It is irresponsible NOT to speculate…

What I want to know is can I, a real flutist, hold my head up in public again?

May-be Alaska is repoing their house and her and Todd are house hunting full time.
So when the going gets tough, quit.
Another republican weasel value.

Curiouser and curiouser.

I think what we are seeing is evidence that the Bush Justice Department had Palin dead-to-rights on this very investigation way back during the vetting process when issues related to the construction of their home first came to light, and the administration engaged in obstruction of justice to have this very matter shelved. Once Holder had time to get up to speed, it became obvious that this obstruction of justice had occurred. So what else triggered Holder’s decision to move on this matter now? A new revelation that is coming to light re: Todd Palin, to which the earlier matter is connected perhaps?

I assume Todd lied to the FBI during his vetting interview about the foregoing – and about his connections to the secessionist group in Alaska of which he was a member for 7 years. I further suspect that the FBI’s recent investigation into right wing radical groups in the US revealed a membership list including Todd’s name, possibly tied to the illegal movement of weapons for the purpose of forming a militia in Alaska – whose goals could be defined as treasonous, but at the least, fall under the umbrella of the USA Patriot Act where the definition of “Domestic Terrorist” comes into play.

I think it’s a combination of factors linking Todd to misdeeds that are Federal offenses, and you can bet your ass that there is also evidence that the GILF made efforts to protect him that also amounted to obstruction of justice – and, after all, she does have the benefit of living in the lakefront house that was in effect, built with stolen materials. There is a direct quid pro quo linking to Governor to Todd, as once she became Governor, she awarded a fat contract to the firm that provided the materials.

The bigger story is the obvious obstruction of justice by the Bush administration that led to the short circuiting of the FBI vetting process to the extent that the Office Of The Vice President would be subject to blackmail throughout the entire McCain/Palin Administration, had there been one.

Controlling government actions via blackmail…THAT is the story – and a very common one at that.

The explanations from the right,defy logic,

But what do we know.:)

Hey Jane and Pups. Fireworks on the 4th eh?

Hope you can enjoy your trip to Sweden, Jane, without too much Palinesque aroma seeping in. Trust me. She’ll still be here when you return home. Mebbe ET would be so kind as to put her on ice for you just to make sure. Some things rot faster than others.

Oh, and Demi, dear, I believe Sarah claimed cred as a “flautist”. And, yes, hold your head high with pride. You, my dear, are the real deal. Sarah not so much, apparently.

Spiro Agnew with lipstick.

In her speech, as I recall, she only referenced the unanimous assent of her children in support of her decision. Four yes’s and one, “Hell, yes,” or something along those lines. Assuming that wasn’t Trig, was it Todd? I thought it odd that she didn’t speak of her inamorata’s undying support for her, separate and apart from her children. And other than mentioning he’d flown in for the occsion, his name wasn’t mentioned again. Mean something? Mean nothing? Is there an Appalachian Trail of a different sort in Ah-LAS-kuh. BTW, I’d never heard her real voice before (no teevee), and honestly, at first, I thought I was watching Tina Fey. She is a caricature of herself, is our Sarah.

Who’s the “someone else” she would save by resigning, Jane?

And does anyone have McCane’s reaction to this yet? Interesting that that the Vanity Fair article just came out, no?

Actually, I thought she did an excellent Tina Fey.

The speculation in this house is that she has been promised a boat load of money ($1M+ per year?) to run around ‘merca for the next for years making an ass of herself to distract from the other asshats running for Pres. Anytime ‘The Newt’ or ‘The Mutt’ commits a gaffe, or beds a whore, the shameless hussy from Alaska will be trotted out to say or do something outrageous enough to take the “Big” players off the front page.

Of course the fact assumption that she is about to be indicted or has been forced from office for her financial indiscretions is valid.

Enjoy Sweden but be careful that you do not catch socialism.

Holder? He as in the broken tooth dental emergency of late? Oh my. hmmmmmmmmmm. This is getting too complicatative for my poor addled brain.

Them goopers are good at putting lipstick on a pig.

Also, be careful about catching a Swede. We are a wild and wily people.

