Monday July 27, 2009

I'VE SEEN THE FUTURE, BROTHER, IT IS MURDER. As farewell addresses go, Sarah Palin's won't make people forget George Washington's. She praised her own truncated term of office, and the troops, whom she used to attack the media. She also attacked Hollywood, which enlists "delicate, tiny, very talented celebrity starlets" in their "anti-Second Amendment causes," against which "patriots will protect our individual guaranteed right to bear arms." She warned against "enslavement to big central government," because "it can't make you happy or healthy or wealthy or wise," which comes instead from "God's grace helping those who help themselves." She portrayed her resignation as another way of guarding Alaska "like that grizzly guards her cubs, as a mother naturally guards her own." She also encouraged supporters to "enjoy the ride."

This sent me back to the transcript of her resignation remarks. I don't think I've ever seen an official transcript with so many words rendered in ALL CAPS. ("I wish you'd hear MORE from the media of your state's progress and how we tackle Outside interests - daily - SPECIAL interests that would stymie our state.") She praised Alaska, her performance on energy management and "bi-partisan Ethics Reform," and claimed to have "slowed the rate of government growth" -- in fairness she has reduced the state's ranking from largest corporate taxer to fifth-highest. Also, "we broke ground on the new prison." She complained of her legal bills and the media.

I fully expect her to be a major force in the Republican Party, and that her jumble of resentments and uplift will strongly inform its national political approach.