Sarah Palin is a living embodiment of everything that is wrong with American politics.

Palin's popularity can be attributed to a culture where superstars are fabricated from television competitions, U.S. presidents are manufactured from actors repeating nationalist rhetoric and Joe Citizen cares a great deal about who coaches his baseball team, but little about who governs him.

This alarming laissez faire attitude toward American government is nothing less than a betrayal to the country's founders who believed so deeply in an educated population, they assured above all other rights that the press was free to educate. The founders lived in a world where the populace hungered for information difficult to obtain and when acquired, often indistinguishable from state propoganda. Imagine the founders dismay if they looked upon the world today. We live in an ironic era where information flows freely, but nobody gives a shit about the important stuff. Sarah Palin is a product of this shit-giving, priority-skewed population; a population who considers the attractiveness of Palin's kids more politically relevant than Palin's ability to analyze the merits of legislation before signing it into law.

Sarah Palin is a product of "Shit-Givers". I define Shit-Givers as people who don't give a shit about substantial matters and consequently the issues they do care about are shit. It's the Shit-Givers that put Sarah Palin into office, deemed her a viable vice-presidential candidate and turned her into a political celebrity. She's their champion. The Shit-Givers who support her and the political climate that's empowered them reveal a considerable weakness in the system. The fact that somebody like Sarah Palin even has a political career confirms the system's deficiency.

Could the system be correcting itself? While Americans were getting ready to celebrate the Independence Day weekend, Sarah Palin quit.

Sarah Palin's announcement on July 3rd that she will step down as Governor of Alaska was met with widespread media coverage and pundit analysis. The volume of coverage assured that somebody would eventually say something that got underneath the ex-governor's skin. Not one to disappoint, blogger Shannyn Moore came through and alluded to the possibility that Palin's resignation was not altruistic, but rather a shameful casualty demanded by an investigation into her administration. Moore's exact quote was, "For weeks the rumors of a criminal investigation against the governor have been brewing." Palin took offence to Moore's comment and responsed with legal threats and press releases. For the majority of her supporters (Shit-Givers) who consider these sources irrelevant because of some perceived liberal bias, she responded on Facebook as well.

Here is Palin's Facebook posting (in blue), and my response to it:

On this Independence Day, I am so very proud of all those who have chosen to serve our great nation and I honor their selflessness and the sacrifices of their families, too.

Praising our troop's heroic willingness to be placed in harms way has been watered down to the point of near meaninglessness. The placement of this praise in what is supposed to be Palin's response to her critics is awkward, despite her attempt to tie her comment to the Independence Day holiday. It's almost as if she doesn't know how to begin what she wants to say, so she falls back on a tactic proven to be popular. Her appreciation of our service men and women is not in dispute, but her willingness to use of that appreciation in order to preface a completely un-related corespondance is ethically shaky at best and at worse, disrespectful to the very troops she attempts to praise. The troops and their families should be outraged that Palin would invoke their sacrifice in a pathetic pandering attempt placed in a preface to an address whose subject matter has nothing at all to do with the troops.

If I may, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the last 24 hours and share my thoughts with you.

First, I want to thank you for your support and hard work on the values we share. Those values led me to the decision my family and I made. Yesterday, my family and I announced a decision that is in Alaska’s best interest and it always feels good to do what is right. We have accomplished more during this one term than most governors do in two – and I am proud of the great team that helped to build these wonderful successes. Energy independence and national security, fiscal restraint, smaller government, and local control have been my priorities and will remain my priorities.

"We have accomplished more during this one term than most governors do in two". Oh yeah? Well, I've accomplished more during my 30 years on earth than most people do in 60. How do I know this to be true? I don't. And I don't have to because a meaningless statement which offers no specifics that could be used to validate it's authenticity doesn't have to be true - it just needs to sound nice. This technique is also known as "making shit up".

Gubernatorial records aren't baseball stats. There is no scientific method to compare the relative merits of political accomplishment. The worth of an individual's achievement is in the eye of the beholder. For example, during George W. Bush's time as governor of Texas, his state executed more prisoners than any state in the nation. Whether this is good or bad and how to compare this to any of Palin's accomplishments is completely subjective.

So, Palin's statement, "We have accomplished more during this one term than most governors do in two" is as hollow as the head that thought it up.

For months now, I have consulted with friends and family, and with the Lieutenant Governor, about what is best for our wonderful state. I even made a few administrative changes over that course in time in preparation for yesterday. We have accomplished so much and there’s much more to do, but my family and I determined after prayerful consideration that sacrificing my title helps Alaska most.

I love the term "prayerful consideration". By saying this Sarah Palin revealed that she consulted the divine - and the divine told her to quit. Perhaps this revelation will trigger Atheists and Agnostics to reconsider their position. Also in this passage when she speaks of her title as governor, she uses the word "sacrificing", which is interesting. Sacrifice implies surrender for the betterment of something else. It appears Sarah Palin is admitting Alaska is better off without her.