Before she spoke of resigning, I thought she gave up politics for running. The juvenile photos of her in Runner magazine were embarrassing, but the comments are worse.

Of that, I have no doubt. Hi hon. How you doin’ today?

I mentioned that SBS was also the subcontractor on Ted Stevens’ house in the VECO investigation, and that there was speculation that this was an offshoot of the Stevens investigation.

Great catch.

IIRC, her tweet yesterday was that she was not running for re-election. Then about an hour later, she’s resigning.

That to me certainly supports your theory that the prosecutors are driving this. Her tweet may have been her offer to them. Then prosecutors called back and said it wasn’t enough.

The fact that she has three weeks left may be a window into what kind of leverage she still had left.

Wait. Wait! What’s the definition of “vet” as in vetting a candydate?

Hey! Doin’ okay. College grandson stopped by to say hello and ended up staying for eight hours. Way cool. Friends stopped by yesterday and G showed me how to turn on my teevee!!! Hooked up my wii. Brother G is here for the weekend. And, AND this afternoon, I’m going to my first ever Twins game. How patriotic and American is that??? Baseball, brats, beer. Don’t drink beer. Doesn’t matter! How’re you?

Nick Ayers, executive director of the Republican Governors Association, said Palin plans to expand her role in the national party. “Part of her decision is she wants to spend more time campaigning for candidates,” Ayers told Fox News.

Pay2PlayPo

If there’s one thing we should realize by now, it’s that whatever is going on with whichever wingnut politician you care to name is not only stranger than we imagine, it’s that it’s undoubtedly stranger than we CAN imagine.

With Palin, something serious could be looming. On the other hand, it could be that she’s just plain nuts.

Oh, guessing candidates are mighty pleased with that prospect! I call bull-pucky.

We’re doing great, just tired is all. Our sweet sonnys showed up yestidie and helped us get a whole bunch of stuff carted over to our new digs. The computerwhiz one will return next week and get us fully wired up agin. Meanwhile, laptop is holding down the fort and we’re twixt & tween, but happily so. Yestidie we did some banking bidness with the sons while we had hold of them (both at once is difficult to arrange). All 4 of us were so loopy from exhaustion, I was a bit surprised the bank didn’t just toss us to the curb. Dog Bless Oberlin! We just luvs those people. Kind of a kinky, cool little librul oasis in mid Ohioness otherwise as far as the eye can see. GOTTA luv it!

Nice to hear your news: grandson, friends, Twins game! DANDY! Enjoy. ;->

last i looked, those were not mutually exclusive possibilities. heh

make that 2 votes for bull-pucky.

Clearly, McCain and the GOP leadership knew that the FBI vetting process revealed fatal flaws in Todd’s past, which, if made public, would disqualify the VP candidate McCain had hastily selected and announced. McCain found himself caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, as admitting a hasty selection without prior vetting would have been the kiss of death for his campaign.

The McCain camp learned that she was, in affect, married to a crook, and that potentially, he was a “Domestic Terrorist” in the eyes of the new laws that the GOP pushed for. They are obviously concerned that McCain personally, their campaign, and by extension, the GOP political machinery, will be included in an indictment alleging a conspiracy to obstruct justice. THAT explains why they went to such lengths to release e-mails of private conversations wherein they were advising Palin that they would not fabricate a cover story for Todd. They were saying: “Look, we’ve got it covered (obstruction of justice), let it die and the press will let it go.”

I also thought it didn’t make sense she would leave office because of charges pending unless there was a deal

if charges were not going to be dropped she might leave with

“I am about to be charged for crimes not committed but in order to defend against them I must leave office”

she wouldn’t leave under the guise she used if charges were around the corner

however she has shown that yes, she might not even see it through

but there’s a problem suggesting there’s a deal if she resigns;

nobody knew she was doing it, this simply happened, I kind of doubt a prosecutor would say;

“esign withing the next ten minutes or you are going to jail”

therefore I will be surprised of a deal to avoid prosecution caused this.

I am thinking more along the lines of an informer with the prosecutors office called to give her the heads up, telling her it actually could be today or this weekend but some time soon

in that case she would act without thinking it through and call that news conferance

for me there’s plenty of speculation but nothing really adds up yet

I think we should start a pool predicting which Republican 2012 prospect will blow up next week.
There is clearly a trend.

