The Real Story Behind Palin’s Bombshell

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin campaigned for Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss last year.

Anyone who is in any way surprised by Sarah Palin’s announcement today that she will not be seeking re-election, and, even more significantly, is stepping down as Governor of Alaska, has not been paying close attention. The signs have been everywhere.

Palin has absolutely zero interest in running the State of Alaska. She steadfastly refused to live in Juneau after her first year there, had the gall to charge the state for residing at her home in Wasilla 600 miles away, and she basically mailed in her performance as the state’s top administrator during Alaska’s most recent legislative session. She has alienated virtually all the key legislators in her own party — that’s right, Republicans — and had failed to move any key legislation forward since her return to Alaska from the national campaign trail last November.

In fact, her bizarre appointment for Attorney General, Wayne Anthony Ross, was rejected nearly unanimously by the state legislature — a first in Alaskan history. Even in respect to energy policy, her supposed bailiwick, she has been categorically ineffective. When I asked those in-the-know what role Palin had played in putting together the recent pipeline deal between TransCanada and Exxon, their response was simple: “None.”

None. That about sums up Palin’s accomplishments as Governor of the Last Frontier.