Sarah Palin Continues to Mesmerize, Confuse

NOW that she has resigned as Governor of Alaska, the only person who knows what Sarah Palin is going to do is... Sarah Palin. There is, however, plenty that we can discern about her personality and political future from the press conference she held on Friday, July 3, which, in case you missed it, was one of the most awkward things I've ever seen on national television (click here for video). The quick pace, exasperated tone, and contradicting ideas that characterized her speech sent commentators and viewers alike into spasms of speculation. Several days have passed since her speech, and everyone who isn't Sarah Palin is still confused, but there has been time for more careful analysis and, as Mark Ambinder from The Atlantic puts it, "we ought to begin by taking her at her word."

We know from her time with the McCain campaign that Palin doesn't work well with others. As a politician, you have to roll with the punches, no matter what form they come in, and Palin has had trouble with that from the start. The comments about her son Trig or her daughter Bristol were, for the most part, mean-spirited and completely unethical. I can count on one hand the number of comments about her family that made a reasonable connection to how she would handle being the Vice President. But unethical attacks didn't stop Barack Obama from becoming president, and some of these attacks had long-lasting consequences; 11% of the country still thinks he's a Muslim. He overcame unfounded accusations of being a non-citizen and terrorist to win the White House. Having no experience on the national stage, Palin was probably suffering from sever culture shock and therefore couldn't handle such attacks as discreetly as Obama, but when you decide to run for national office, you'd better be ready to chew what you bite off.

What remains to be seen is how Palin will reconcile her resignation speech with her future endeavors. Her refusal to be a lame duck as she finishes her term seems reasonable at first. It may even be the only thing in the speech that made much sense, though not for the reasons she outlined in her speech. The Alaskan state legislature (read: Democrats and Republicans) has become increasingly combative with the Palin administration, epitomized by the "protracted battle with Senate Democrats" over the appointment of Bill Egan to fill the post vacated by the disgraced Ted Stevens. Palin's speech indicates that she bowed out to avoid being tempted to "milk" her position and travel abroad, but I have a feeling that her inability to move on her own legislative agenda had more to do with her decision than the temptation of luxury. If this truly is a reason for stepping down, how can she be expected to handle the same temptation at the national level?

The speech continued to run itself in ideological U-turns. Palin said, "I am not wired to operate under the same old 'politics as usual.' I promised that four years ago – and I meant it." Unfortunately for her, the status quo of finishing your term unless there's a health issue or indictment still holds sway with most Americans. If she expected to survive on the national stage, most likely in a bid for the presidency in 2012, she must not realize that she's given opponents the last nail for her coffin. All the Democrats have to do is run ads reminding Americans that she abandoned her post during the worst recession in 80 years while claiming she wanted what was best for Alaska.

After some more rhetoric, and a quick but pointed reference to the "superficial wasteful political bloodsport" that has afflicted her in recent months, Palin writes "I have given my reasons… no more 'politics as usual' and I am taking my fight for what’s right – for Alaska – in a new direction," thus bringing an unexciting end to a confusing presentation of loosely connected ideas; a trademark of Palin politics. The FBI has said she is not under investigation, but questions still abound regarding state-level inquiries into alleged abuses of power by the Palins. In conjunction with a complete lack of detail with regards to her future plans, it's no wonder the press and public have been drumming up a new theory every hour.

On the other hand, that's exactly how Palin thrives: she plays the martyr. By allowing the media and DC insiders to speculate so wildly about how she's going to proceed, Palin creates the appearance that she does know what she's doing, and that "Washington and the media will never understand; it's about country." She's managed to get this far without having a plausible game plan, but all that will change once she heads out to the lower 48 on her own. Whatever happens next will be big, and it will probably be ugly.

Follow up: Anne Applebaum at the Washington Post picked up where I left off regarding Sarah Palin today. She pointed out some other ironies and fallacies in Palin's speech, most notably her love of interacting with ordinary people "who now constitute the opinion-making classes", while simultaneously berrating those who would have negative opinions about her.