If these recent GOP Celebrity Implosions are the work of GHW clearing a path for a Jeb Presidential run in 2012 (which is highly likely), you can bet that Mitt is looking over his shoulder this weekend.

When America’s second-most superior man has but a few years left and a family legacy (dynasty) to rehabilitate, with all of the tools and dirty tricks of the shadow government at his disposal (total information awareness), the compunction to use them is too overwhelming to avoid.

I don’t think we can discount the possibility that there really is not rational reason at all for her abrupt resignation. It could be a simple case of bat shit crazy.

I’m guessing Sarah’s known this thing was in the works for at least a month, and the powers that be advised they would allow her to hold a presser on the Friday prior to the 4th to minimize the coverage.

She was probably living in denial and made no preparations, but had obviously just received word hours earlier that she needed to make this announcement immediately, or else. I suspect she just hoped it would all go away, but then was greeted by the FBI who told her exactly what the deal was. Did she not look and sound like someone who’d just met with the FBI, and been presented with an ultimatum to announce her resignation as previously agreed, or see her husband hauled away in hand cuffs?

That’s being awfuly charitable.

When the Palins first arrived on the scene Jon Stuart pegged them as grifters. He’s absolutely right. I expect the indictments will be handed down shortly. As to the rest of it, in the immortal words of Herman Melville: “We shall perhaps hear more of this masquerade.”

great point, palin is not a rational person and acts all mavericky when confronted with adversity

Heh
An alternate conspiracy theory would be Rahm.
The more likely explanation to my thinking is, with a lack of power to cover for them, these clowns are easily visible.
Enough Americans have chosen against fear in the past few years, and the specious arguments propped up by fear are falling.
Same sex marriage will not destroy my ‘opposite marriage’ (a wonderful coinage if ever there was one)
You don’t support the troops by ordering them into combat based on hype.
Non-Christians as a whole do not want to kill me for my faith.
And the greatest threats to national personal security are (as always) internal.

Calling John Stewart:

Can you imagine the field day a good video/audio editor would have inter-cutting the Sanford comments and the Palin comments back and forth – in a rap format?

Using the squawk of those loons (the feathered ones) intermittently as a hook throughout would be perfect.

“Pin the Rap on the GOP!”

Wholly concur.

So, plunger…DO you think Holder is “up to speed” on this now?
What you speculate is chilling, if the chips had fallen a different way. Another bunch of thugs in the WH…worse ones anyways.
I suspected from the minute I saw that Palin had resigned, some connection to the Stevens investigation that Holder derailed. Do you think Holder is now “up to speed” enough that he realized he made a mistake on that one? You sure followed this one closely.

It may be that the Prosecutors in Alaska decided to go after Holder with a vengeance for his derailing of their case against Stevens, and forced Holder’s hand on this obstruction of justice as a direct result.

Alaska would be further ahead if they just passed a law that any newly elected Governor gets a new house as part of their reward.

Agree, she may have known for a while. And people other than Sarah may have known for a while so that the timing of the VF article got out ahead of her, making it look more like 1) they were putting a firewall between the McCain team and her, and 2) like she was upset about the negativity, as she was about the protesters in the article.

But the VF article also hints very broadly at the fact that the McCain team had been blindsided by Palin, with completely unexpected crap emerging out of the blue. The AIP thing was an example, and it was probably the kind of thing the McCain team asked Palin to disclose before they made their decision.

McCain’s team was under the gun from the fundies, though, and had their hand forced; Palin, being not ready for prime time and confusing holding a public office in the state of Alaska with the office of the Vice President, assumed a mess of stuff wouldn’t need to be disclosed and didn’t.

Also…

Palin was likely told to step down for the sake of her family, her party, and what’s left of her reputation. She was likely told to do it on a NewsDump Friday, one of the biggest being the one before a summer holiday weekend.

And no, it had little to do with a sacrifice, because we all know it’s always about Sarah. The Alaskan sun rotates around her, you betcha. If it’s SBS which brought this on, the situation may include her spouse — but her name is likely on the deed and being an elected official, having been a candidate during the SBS timeline, she’s got her own stake in this mess.