And once I decided not to run for re-election, my decision was that much easier – I’ve never been one to waste time or resources. Those who know me know this is the right decision and obvious decision at that, including Senator John McCain. I thank him for his kind, insightful comments.

Sadly, what exactly those words were was omitted.

The response in the main stream media has been most predictable, ironic, and as always, detached from the lives of ordinary Americans who are sick of the "politics of personal destruction". How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it’s about country. And though it's honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make. But every American understands what it takes to make a decision because it’s right for all, including your family.

Before, Sarah Palin seemed to state that Alaska is better off without her. Now she waters down that notion by qualifying it with, "but it's the media's fault because they won't let me do my job". The blame-the-media strategy is a favorite of the right-wing mostly because it works with their base. The Shit-Givers read "How sad that Washington and the media will never understand" and nod in agreement. Rational people read it and hear violins. Palin pleads persecution by claiming a more strenuous standard applies to her, therefore she is unable to perform in the same capacity as others would be able to. Horseshit. George W. Bush wrote the playbook on how to ignore criticism and Palin could follow it. She'd rather quit and cast the media as the villain.

Perhaps Sarah Palin should look inward to find her villain. It was her own party that drowned her in the limelight. Sarah Palin was transformed from obscure Alaskan governor to Republican Party superstar overnight and clearly before she was ready for it. An intrigued national media began looking at Sarah Palin and when they discovered her inadequacies, her party attempted to discredit the media's findings by crying, "liberal media persecution!" It worked with The Shit-Givers, but the rational electorate who was frustrated with the media's complacency during the Bush administration appreciated a media that was finally doing their job (like the founders intended, remember?) Palin's support numbers pummeled.

Today I can safely report that Sarah Palin learned nothing from the 2008 elections; In the twilight of her run as governor, it's still the media's fault.

I shared with you yesterday my heartfelt and candid reasons for this change; I’ve never thought I needed a title before one’s name to forge progress in America. I am now looking ahead and how we can advance this country together with our values of less government intervention, greater energy independence, stronger national security, and much-needed fiscal restraint. I hope you will join me. Now is the time to rebuild and help our nation achieve greatness!

What exactly qualifies Sarah Palin to be the person who we need to join in order to "rebuild and help our nation achieve greatness"? When asked what qualified her to be a vice presidentail candidate, she responded, "But even more important is that world view that I share with John McCain". If a shared "world view" is the only qualification she can cite to defend her candidacy, then she didn't have any tangible qualifications to begin with. I, along with everybody reading this has a world view. By Plain-logic and the transitive property of bullshit political reasoning, everybody with a pulse is a viable vice-presidential candidate as long as they share a common world view with their running mate. For those who somehow think a Palin presidency is a good idea: without a running mate to share a world view with, what could possibly qualify her for the presidency?

Maybe it's Sarah's down to earth, everyday approach. Maybe it's the bachelor's degree in journalism she earned from The University of Idaho. Maybe its her experience as Mayor of Wasilla. Maybe it's her experience as Governor of Alaska. Palin admits to not being an elite, and maybe that's a good thing.

Or...

Maybe we need people shaped by world experience who have an appreciation for how individuals interact in a complex societal structure and can grasp the ramifications of those interactions. Maybe we need people whose education helped prepare them for the responsibilities they'll face in public office - tasks such as comprehending complex legislation and understanding law. Maybe the experience of running a town of 5400 people is given far more worth than it should considering the responsibilities required to perform the job. Maybe turning her back on the people of her state by resigning as the Governor of Alaska is a pretty good indicator of how'd she perform in her next job. And finally, maybe we need to start appreciating the "elite" and not worry so much that they think they're better than us - they likely are, and that's why we tap them to run our country.

God bless you! And I look forward to making a difference – with you!

Sarah

I look forward to one day reading about the long, happy and private life Sarah Palin and her family lived after she exited the political landscape in 2009. I dare to dream.

In all seriousness, this is an important time and the United States needs serious people to see it through. Imagine an era where ideas backed by logic and rationality win over outdated dogmatic doctrine that has far too long kept the United States from progressing. The Sarah Palin's of the world stand in the way of that progress. It's not Sarah's fault though - it's the people's. Politicians like her are a byproduct of dangerously low political standards which in turn are a byproduct of a population apathetic about government.

Call me a dreamer, but maybe we'll start caring about government again. Maybe we'll open our eyes and see what the system has become so we start expecting more from our politicians. Maybe one day we will look back at the resignation speech Sarah Palin gave on July 3rd and remember it as the day we started asking ourselves, "how did she get there in the first place".

Maybe the Sarah Palin experience will motivate us to raise our political standards. I promise you that if we do, the country will follow.

If we don't, we can expect the next Sarah Palin will be with us shortly.

At least I'll have something to write about.