last week has been entertaining. She's fighting by quitting. Alaskans are best off without the governor they elected. Good point guards know when to pass the ball. Only dead fish go with the flow.
Whatever.
Leaders do not quit. Public servants serve the people. Sarah Palin is neither. The American people are smart enough to figure that out. If most hadn't already, they have now.
If she's quitting as governor to give herself more time to focus on running for a higher office, she's put her own interests ahead of her constituents'. That wouldn't make her unique as a politician. It just makes her more obvious.
But certainly not presidential.
The answer is an easy one. It would hurt him - significantly.
He would rightly be portrayed as a selfish quitter who left the office during tough financial times. It would be a political albatross that would sink any presidential aspirations he might have.
Why should the answer be any different for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin?
Palin, who was the GOP's surprise vice presidential candidate in 2008, announced last week that she would not seek re-election as governor next year. That wasn't a big surprise. But the stunning news came when she said she would be resigning later this month, less than three years into her tenure.
The reason? It wasn't exactly clear, and it's still not.
She didn't want to become a "lame duck" governor - though she put herself in that position by deciding against running for re-election.
She said she doesn't want to waste taxpayer dollars on defending the ethics complaints against her administration. But nearly all of those complaints already have been fought, and won. Is she anticipating more?
She said leaving office would give her a better chance to fight for issues of importance to Alaska. What better place could there be for that task than the governor's office? And following that logic, being president would not be a good place for her to fight for issues important to the American people, we suppose.
Outrageous.
Come to think of it, outrageous is a word that pretty much sums up Sarah Palin at the moment. She's a celebrity, not a politician. Few knew of her before Arizona Sen. John McCain selected her as his presidential running mate last summer. She spent the remainder of the campaign firing on her opponents and dodging questions of any substance from the media. The nation learned very little about her own political viewpoints, assuming she has them.
The spin since Palin's announcement last week has been entertaining. She's fighting by quitting. Alaskans are best off without the governor they elected. Good point guards know when to pass the ball. Only dead fish go with the flow.
Whatever.
Leaders do not quit. Public servants serve the people. Sarah Palin is neither. The American people are smart enough to figure that out. If most hadn't already, they have now.
If she's quitting as governor to give herself more time to focus on running for a higher office, she's put her own interests ahead of her constituents'. That wouldn't make her unique as a politician. It just makes her more obvious.
But certainly not presidential.
