by Phil Arnold
One of the things that sickens me most is to hear (or read) conservatives say who say they like and respect Sarah Palin but could never vote for her because she is a quitter. They believe that makes her unelectable.
And yes, I can already imagine the way the Obama machine will try to use the label of QUITTER against her.
The most common response from Palin’s supporters has been to point out all of the other politicians who have quit one political office to take on a higher office. These supporters also point to many politicians who have effectively quit doing their jobs to run for higher office while still getting paid for the job they should be doing but are not. I need not mention any names, but I am sure everyone can think of at least one politician who can be accused of this. I have become convinced that responses such as these are totally inadequate to meet the charges that Palin is a quitter. I am also convinced that it would be even worse to ignore these charges.
I think that it is time for those of us who support Sarah Palin to embrace the idea that “she is a quitter” as a “Badge of Honor”.
Sarah Palin is the kind of a politician many of us would love to see as our President. Throughout her political career she has consistently demonstrated that she has the heart of a servant and that she is willing to make decisions based on what is best for the people she serves rather than what is best for her own career.
One of the first things I learned about Palin when McCain first introduced her as his pick for VP was that she had resigned as chairperson of Alaska’s Oil and Gas Commission in order to fight the political corruption she discovered there. I thought WOW here is a person who was willing to give up a six-figure income to stand up for what is right! That makes her a HERO in my eyes. Nothing I have learned about her since has made me think any less of her.
Her critics complain that she is a “quitter” because she resigned as governor. They say that proves that she can not handle the heat that would come her way if she were elected as president. They also claim that she resigned to further her own fame and fortune. While it is true that resigning as governor did work out well for her and her family, she could not have known at the time that it would.
Palin’s critics miss a very important point. The attacks on her after the 2008 campaign were costing the state of Alaska millions of dollars and had made it impossible for her administration to function for the good of the people of the state. Resigning was the only thing she could have done that could have stopped that huge waste of state money and allowed her administration to get back to work for the people of Alaska. I take it as a
mark of GREATNESS that she was willing to do what everyone considered political suicide and resign for the good of her state and the people she served. Her enemies set out to destroy her and in the process were doing great damage to the state. I would say that she did the most honorable thing and “took one for the team” and for the people of the State of Alaska.
Some say that makes her a quitter. In my eyes that makes her a HERO and and confirms my belief that she is the most rare kind of politician, one who is more concerned about doing what is right than about getting reelected.
Is Palin a quitter? Absolutely! She is exactly the kind of “quitter” who is willing to put her own future on the line to do what is best for the people she serves. That is why I desperately hope that I get the chance to vote for her in 2012 to become our next president.
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