The American Spectator

The Spectacle Blog

Karol at Alarming News believes Palin's political career is over, and writes, "What (Palin) had, more than anything else, was a toughness and a dedication to her position. She blew all that with her announcement today."

This is exactly right. It may not be fair, but to succeed, a female politician has to come off 10 times tougher than any man -- "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher being the most obvious example. One of the things that Palin had going for her was that she was, as Cindy McCain described her during the Republican National Convention, a "hockey-mommin' ... basketball shootin' ... moose huntin' ... fly-fishin' ... pistol-packing ... mother of five." She had been nicknamed "Sarah Barracuda," and took on the "good ole' boys" who controlled Alaska politics.

However, to all but her most loyal supporters, today's bizarre press conference made her look brittle -- like a person who couldn't take the heat and was buckling in the face of attacks. Today's move is perfectly understandable if she wants to give up politics and protect her family from the blistering assaults of the media and her political oppenents. Maybe this news -- odd within the political realm -- actually makes her a pretty normal person by real world standards. But normal people do not get elected president.