Come on now, tell the truth: we’ve all of us known in our guts that she was going to implode at some time. Not Todd, not the kids — just Sarah.

Kaboom.

Sarah is all about Sarah, period. Her publisher probably dangled a multi-million dollar deal to tour the country, a lot more appealing than actually working as governor. Then again, that house-building business always looked fishy.

Again, exactly what the fuck FBI vetting process are you talking about? This is complete bullshit.

The whole thing is strange.

The idea that she would do this so she could free herself up to write her book or go stumping for candidates is ridiculous. The timing to stump for candidates is wrong – even if she’s planning to go campaign for some Outside senators or reps, she’d be better off going out after Labor Day.

Plus, by resigning in mid-term, she’s just diminished the value of her brand. What candidate for office is going to want a quitter onstage with them?

I think it even diminishes the value of her book. What kind of story arc does she have now? People would buy a book about the upcoming young political star with a bright future, but who’s going to buy a book about a quitter who couldn’t take the rough and tumble of politics? Yeah, maybe some of her true base, but certainly not a mass market.

The other idea is she’s quitting to shield her family from the nasty media. Mmmmkay, except in her own statement she says she’s going to continue to “work”, which means she’s going to stay in the public eye. As a matter of fact, this surprise resignation only whets the media’s appetite for personal scandals – and then she even gives them a hint that it’s about her kids, with that “hell yeah” anecdote. So shielding the kids? Not much.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a financial or ethical scandal afoot, but I also think she is seriously deranged, or having some kind of nervous breakdown.

Palin’s the Susan Boyle of politics. An unlikely star, lost the election, and here’s her breakdown.

Too bad she’s not the Britney of politics – it’s be way more fun if she’d shave her head and start beating on journalists with umbrellas.

I got heartily sick of Jackie O’s constant “news”
I got fed up early with Pat Nixon.
I got real sick of Madonna.
I got over Princess Di half way through her marriage ceremony.
I have never gotten so heartily sick of a “celebrity” as Palin.

She is the first woman that I could look straight in face and say, “Eat shit and die.”

One big difference. Susan Boyle has talent and brings enjoyment to people. Sarah Palin has… um… what to give? Anybody?

Surely, Shirley, the bozos that took a dive on Stevens’ case wouldn’t be allowed within a moose call’s distance of a prosecution of Sarah Palin. That is, unless they were supposed to take a dive for their bookie one more time.

Great analysis, Rayne.

Agreed. Any vetting of Palin took place after her nomination, and with a shovel instead of a notepad or govt. computer. But this GOP is nothing if not astute in its abuse of inconvenient facts to get its way.

This kind of political self-immolation is as voluntary as Superman self-administering a kryptonite enema. Certainly for someone as narcissistic, as supremely careless of the effects of her acts on others as Ms. Palin. Unless she had no practical alternative, she would have remained in command of her frigate of state, regardless of how often or how Capt. Queeg-like she navigated its course.

So where’s the beef and, as Jane says, how could anything so persuasive have been hidden for so long?

At this point, I’ve got to concur with bmaz on this conspiracy theory about AIP/FBI/Toad Palin/W administration/Holder. It’s an interesting read but is it based on anything more than a few crumbs of facts and lots of speculation? I hope this isn’t taken as a flame or a personal shot — especially since this is my first substantive post — but I’m either missing something or you, meaning Plunger, have access to a lot more information than I’ve come across.

rOB

McCain’s team blindsided itself. Its vetting of policy and process was grossly negligent. McCain himself, like Bush, made decisions off the cuff, so that he needn’t think too long or hard about them.

True, Palin-McCain were oil and water from the get go. But if this is the McCain team’s use of “vetting” data as part of a GOP plot to get her out of office, it’s not to promote her. As you say, it’s damage control, to get ahead of the scandal curve.

So what scandal would be more damaging than adultery, whether in love with self, a foreign siren or prostitutes with plenty of Pampers. What’s more derisory than a family values, anti-gay rights Senator playing footsie in an airport men’s room? Only Democratic governors are self-aware and mindful enough of the effects of their actions on others to resign from office.

