From the ArcaMax Publishing, News & Features Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/newsheadlines/s-575386-153594
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (UPI) -- Republicans inside and outside Alaska
suggested Friday that Gov. Sarah Palin's resignation is a poor move if
she wants to run for president.
Whit Ayers, a Republican pollster, said the decision confirms her
image as a "lightweight," the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported.
"If you're a serous politician and you're seriously interested in
higher office, the best thing you can do is as good a job as possible
in the current office," Ayers said.
Palin announced her plans to resign at a news conference thrown
together at her home in Wasilla, outside Anchorage. She gave an
18-minute speech justifying her decision with political and personal
reasons and did not take questions, suggesting a lame-duck governor
could not serve the people of Alaska.
State Rep. Mike Hawker, an Anchorage Republican who has been a Palin
foe, was not impressed.
"That isn't a reason. Seated governors just don't resign in the last
year of their term no matter how successful or for that matter
unsuccessful they've been," he said. "Right now there are a lot more
questions than answers. And until the governor chooses to reveal more
of her motive here, it's just one of those questions we will never
know the answer to."
Republican National Chairman Michael Steele called Palin "an important
and galvanizing voice" in the party. He said she could help candidates
this fall in New Jersey and Virginia, The Washington Post reported.
John Weaver, a longtime friend of Sen. John McCain -- who chose Palin
as his running mate on the GOP presidential ticket in 2008 -- told the
Post there has been a lot of "nutty behavior" from Republicans
recently but Palin has topped them.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, widely regarded as a contender
for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, issued a statement Friday
saying he wished Palin and her family well "and I know that she will
continue to be a strong voice in the Republican Party," Politico
reported.