Completely Unfounded Political Speculations

You thought this would be a slow news day, being the beginning of a three-day weekend? Hah! Sarah Palin, proving once again that she's such a loose cannon that no one can even predict what kind of things she'll be a loose cannon about, has resigned from the governorship of Alaska, giving no reason besides wanting to avoid being a lame duck. That's weird and unexpected, and I always like the weird and unexpected in politics.

And here's my probably biased and only vaguely formed expectations of what Palin will do now:

• Run for President in 2012 -- that's the given.
• Speak several times a month to adoring crowds at about $50,000 a pop, to get some money to cover her legal expenses and just buy nice stuff.
• Hunker down and write her book, so it can come out early next year with the intention of influencing the mid-term elections.
• Possibly join a major think tank -- she's not a lawyer, is she? if she was, I'd expect her to become a name partner of some big firm that does a lot of lobbying -- or similar Republican-dominated institution, for a steady salary of probably more than she made as a governor without many demands on her time.
• Possibly start up a foundation or other organization dedicated to "making America strong again" or "fighting socialism" or something else red-meat sounding, which will serve to keep her in the news.

I really doubt she'll run for the Senate from Alaska in 2010; it sounds like she's friendly with the Republican incumbent, Lisa Murkowski. And moving to another state to run for the Senate from there wouldn't generally be a good political move, particularly for a politician as associated with her home state as Palin. (Not to say that she won't do that -- what's great about Palin is that she does crazy, self-destructive things like resigning sixteen months before the end of her term -- but that it wouldn't be a good idea for her long-term strategy.)

But what she won't do is hunker down at home quietly with her new baby; this move, if nothing else, is designed to let Palin get down to the Lower Forty-Eight much more often, if not permanently.

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Listening to: Marykate O'Neil - Nothing I Say Or Do
via FoxyTunes