Palin A "Shooting Star Crashing To Earth"?

(CBS)  If Sarah Palin thinks quitting the Alaskan statehouse is going to help a 2012 presidential campaign which some pundits speculate she's mulling, she's mistaken, according to longtime Republican strategist Ed Rollins.

Palin dropped a bombshell on the political world Friday when she announced she's resigning as Alaska's governor in three weeks. She has a year-and-a-half to go in her term.

On "The Early Show Saturday Edition," Rollins, who headed up former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's 2008 White House run, told co-anchor Erica Hill that Palin's Friday news conference "raised a lot more questions than she answered. Usually, at a press conference, you answer questions. I think the bottom line is you saw a shooting star come crashing to Earth.

"I think the premise that she doesn't want to be a lame duck governor - there's people like Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana, (Miss. Gov.) Haley Barbour, Gov. (Tim) Pawlenty, of Minnesota - they're all gonna run for president, and they're finishing their job. The job's very tough now, and for her to bail out at this point in time, I don't think it is fair to Alaskans and certainly, I think, damages her long-term career."

Stepping down hinders a potential 2012 bid, Rollins added, because, "Most political people fight to the end. It's now tough. She didn't finish the job."

Rollins pooh-poohed political pros warning that people shouldn't underestimate Palin's ability to come back from any position of relative obscurity into which she risks falling.

"You have to remember, everybody else climbed the mountain; she got put on top of it by John McCain," he said. "We would not be talking about Sarah Palin if John McCain hadn't picked her (as his running mater).

"So, at the end of the day, she's still gotta earn her stripes."

Rollins also dismissed the notion that Palin could be better off out of office if she starts seeking the White House next time around. "The new (Alaska) governor, the legislature will move right beyond her," Rollins asserted, "and I think, to a certain extent, she certainly will have a voice among conservatives, as a viable, political person who's gonna help the Republican party, (but) I don't think she can do it as effectively if you're not a governor."

What does Palin have to do now to repair any damage caused by her resignation?

"Every step from here on out has to be one that has a strategy to it," Rollins said. "This is tactical. She got up (Friday), went out, surprised the political world - which you shouldn't do - surprised the media world - which you shouldn't do - and at the end of the day, no one knows why. She's gotta go answer all the questions and not run away from them: 'Here's why I did it, it was for my family, it was for this, and for that reason.' But the idea, it's speculation, 'I'm gonna run for president, I can do it more effectively from outside,' is not true."

Rollins contended that, "She diminished the job of governor. I think, at the end of the day, I've been in the business four decades, I've never seen a governor ever walk away from the job at mid-term, and I think, at the end of the day, that's what's gonna affect her."

[ladypirate2]

by slownewsday_05 July 5, 2009 8:02 AM PDT
If the kids are off limits, then she shouldn't use them to manufacture publicity stunts.


The kids should be off limits no matter what she does!

[daffy64]

Palin didn't finish the job for which she was elected. She's shown she's a quitter.

If she becomes President, will she walk out half way through her term, saying it's too hard? Or that the media is being nasty?

She has blown any (incredibly remote) chance to go anywhere politically.

Sarah, you were way out of your league to run for VP. Now you've shown the everyone (including your supporters) that you're a quitter with no class.

With people like Rush, Anne Coulter and her as the "face" of the Republican party, I'm afraid it's finished.

[bombadil4]

Most of the electorate see her for what she was/is: a Hail Mary pass by Candidate McCain to rejuvenate a lousy campaign. It soon became obvious she was a mediocre (if even that) and ill-informed choice. But the gaping maw of our 24/7 "news" organizations see her as fodder for their grist mill and so we are stuck with her.

[jasonffea]

Palin, quitter, not-ready-for-prime-time, not ready for anytime, time to join Fox news with the other morons who spin the right wing spin cycle; wash, rinse, then dry. What a joke this woman has turned out to be. What has she read lately? Hunter's Day and How to Kill a Moose. That will certainly help her nationally as she is watching Russia from her porch.
Palin rhymes with ailing, like a bad hangover. Looks great, but we don't need a model leading our country, especially someone as dumb as a doornail.

[DeGraffL]

Most likely, she woke up one morning and had a moment of clarity
and realized she's not as smart as she thought she was, which makes
her smarter than most politicians out there. She made a choice, family
or politics. Rather than try to help the people who need it, help yourself, you know the philosophy of the republican party. Plus she can make a bank roll hitting the talk show circuit, every republicans purpose in life. Make more money, screw the rest right? Damn liberals, all they care about is how to make the world a better place for everyone. Not everyone deserves health care, you get sick with no insurance it's your fault right. Die already and stop using up all my gas.
Ridiculous isn't it...? You Betcha!!

[shockolit]

I read the Vanity Fair piece yesterday. A lot of it I already knew, but it was enlightening. NO one should be on here supporting her until they have read it. Don't blindly support her until you hear what those who really know her have to say. Person after person after person, telling the truth. Her most rabid fans will not have the courage to read this, but if you have any independence of thought left, read it.

[nuffera]

Please! Make her go away and send Michael Jackson and Governor "can't keep it in his pants" along with her!!!! Our world consists of "The National Inquirer" twenty four by seven and it's totally disgusting what represents news today!

[maxricketts]

Sarah Palin has outwitted the leftist dummies once again. A brilliant move that will free her from the capricious lawsuits and give her strong legal standing as a citizen against slander and libel from the Soros-inspired insipid statists. Most importantly, she can do what she declared she was going to do in her resignation speech [did Ed Rollins miss it?] - support conservative candidates and causes around the nation.

[Sloughfoot]

Palin was never a shooting star, hell, she didn't amount to a 'Flash in the pan".

[tarylina]

I was voting for McCain until he chose her as his running mate. I hope she goes away and stays away, because all she'll ever be is a Ross Perot or Ralph Nader - simply a distraction with loyal followers to the end. She will ruin what's left of the Republicans' image and make them a laughing-stock; she is the White Elephant of the Elephant Party.