Gosh, I'll miss Sarah...or will I?

Wow, Sarah...way to hijack a holiday!!! Anderson Cooper was muttering last night on AC360 that normally, he would be spending July 3 talking about being careful with fireworks and watching out for heavy traffic. Said Anderson, by the way, was as caustic and bitter last night as I have ever seen him. I usually like Anderson Cooper and feel he is about as evenhanded as anyone in the mainstream media, but not in his Palin coverage last night. He was snide and peevish...it was hard to watch. I suspect that he probably wouldn't even have normally been on the air and would have been home with his family, but was called in by the big guns to anchor the news. So sorry, Anderson; it must be tough to get paid heftily (New York Magazine reports his salary as $2 million per year, which I cannot substantiate or deny) and in return, occasionally have to respond to the summons to work a few extra hours to cover late-breaking stories.

OK, now that we have Anderson out of the way...

I don't believe Sarah Palin stepped down to start running for President. She may eventually do just that, but 2012 is too far off for that and if that were her key reason, she could have at least served out her term. In that respect, I don't think her decision to step down will look very wise in hindsight.

But I like Sarah Palin, and I genuinely believe that she simply felt this was the best move for her at this time in her life. Her family has been through a media wringer this last year like no other family in the country. I told my brother (a Palmer, Alaska resident) on the phone yesterday that every time a few weeks went by without any Palin news, inevitably some sort of media hit piece or snarky comment would emerge, bringing her back into the news again. Justifiable or not, this is how American "news" works these days, which is why most of us just gravitate to opinion journalism, since at least we have honest admission there about what we can expect from the commentators. Who wouldn't jump at a chance to move into a role where they could respond to all of these attacks in immediacy without having to worry about governing a state at the same time?

In all candor, I do think Sarah Palin is ambitious. I don't know how far that fact alone will take her, but I know she never dreamed she would attain the status she already has.

Palin is not my candidate for 2012. Mitt Romney possesses the cred we need to get this country away from the economic roller coaster. I believe Palin's values are right on target; social conservatism is her key strength, but we have to focus on keeping the country from sliding into complete ruin across the board and I don't think she is the best one for that role.

We haven't seen the last of Sarah Palin; I have no doubt that in fact, those of us in the lower 48 will see even more of her than we have for the last 6 months. She recently keynoted a Right to Life event in Evansville (in my state) to a sold out crowd; many more of those features await, as well as other opportunities. So I'm sure there are pecuniary advantages here, as well; let us be honest about that, especially since there is nothing wrong about it and it would be a factor for any of us who were in the position of facing the legal costs she is and a future where capitalizing on a built-in "fan base" was a genuine option.