Alaska Governor Shows Statesman-Like Quality In Announcement

Written by Jordan M. Iwanyszyn

The announcement today that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin not only will not seek re-election in 2010, but that she will also resign effective July 26th, stunned the nation and sent shockwaves through the American political world Friday. My take on it is that the nation has witnessed the best evidence yet that Palin is a true modern statesman, or woman if you prefer.

While leftist opponents and critics are already positioning their firepower against her, which is nothing new, by stating that she "continues a pattern of bizarre behavior", I say that she decided to put others first, rather than herself.

In a time where most politicians try hard to hold on to political office as long as they can until they can take the next step for more power (think Senators Byrd and Kennedy and former Senator Stevens, who also hails from Alaska), Palin took the step of not only declining reelection, but also resigning. She has not yet brought forth the reason why, but I would speculate that the reason is because she wanted to get her family out of the mainstream media for the time being, where the leftists have made it their mission to destroy them. I also believe that she wanted to spare her state, and her family, the continuing costs of the pointless ethics accusations and investigations. I believe these are the top reasons, and should that be the case, that is why I say that this announcement today is the latest and greatest confirmation that Palin is truly a modern-day statesman. She is someone who has attained a position of great influence. Her decision to resign shows, I believe, a strong priority focus from the Alaska Governor. She is putting her family, her principles, and her state first. Why can't we have more of that from our leaders and office holders today?

It also would not surprise me that she made this move to prepare for a White House run in 2012. Race 4 2008 puts it well in this blogpost where it states that she would have had a hard time of it should she have stayed on as governor in 2010, while still making the rounds and supporting candidates in the races of the upcoming year.

If it is true that she is intending to seek the Presidency, her move to resign is also a very thoughtful one for the reason that her Lieutenant Governor, Sean Parnell, is now in position to govern Alaskans in a similar way that this Palin-Parnell team has been doing so since taking office in 2007. Parnell has already stated that he intends to run for a full term in 2010. Because she chose not to serve out her full term, Parnell will be able to get a jump start on the race next year, and become the early front-runner to keep the office. From a conservative's perspective, that is called looking out for your state.

On a sidenote, Parnell also confirmed my view that Palin's decision is a statesman-like one. "Rare, indeed, are such selfless acts seen in the public arena," said Parnell regarding Palin's decision in his statement after Palin's announcement today.

I will repeat myself. I believe this kind of selfless decision is what is needed more in our government today. I sure hope we can get more of this kind of character soon.

God bless you Governor Palin, and please keep up your fight for America's founding principles!