governmentality

Sarah Palin's Last Day

It was just too funny not to post.

Another Palin Poll

Last week, I blogged about the Gallup Poll that was done on Sarah Palin and how astonishing some of the results were.

The Gallup Poll may have been the one that got the most attention, but it wasn't the only one last week. Raleigh, NC-based Public Policy Polling conducted their own poll with some equally baffling results.

37% of Americans still think Palin is fit to be President?

From the report:

46% of voters nationally have a favorable opinion while 45% see her in negative light. In monthly PPP surveys conducted between April and June her popularity was at 42 or 43%. Most of her gain since the most recent survey has come among Republican voters, 79% of whom now say they have a positive opinion of her.

At the same time just 37% of Americans now say they believe Palin is fit to be President, while 55% say she is not. And while her move last week may not have hurt her overall favorability, it does seem to have negatively impacted voters’ inclination to some day put her in the White House. 57% of respondents said her resignation makes them less likely to support her in a future Presidential bid.

Read the full report, including the questionnaire here.

Don't Call Sarah Palin a Quitter

Interesting Gallup Poll Results on Sarah Palin

The results are in from a July 6 Gallup poll regarding Sarah Palin's surprise resignation and the potential for her to run for president in 2012. The poll, based on telephone interviews for 1,000 adults captured some interesting insights into the public's mind on Palin.

Strangely, the country is split on Palin:

19% of U.S. voters who say they are "very likely" to vote for her should she run, and an additional 24% who are somewhat likely to do so, giving her a decent reservoir of potential support to build upon. However, nearly as many voters (41%) currently say they would be not at all likely to vote for her.

And along part lines:

Predictably, most Democratic registered voters (70%) say they are not at all likely to vote for Palin. While most Republican registered voters (72%) say they are likely to vote for Palin, only about half of these (35% of all Republican voters) can be considered solid supporters who say they are very likely to support Palin at this time.

But even if she decides against a bid for the White House in 2012, a good chunk of Americans want to see her take on some sort of political leadership role:

When asked about her possibly having such a role, 39% of Americans say they would like to see her do this, including 67% of Republicans, 34% of independents, and 18% of Democrats.

In the end, 70% of Americans say that Palin's resignation hasn't changed their opinion of her. They've thought the exact same thing of her they always have.

Check out the full results here.

Sarah Palin Resigns as Alaska Governor

Sarah Palin will resign as Governor of Alaska effective July 25. Very curious circumstances.

More to come shortly, but in the meantime...

From AFP:

Palin told a surprise press conference at her lakefront Wasilla, Alaska home that she wanted to "take a stand and effect change, not just hit our head against the wall and watch valuable state time and money."

"I promised effectiveness. I am not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual. I promised that four years ago and I meant it," Palin said.

"That's not what is best for Alaska at this time."

Palin, a former sports journalist, said it was "time to pass the ball for victory."

"I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is unconventional and it is not so comfortable. With this announcement that I am not seeking re-election, I have determined it is best to transfer the authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell."

She said that she would rather "effect positive change outside government at this moment in time on another scale and actually make a differences for our priorities."

Get the full report here.

The Real Cost of Palin's Ethics Complaints

McClatchy reports today that the ethics complaints against Sarah Palin have cost the state personnel board $296,000. Essentially two-thirds of the expense are related to the Troopergate case.

Palin has repeatedly stated that Alaska is wasting money trying to resolve "frivolous" complaints against her and the top members of her administration. Yet, Palin advanced a number of ethics cases (read: racked up the expenditures herself) as a way to forestall legislative investigation into the complaints against her--especially on the Troopergate case.

According to the report, the personnel board refers to the expenses as:

"independent counsel expenditures." The board hires private lawyers to investigate the complaints. The expenditures were released after the personnel board expressed frustration at the costs of the complaints.

[...]

The newly released expense list doesn't specify the nature of each case listed. It only provides internal case numbers followed by the total expenses incurred for each one of the cases. The board won't say which case numbers correspond with which complaint, or provide a detailed breakdown of the expenses. Under state law, ethics complaints are secret unless the subject of the complaint waives privacy.

Read the full report here.

Newest in Alaska Corruption Sweep

Alaska corruption certainly didn't end with Ted Stevens. Yesterday, another plead guilty. And there are a number of less reported cases. Alaska's distance may have given its politicians they were not within reach.

From TPM:

The Justice Department just announced that Beverly Masek, a former member of the state House of Representatives, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bribery, in connection with cash payments she received from oil-services contractor Bil Allen, in exchange for using her position to take actions that benefited Allen's company.

Is it just a matter of time before they find something serious on Sarah Palin?