Why she resigned

Remember the reasons given by Sarah Palin and her supporters last July for her decision to leave the only significant political office she had ever held in the middle of her first term? Among them was her statement, which I believe was true, that she was being harassed to death by ethics charges filed by her political enemies. However, she also gave such such weirdly convoluted and implausible explanations as this, from her resignation speech:

Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional Lame Duck status in this particular climate would just be another dose of politics as usual, something I campaigned against and will always oppose.

She also said that by leaving the governorship, she would be serving Alaska in a new and higher, though unspecified, capacity.

Then there was Palin flack J.R. Dunn at American Thinker who insisted that the reason Palin was resigning her office and leaving politics was that she had pressing family responsibilities—a concern that somehow didn’t occur to him when she was chosen as vice presidential nominee ten months earlier.

Then there was this July 7 headline at Lucianne.com:

Palin Blasts Critics, Urges Fight Against Big Gov’t
Patient Sarah is going to keep telling pundits why she did it until they get their hearing back.

And what was that obvious reason the hearing impaired pundits were all missing? I forget.

Left out of Palin’s and her supporters’ various explanations for her resignation was this. According to yesterday’s New York Daily News, in the nine months since she stepped down from the governorship, her income from book royalties, speaking fees, and salaries (i.e. from Fox News) has totaled $12 million. Her annual salary as governor of Alaska was $125,000.

Hmm, I guess J.R. Dunn was right after all: Palin had a “pressing family need” to pick up twelve million bucks.

However, in fairness, it must be said that in one important respect, Palin’s sincerity has been clearly established.

Hasn’t she has always denounced, with a good deal of passion, people who use political office for “self-seeking”?

Well, Palin has done her self-seeking by leaving political office.

Here’s he Daily News story:

Sarah Palin, Diva? Former Alaska governor’s demands discovered in California university dumpster
By David Saltonstall
April 14th 2010

Sarah Palin may cast herself as a simple “hockey mom,” but the ex-Alaska governor’s got more demands than an opera diva when she hits the road—at least according to a contract for an upcoming speech.

Palin’s contract, discovered by some Cal State Stanislaus students in a university dumpster, specifies the likes and dislikes of the former GOP vice presidential contender, down to the minutest detail.

Straws must be bendable, not straight. There shall be two bottles, not just one, of unopened water at her lectern. And please, “no Plexiglass or thin lecterns.”

Getting there is apparently half the fun for Palin—airfare shall be first-class for two, unless of course a private jet can be rounded up. But not just any old jet will do.

“The private aircraft MUST BE a Lear 60 or larger (as defined by interior cabin space) for West Coast Events; or, a Hawker 800 or Larger,” states the contract, which adds that “the Speaker Reserves the right to change the flight plans at any time.”

Ground transportation “will be by SUV”—natch—although “black town cars may be substituted.”

Oh, and don’t book the pre-approved “deluxe hotel” rooms under Palin’s name. For security purposes, all hotel accommodations are to be registered “under an alias.”

The details of Palin’s contract with the California State University, Stanislaus Foundation were contained in five pages of documents retrieved from a campus trash bin by students who heard administrators might be shredding documents related to the speech.

State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco—who had previously raised questions about the $75,000 fee that the cash-strapped university had reportedly agreed to pay Palin—released copies of the paperwork Tuesday.

“I never thought we would have to relive Watergate again. This is our little Watergate,” Yee said at a news conference Tuesday.

The foundation previously denied a request to release details of the contract made by The Associated Press under the California Public Records Act.

Their reasoning? The contract also includes a strict confidentiality clause.

“It is acknowledged that the specific terms and conditions of this agreement, including … the amount of compensation paid to the Speaker,” reads the contract, “are and shall remain proprietary and confidential.”

Palin also refused comment, and calls to her political action committee yesterday were not returned.

The contract kerfuffle emerged on the same day that ABC News estimated Palin’s pay—since quitting her job as governor last July—at $12 million in royalties, fees and salary.

That’s roughly 100 times the $125,000 per year she was pulling down as governor of Alaska, a job she quit last summer by saying she didn’t want to become “a lame duck.”

Since then, she’s become a goose with many golden eggs—including a bestselling book, two regular TV gigs, a string of high paying speaking engagements, and plans for another book.

[end of Daily News article]

- end of initial entry -

Laura Wood writes:

So in two speaking engagements, Palin makes significantly more than she did in an entire year as governor. Consider how she might explain to herself this spectacular turn of fortune, this leap from relative political inexperience and obscurity in a remote state to national prominence and great wealth. She may very well believe what others believe, that she has been chosen to save her country, and that our national destiny hinges on her magical connection with the people. Thus the money is needed to help her complete her mission.

What I can’t understand is why any institution would lay down $75,000, plus two water bottles, for 45 minutes of cornball rhetoric and easy swipes at Obama.

LA replies:

Oh, heck, have you seen the speaking fees for such utter mediocrities as Cokie Roberts? Celebrity is God. Wouldn’t your organization be willing to pay $60,000 to have a god come and address it?

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 15, 2010 09:51 AM | Send