WASHINGTON (AP) — One of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's potential presidential rivals says her abrupt resignation won't allow her to dodge scrutiny over her family.
And George W. Bush's former chief political aide says Palin's strategy is unclear, at best.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Sunday that Palin's announcement that she is resigned while still in her first term doesn't make sense in a conventional political setting.
Bush's political adviser Karl Rove says Palin has engaged in a "risky strategy."
Huckabee, who ran for president in 2008, says he isn't sure if he'll run in 2012. He does say that Palin remains a viable candidate despite her decision to quit the governor's office.
Huckabee and Rove appeared on "Fox News Sunday."
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sarah Palin To Resign As Alaska Governor
At Hastily Convened Press Conference Says She Will Not Run for 2nd Term, Mum On Future Plans
(CBS) Last Updated 3:44 p.m. ET.
Sarah Palin has announced that she will resign as governor of Alaska and will not seek a second term.
CBS Affiliate KTVA reports that at a press conference this morning Palin said she will resign the governorship within a few weeks.
CBSNews.com producer Scott Conroy, who covered Palin's vice presidential campaign last year, confirmed through a source close to the governor said she is leaving office.
Earlier today, a holiday, Palin sent out an early morning press release indicating that she would be making an announcement from her home in Wasilla.
Joining Palin were her parents, family and state commissioners.
Palin said that power will be transferred to Lt. Governor Sean Parnell, who will be sworn in during the upcoming governor's picnic in Fairbanks.
She did not field questions, and would not give any indications about her future plans.
(CBS) Last Updated 3:44 p.m. ET.
Sarah Palin has announced that she will resign as governor of Alaska and will not seek a second term.
CBS Affiliate KTVA reports that at a press conference this morning Palin said she will resign the governorship within a few weeks.
CBSNews.com producer Scott Conroy, who covered Palin's vice presidential campaign last year, confirmed through a source close to the governor said she is leaving office.
Earlier today, a holiday, Palin sent out an early morning press release indicating that she would be making an announcement from her home in Wasilla.
Joining Palin were her parents, family and state commissioners.
Palin said that power will be transferred to Lt. Governor Sean Parnell, who will be sworn in during the upcoming governor's picnic in Fairbanks.
She did not field questions, and would not give any indications about her future plans.
Palin Announcement Forthcoming
Posted by David S Morgan
The office of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin issued a press release today saying she will make an announcement from her home in Wasilla today at 11:00 a.m. local time (3:00 p.m. ET).
There was no indication as to the topic of the announcement.
CBSNews.com producer Scott Conroy, who covered Palin's vice presidential campaign last year, said it is rare that Palin sends a press release out nationally.
The office of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin issued a press release today saying she will make an announcement from her home in Wasilla today at 11:00 a.m. local time (3:00 p.m. ET).
There was no indication as to the topic of the announcement.
CBSNews.com producer Scott Conroy, who covered Palin's vice presidential campaign last year, said it is rare that Palin sends a press release out nationally.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
GO DAVE!!!
Women's Advocacy Group Leader Blasts Letterman's Jokes About Palin, Calls for Apology
By Joshua Rhett Miller
The president of a national women's public policy group on Thursday blasted David Letterman's "offensive" jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter and called on the CBS late-night host to formally apologize.
"There's a saying that out of the heart, the mouth speaks, and Letterman's statement reveals a pretty ugly reflection of who Letterman may be," Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, told FOXNews.com.
"When he said those things, they were thought through. He probably kicked them around with his writers who thought it was appropriate to say these reprehensible things."
Letterman has been under fire since he made several jokes about the Alaska governor and her daughter on his show Tuesday night, following a visit they made to New York City. In one joke, he characterized the former vice presidential candidate's style as that of a "slutty flight attendant." And in another, he joked that Palin's daughter had been "knocked up" by Yankees star Alex Rodriguez during the seventh-inning stretch of a Yankees game.
