Sarah Palin stepped down Sunday as Alaska governor to write a book and build a right-of-center coalition, but she left her long-term political plans unclear and refused to address speculation she would seek a 2012 presidential bid.
In a fiery campaign-style speech, Palin said she was stepping down to take her political battles to a larger if unspecified stage and avoid an unproductive, lame duck status.
“With this decision, now, I will be able to fight even harder for you, for what is right, and for truth. And I have never felt that you need a title to do that,” Palin said to raucous applause from about 5,000 people gathered at Pioneer Park in downtown Fairbanks.
Her first order of business as a private citizen is to speak Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. She also wants to campaign for political candidates from coast to coast, and continue to speak her mind on the social networking site Twitter, one of her favorite venues to reach out to supporters.
Free speech was a theme of her farewell speech at a crowded picnic in Fairbanks, as the outgoing governor scolded “some seemingly hell bent on tearing down our nation” and warned Americans to “be wary of accepting government largess. It doesn’t come free.”
She also took aim at the media, saying her replacement, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, “has a very nice family too, so leave his kids alone!”
And she told the media: “How about, in honor of the American soldier, you quit makin’ things up?”
She didn’t elaborate, but Palin said when she announced her resignation July 3 that she was tired of the media focus on her family and felt she had been unfairly treated by reporters and bloggers.
Friend and foe alike have speculated that Palin may host a radio or TV show, launch a lucrative speaking career or seek higher office in Washington.
Palin hasn’t ruled out any of those options, and her political action committee, SarahPAC, has raised more than $1 million, said Meghan Stapleton, a spokeswoman for the committee and the Palin family.
Stapleton said Palin is still deciding what her future will be.
“I cannot express enough there is no plan after July 26. There is absolutely no plan,” she told The Associated Press.
Palin’s surprise announcement she was stepping down 17 months before the end of her first term pushed her favorability rating down to 40 percent, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll. Fifty-three percent of those polled gave her an unfavorable rating.
Last summer, almost six in 10 Americans viewed her favorably. The latest poll was taken July 15-18.
Nearly 20 ethics complaints had been filed against Palin, and the outgoing governor cited the resulting investigation’s financial toll – both on her and the state – for stepping down. An independent investigator looking into the complaints found evidence she may have violated ethics laws by trading on her position as she sought money for lawyer fees, according to a report obtained recently by The Associated Press.
Big-name film directors Steven Spielberg and James Cameron seem to think that 3D is the future of the film industry. Sky predicts that it’ll be broadcasting programmes in 3D within just a few years. And now you can get in on the act as well, thanks to Minoru – the world’s first 3D webcam.
Samsung wants to leave no doubt it is one of the companies that is always looking for the complete satisfaction of every single target group in the mobile industry. For that reason, it has introduced another mobile alternative that will be available soon. We are talking about Samsung Code (i220): a new mobile phone that, apparently, will be very appropriate for instant messaging fans.
It’s FINALLY here. David Yates, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright, and many more hit theaters July 15th at 12:01am. It’s already sold out hundreds of theaters across the country, but is it worth it? Absolutely. If you can wait, the experience will be even better in IMAX, but the story and the visuals hold up no matter what theater you’re in.
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