Alternatively, where’s the upside for Sarah? A run at a Senate slot or “leadersheep” of the RNC? Or a million-a-year gig at Fox Noise (which could be the carrot that accompanies with the stick that got her out of office). I just don’t see it.

Two things:

1) Anyone notice that neither Bristol not Willow were there?
2) Did anyone else read the Sarahpac page yesterday? They were convinced she was going to declare she would not seek reelection to run for Pres. Melt down city after she resigned, LOL!!!

I’m Running for President in 2012 — Get Me Out of Here!

For my money, Palin is the gift that keeps on giving if only to watch the Villagers twist and turn like Cirque du Soleil contortionists as they labor mightily to read Sarah’s tea leaves and what this development portends for the planet’s future. That would be the planet they live on inside D.C.

Hilzoy captured the Barracuda brilliantly

My unfounded speculation: I do not believe for a moment that this is about taking time off to prepare for 2012. Nothing I know about Sarah Palin leads me to believe that she would give up power voluntarily, let alone for something that is such a long shot, and in such a transparently self-destructive way.

I think that there’s something we don’t know about: either a serious health problem or a serious scandal. In either case, it would, I think, have to be a really big deal to make her react in this way. She has shown herself to be more than capable of brushing off smaller scandals, national embarrassment, and a whole host of other things. She did not step down from the governorship when she gave birth to a child with special needs, or when she was asked to be McCain’s running-mate. She did not decline McCain’s offer because of the potential embarrassment, either to her or her family, of her daughter being unmarried and pregnant. She is no shrinking violet.

Watching the presser yesterday, I could only conclude that Sarah Palin was right all along. The only difference between a rabid pitbull and this soccer mom is lipstick.

i agree she would have stayed in office if she was going to fight a legal battle. so imo, she was either forced out in a prosecutorial blackmail or she has a big personal scandal that is about to erupt that will completely knock her from public view and into hiding. she could be blackmailed by this scandal as well by someone in her family or close to her.

either way she is clearly BUSTED in some way because nothing in her personality would indicate she would willingly leave office and all the power that goes with it. blackmail or complete personal ruin, take your pick. i think she’s unhinged and her whole world is falling down around her and given her extreme narcissism it would take something bigger than a shady real estate deal in wasilla to make that happen…

John said that the prosecutors in the Stevens case were no doubt still pissed that their Stevens conviction was overturned on procedural grounds

As I recall, it was overturned on fuck up grounds. [They failed to turn over some evidence to the defense.]

Who are these prosecutors, and can we trust them to get it right this time?

How old do we have to be to remember THAT???

Good one.

I’m thinking she saw all of Michelle Bachman’s latest entries in the Bat-Shit Crazy contest and figured she’d have to really pull some doozies to inch into the lead.

Exactly. Bachmann is misleading the charge to boycott 2010’s census which could eliminate her district in Minnesota. If Palin isn’t careful, she could end up in the VP spot again.

Go Bachmann/Palin in 2012!

Palin Disclosures Raise Questions on Vetting

New York Times – Published: September 1, 2008

Mr. McCain’s advisers said repeatedly on Monday that Ms. Palin was “thoroughly vetted,” a process that would have included a review of all financial and legal records as well as a criminal background check. A McCain aide said the campaign was well aware of the ethics investigation and had looked into it.

“It was obviously something that anybody Googling Sarah Palin knew was in the news and there was a very thorough vetting done on that and also on the daughter,” the aide said.

People familiar with the process said Ms. Palin had responded to a standard form with more than 70 questions. Although The Washington Post quoted advisers to Mr. McCain on Sunday as saying Ms. Palin had been subjected to an F.B.I. background check, an F.B.I. official said Monday the bureau did not vet potential candidates and had not known of her selection until it was made public.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09……html?_r=1

RICK DAVIS LIED ABOUT THE FBI’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE VETTING PROCESS

Palin Made an Impression From the Start

Fellow Maverick Survived McCain’s Thorough Vetting Process, Aides Say

By Dan Balz and Robert Barnes
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, August 31, 2008

Rick Davis, McCain’s campaign manager and the person at the point of the vice presidential process, said there was no abrupt change of course in the final hours. Nor, he said, was Palin selected without having gone through the full vetting process that was done for other finalists. That process included reviews of financial and other personal data, an FBI background check and considerable discussion among the handful of McCain advisers involved in the deliberations.