Critics jumped on Letterman soon after the show aired, accusing the comedian of making crass jokes about child rape because the girl who accompanied Palin to New York was her 14-year-old daughter, Willow, and not 18-year-old Bristol, who is the unmarried mother of Palin's first grandchild.
Letterman, on his Wednesday night show, addressed the controversy but stopped short of apologizing.
“We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter, the 18-year-old girl, who is — her name is Bristol, that’s right, and so, then, now they’re upset with me," Letterman said on his Wednesday telecast.
“These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl. I mean, look at my record. It has never happened. I don’t think it’s funny. I would never think it was funny. I wouldn’t put it in a joke.”
He then invited Palin and her husband, Todd, to be his guests on his show, but Palin declined. "The Palins have no intention of providing a rating's boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show," a statement to FOXNews.com read.
RELATED: Sarah Palin Declines David Letterman's On-Air Invitation.
On Thursday, Wright, whose group advocates biblical values and family traditions, called on Letterman to issue a "real" apology, saying his comments were "worse than" merely poor taste.
"The apology was inadequate and it was only about one of the statements," Wright said. "Letterman's very poor view of women and minor girls is very disturbing, and he certainly needs to do more to change his own attitudes and then prove that his attitude has changed."
She called on Letterman to contact Palin personally rather than address the issue on air. "He needs to reach out to Sarah Palin," she said. "Apparently he feels threatened by the fact that she's a beautiful conservative woman. He would've never said anything like that if Sarah Palin was a liberal. He needs to treat Sarah Palin with the respect and dignity she deserves."
Deborah Donovan Rice, executive director of Stop It Now, an organization aiming to prevent the sexual abuse of children, also denounced Letterman's jokes and praised Palin's response as "spot on."
"This wasn't the usual fun, creative stuff I usually see on Letterman," Rice told FOXNews.com. "This really dropped below the bar."
Outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York Thursday afternoon, most of the studio audience lined up for the taping of Letterman's show said they were not aware of the controversy surrounding his comments.
But audience member Ann Frechette from Tampa Bay, Fla., said Tuesday night's jokes were “very harsh, very unlike David Letterman.”
She also said that “his apology was just another joke.”
Another, Cindy Baldwin from Ogden, Utah, said "I don't think [Letterman] should make comments about anyone's daughter, whether she's 18 or 14."
Emily Dore contributed to this report.
By Joshua Rhett Miller
The president of a national women's public policy group on Thursday blasted David Letterman's "offensive" jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter and called on the CBS late-night host to formally apologize.
"There's a saying that out of the heart, the mouth speaks, and Letterman's statement reveals a pretty ugly reflection of who Letterman may be," Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, told FOXNews.com.
"When he said those things, they were thought through. He probably kicked them around with his writers who thought it was appropriate to say these reprehensible things."
Letterman has been under fire since he made several jokes about the Alaska governor and her daughter on his show Tuesday night, following a visit they made to New York City. In one joke, he characterized the former vice presidential candidate's style as that of a "slutty flight attendant." And in another, he joked that Palin's daughter had been "knocked up" by Yankees star Alex Rodriguez during the seventh-inning stretch of a Yankees game.
Critics jumped on Letterman soon after the show aired, accusing the comedian of making crass jokes about child rape because the girl who accompanied Palin to New York was her 14-year-old daughter, Willow, and not 18-year-old Bristol, who is the unmarried mother of Palin's first grandchild.
Letterman, on his Wednesday night show, addressed the controversy but stopped short of apologizing.
“We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter, the 18-year-old girl, who is — her name is Bristol, that’s right, and so, then, now they’re upset with me," Letterman said on his Wednesday telecast.
“These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl. I mean, look at my record. It has never happened. I don’t think it’s funny. I would never think it was funny. I wouldn’t put it in a joke.”
He then invited Palin and her husband, Todd, to be his guests on his show, but Palin declined. "The Palins have no intention of providing a rating's boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show," a statement to FOXNews.com read.
RELATED: Sarah Palin Declines David Letterman's On-Air Invitation.
