There’s been some speculation on this blog and elsewhere that a potential reason for Palin stepping down was a federal probe into her time as Wasilla’s mayor because of misuse of building materials from a city project.
Well, the L.A. Times contacted the FBI, and there doesn’t seem to be anything to it…
A day after Alaska [...]

First, a portion of the video. I can’t find the entire thing yet, but when I do I’ll just swap it out.

Did you catch that? She’s resigning because she doesn’t want to be a lame duck Governor and waste taxpayer money.
Well, I do know one thing that’s lame….
In any event, here’s the text of the [...]

If Sarah Palin really does have presidential aspirations, today’s move was the worst she ever could have made.
I discuss why over at True/Slant.

In a surprise move, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has announced she is resigning, effective July 26th. She claims that because she is not running for re-election, she doesn’t want to be a lame duck and subject herself to politics as usual.
Odd excuse. Either some scandal is about to break or Palin has decided that stepping [...]

Found this on Political Wire and it’s typical of the nonsense we heard from her during the campaign…
Palin: We are the only state with a negative tax rate where we don’t have any income, sales or property tax statewide, and yes we have a share of our oil resource revenue that goes back to the [...]

In the wake of the Justice Department’s decision to drop charges against former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, Alaska’s Governor is joining those making a rather absurd call:
Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) called on Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska ) Thursday to step down from his seat and run in a special election in the wake of the [...]

Why?
Because it looks like she’d be embarrassed by the Republican incumbent.
From KTUU:

Pollster Dave Dittman just finished a statewide survey on a possible Palin-versus-Murkowski matchup – and Murkowski beats Palin, at least in this poll, hands down.
Murkowski garnered 57 percent to Palin’s 33 percent; 9 percent said they were not sure.
And given the senator’s popularity, Dittman [...]

A Hardball panel discusses her future and her recent appears at the Republican Governors Association convention…

As usual, Pat Buchanan loves Palin, but the other Republican on the panel isn’t too keen to give her the same praise.
And frankly, I think many in the GOP are embarrassed by her performance on the trail. Especially guys like [...]

At least according to a leading GOP pollster in Alaska…
“I don’t think Stevens can come back,” [GOP pollster David] Dittman said, noting that he thinks the remaining trove of uncounted ballots will help Begich “increase his lead.”
Even if Begich’s advantage grows, however, Dittman believes it’s highly unlikely that Stevens will concede the race until every [...]

Pure fluff, but hey…it is Palin and she’s auditioning for 2012 at this point.
So, here’s Greta Van Susteren’s interview in five parts.
Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

And scene.

Stevens had a 3,200 vote lead on election night, but that has completely evaporated.
Yesterday, Doug posted that Mark Begich led by only 3 votes.
Today that total is up to around 800.
Begich: 132,196
Stevens: 131,382
And the Dems inch closer and closer to a supermajority…

What was once a 3,200 vote margin has disappeared, and Sen. Ted Stevens (R., Federal Prison) now trails in his re-election bid:
The elections division still has over 10,000 ballots left to count today and thousands more through next week, but the latest numbers show Mark Begich leading Sen. Ted Stevens 125,019 to 125,016.
The new numbers, [...]

Well, the woman certainly doesn’t mince words, does she?
This from her interview tonight on Greta Van Sustern’s show…
“You know, I have — faith is a very big part of my life. And putting my life in my creator’s hands — this is what I always do.
I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open [...]

First she said he should.
Now she’s deferring to others, which is the same as backing away from her previous statements without explicitly saying as much.
This is a pretty big development, and one that signals Palin’s unwillingness to cede the Senate seat to a Democrat. Because Stevens challenger Mark Begich would obviously be the favorite [...]

Why?
Because early, absentee and provisional votes seem to favor challenger Mark Begich (pictured above).
Analysis from Nate Silver:
Although Ted Stevens currently holds a lead of approximately 3,200 votes in ballots counted to date in Alaska’s senate contest, there is good reason to believe that the ballots yet to be counted — the vast majority of [...]

Probably a little too late to help McCain/Palin, but this is good news for the Republicans:
A report has cleared Gov. Sarah Palin of ethics violations in the firing of her public safety commissioner. The report, released Monday, said: “There is no probable cause to believe that the governor, or any other state official, violated the [...]

“We’re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it’s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs.”
- Sarah Palin quoted in the latest New Yorker
Now, I don’t know about you, but “share in the wealth” certainly sounds exactly like “spreading the wealth.”
Do you [...]

Well, looks like he’s going to fight the conviction, but his claim of prosecutorial misconduct seems rather weak. I mean, Ted, the prosecutors didn’t remodel your home and put all that furniture in your house for free.
In any event, from Stevens website comes the following statement…
“I am obviously disappointed in the verdict but not surprised [...]

I found Palin’s response today to one of the biggest ethics scandal in her state to be pretty clear code for “Get lost old man.”
Here’s what she said…
“The verdict shines a light on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company that was allowed to control too much of our state. It was part [...]

Umm…ouch.
And the reason is clear…she just isn’t ready.
They go through a lot of reasons, but here’s the red meat of the piece…
Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made [...]