On the one hand, as bmaz @ Emptywheel has noted, “Her term was up in 2010; [leaving Palin] plenty of time to honor her duties and still run for national office in 2012.”And Josh Marshall adds that “this clearly happened so quickly that Palin hasn’t even had a chance to come up with a coherent cover story for her resignation.” There’s even vague speculation about a possible indictment forthcoming.

I wouldn’t rule that out. In the Age of Sanford, who knows if we’re about to find she’s hiked an Appalachian Trail or two in her time (either morally, or in terms of more mundane political/financial corruption)?

But then again, it could easily be the other way around — perhaps Palin realized that as long as she’s stuck doing a job she couldn’t care less about, the only possible developments would be unwanted controversies (issue-related, scandals, or otherwise). In that sense, not having an official position is the best possible preventive measure.

And remember, we’re dealing with someone who’s infamous for narcissism and having a short attention span. I was struck by this bit of pre-resignation spin reported stenographed by CNN: “She thinks she has accomplished goals she has set forward.” In other words, she’s nationally famous now — even in a “famous for being famous” way, a post-millenium equivalent of Charo or Kato Kaelin — so why waste a moment more in a remote backwater state, and being expected to work on top of it?

And to those who count her out as a presidential contender in 2012, or even hint that she’s “out of politics for good,” all I can say is that six years after Richard Nixon made a similar statement that the press wouldn’t have him to kick around any more, he was elected President. And if there’s one thing we know about Sarah Palin, it’s that she’s a runner.

Who cares if even conservatives like Charles Krauthammer suggest that Palin ““is not a serious candidate for the presidency…. You cannot sustain a campaign of platitudes and clichés over a year and a half if you’re running for the presidency.” Just goes to show that Krauthammer is always wrong — George Bush got away with it for eight years even after he got the job!

(Cross-posted at Firedoglake.)

Finding Number One

For the reasons explained below, I find that Govemor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides

“The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.”

…

CONCLUSION
…
The evidence supports the conclusion that Governor Palin, at the least, engaged in “official action” by her inaction if not her active participation or assistance to her husband in attempting to get Trooper Wooten fired [and there is evidence of her active participation]. She knowingly, as that term is defined in the above cited statutes, permitted Todd Palin to use the Governorʼs office and the resources of the Governorʼs office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired. Her conduct violated AS 39.52.110(a) of the Ethics Act. That statute provides that:

“The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.”

Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired. She had the authority and power to require Mr. Palin to cease contacting subordinates, but she failed to act.

…
For all the above reasons, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power as Governor in that her conduct violated AS 39.52.110(a) of the Ethics Act.

Tip of the ‘Nose to regular and frequent commentor “Kilgore Trout”

P.S. – As if validating the Exiled article linked above, apparently Alaskans still love Sleezy – Palin’s popularity has given him a ‘bounce’ in his re-election bid. Can we strip them of statehood?