“Nobody was vetted less or more than anyone in the final stages, and John had access to all that information and made the decision,” Davis said. “It’s really not much more complicated than that.”

THE WASHINGTON POST ADVANCED THE STORY THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY – INCLUDING THE LIE:

No Surprises From Palin, McCain Team Says

Daughter’s Pregnancy and Trooper Controversy Were Revealed Before Pick, According to Campaign Aide

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..00710.html

Until last week, Palin was relatively unknown outside Alaska, and as facts have dribbled out about her, the McCain campaign has insisted that its examination of her background was thorough and that nothing that has come out about her was a surprise. ”John had access to all that information and made the decision,” campaign manager Rick Davis said last week in describing the vetting process.

The process included what aides described as a full search of public documents and videos of her speeches. That included a review of Alaska newspapers, but not Palin’s local newspaper because aides worried that going through back issues would indicate that she was under consideration to be McCain’s running mate.

Among the things that turned up during the vetting process: her husband’s arrest for driving under the influence more than two decades ago; the ticket that she once received for fishing without a license; her daughter’s pregnancy; and a report that she had supported Pat Buchanan for president in 1996, which she denied at the time.
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Her name, along with others, was submitted to the FBI under a routine inquiry into whether she was the subject of a criminal investigation.

But then the truth was subsequently revealed…

Palin And The FBI Background Check — Updated

http://marcambinder.theatlanti…..ound_c.php

01 Sep 2008 01:52 pm
The Federal Bureau of Investigation did not participate in the vetting of Gov. Sarah Palin and did not conduct a background check as part of the process, an FBI spokesman said today.

The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing an interview with campaign manager Rick Davis, that the vetting process “included reviews of financial and other personal data, an FBI background check and considerable discussion among the handful of McCain advisers nvolved in the deliberations.

“In general, we do not do vetting for political campaigns except as it might regard investigations needed for security clearances,” said John Miller, the chief FBI spokesperson.

The FBI did not participate in a vet, nor did it run a background check of Gov. Palin as part of the process.

Palin might already have a clearance that relates to her duties as governor. But the FBI can’t speak to that, and in any event, those investigations wouldn’t be accessible to the McCain campaign anyway.

Here’s an Oxdown covering it:

McCain Adviser, Rick Davis, told the Washington Post at the end of August, 2008, that Palin had been fully vetted, including, he claimed, a background check by the FBI. Days later it was revealed, not by Davis or McCain, but by the FBI, that Davis had in fact, lied.

http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/6123

But if there is indeed a legal imbroglio going on, she’d have many more rights in office than she would on the outside, just ask Rod Blagojavich.

Would this still be true if the crime stemmed from a corrupt municipal contract while she was mayor? If there was a direct rake-off of material and possibly labor from a contract for a hockey rink/community center signed by the mayor that went directly into building the mayor’s new house you have a lot tighter quid pro quo and theft of public goods than you had in the Stevens case where the linkages were longer standing and more indirect.

You guys have the lawyers on staff and I am just a commenter out here but I don’t see how being Governor gives her any protection when defending acts committed as mayor. If anything stepping down might serve to keep the Feds from moving too aggressively in the direction of potential acts committed as Governor.

Zina, as always, nails it:

Zina Saunders’ latest political illustration: Palin Roulette

full size here:

The Palin legal fund just had a horrible fundraiser – got like 20% of the $500K they were shooting for. If she’s looking at an indictment, maybe this is simply a move to get as much cash on hand to fund her defense. If the fund raising is *already* slow, imagine how it would be if she were indicted for something like having Wasilla fund the construction of her house. I sure wouldn’t take the gamble on getting enough donations were I looking at jail time, I’d free myself up to make every cent possible.

I just found this clip where Hannity and Palin talk about how great socialism is, but they are too ignorant to know what they are actually saying.

From the date stamp, this was only a couple of weeks ago. Gosh they are morons.

This is hilarious.

http://progressnotcongress.org/?p=2025