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June 4, 2012

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Letter to the editor:

Lame duck excuse is just simply lame

Monday, July 6, 2009 | 2:04 a.m.

By quitting the job the citizens of Alaska elected her to do, soon-to-be former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is blatantly violating the will of the people.

But it’s her reasoning — that embracing lame duck status “would just be another dose of politics as usual” — that sets an important precedent for future politicians. I guess when Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were elected to second terms — thus becoming lame ducks — they should have immediately resigned. As should all governors and state and city officials facing term limits.

I’m sure her real reasons will emerge. Perhaps she thinks that by resigning mid-term, she’ll escape responsibility for Alaska’s mounting economic woes and the myriad ethics complaints against her. By all accounts, Palin has managed her state about as well as she’s managed her family.

Personally, I’d prefer not mentioning her family issues, but as long as Palin has turned her entire brood into props at press events — with travel frequently paid for by Alaska taxpayers — who am I to ignore them?

She has apparently also caught the bug of national celebrity — and ambition — to a degree that has rendered her incapable of shouldering the responsibility for which she campaigned just three years ago. Her constant complaints about the media are also absurd. I don’t remember Barack Obama throwing in the towel when Fox News Channel reported his touching fists with his wife, Michelle, as a “terrorist fist jab.”

I hope for Palin’s sake that quitting when the going gets rough plays well in the patriotic parts of the country that she so enjoys visiting. To me, it doesn’t sound very American, and she has set a new standard of public disservice.

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