On Thursday, Wright, whose group advocates biblical values and family traditions, called on Letterman to issue a "real" apology, saying his comments were "worse than" merely poor taste.
"The apology was inadequate and it was only about one of the statements," Wright said. "Letterman's very poor view of women and minor girls is very disturbing, and he certainly needs to do more to change his own attitudes and then prove that his attitude has changed."
She called on Letterman to contact Palin personally rather than address the issue on air. "He needs to reach out to Sarah Palin," she said. "Apparently he feels threatened by the fact that she's a beautiful conservative woman. He would've never said anything like that if Sarah Palin was a liberal. He needs to treat Sarah Palin with the respect and dignity she deserves."
Deborah Donovan Rice, executive director of Stop It Now, an organization aiming to prevent the sexual abuse of children, also denounced Letterman's jokes and praised Palin's response as "spot on."
"This wasn't the usual fun, creative stuff I usually see on Letterman," Rice told FOXNews.com. "This really dropped below the bar."
Outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York Thursday afternoon, most of the studio audience lined up for the taping of Letterman's show said they were not aware of the controversy surrounding his comments.
But audience member Ann Frechette from Tampa Bay, Fla., said Tuesday night's jokes were “very harsh, very unlike David Letterman.”
She also said that “his apology was just another joke.”
Another, Cindy Baldwin from Ogden, Utah, said "I don't think [Letterman] should make comments about anyone's daughter, whether she's 18 or 14."
Emily Dore contributed to this report.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Why Sarah Palin still befuddles the media
Commentary: Alaska governor appears set for 2012 presidential bid
By Jon Friedman, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch)
-- A year after she became an overnight celebrity in America, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin still confounds journalists.
You would think that the national media, which spends lots of money to uncover political trends from every nook and truck stop between Portland, Maine, and Portland, Ore., would understand Palin's appeal by now. After all, she rose to prominence as John McCain's running mate last year and helped bolster the disaffected, conservative wing of the Republican Party.
You also might assume journalists could grudgingly appreciate Palin's appeal to conservative voters -- especially the potentially influential "soccer-mom" demographic.
Though Palin could well seek the presidency, she remains something of an American punch line. But even Tina Fey, the incisive comedian who brilliantly lampooned Palin on "Saturday Night Live" during the campaign, has moved on by now.
Palin is "a huge fundraising tool," noted veteran journalist Melinda Henneberger. "People love to read about her. She is very attractive -- and we don't have a surplus of that in American politics.
Palin was a major story in 2008 because she introduced so many unexpected elements to the political scene because of her gender, age, home state and uncanny ability to charm audiences with her charismatic flair.
She isn't going away, either. By all indications, Palin is now building toward a run at the White House in 2012. That's why the media should take her seriously.
Palin added to her high profile by agreeing to write a book about her life and experiences in politics for HarperCollins, it was reported widely on Wednesday.
"She's out raising money, she's traveling," said Henneberger, who covered Palin's recent appearance at a right-to-life rally in Evansville, Ind. "That speech was given at a time when she was closing up the legislative schedule back home and she was needed there. But she was willing to take that hit to be on the national stage."
Visceral appeal
Henneberger, the editor-in-chief of PoliticsDaily.com, a new site funded by Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit, attended Palin's recent headliner appearance at a pro-life rally in Evansville, Ind. She was impressed by Pain's visceral appeal to the audience.
"This was a soft launch for what she hopes is her presidential campaign," Henneberger noted. "It was SRO (standing room only), filled with 'Sarah Palin Republicans.'"
Henneberger has a keen understanding of the political scene. She spent 10 years at the New York Times as well as Newsweek and other media outlets.
"I don't think we should treat her as a buffoon, as entertaining as she is," Henneberger pointed out. "I was at the Republican convention and was very moved by seeing all those Republican women in tears, saying that they had found the 'Republican Hillary.' That's cool. I was happy for them."
Henneberger says: "It's great to see a younger woman in that high-profile role in her party. Republican women were saying, 'Are all the women in my party 100 years old? Where are the women who look like me?'"
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