Is Palin Crazy?

That we need to ask this question disqualifies her as a serious political personality, in my eyes. (Although McCain is crazy, he got crazy from being tortured by the Vietcong. What excuse does Palin have?) Her logic for quitting midterm, thus far, has been - "I wasn't planning on running again, so what's the point of being a lame duck governor?" I'm glad GW Bush didn't have this attitude once Obama got elected. Or all the rest of the 49 governors. Or baseball players once they weren't going to make the playoffs. Or anyone who does a job because they said they'd do it, rather than doing a job because of the glamor.

Palin sucks. I didn't get it at first. Now I do. She's the pretty girl from a small town and small state who has a natural charm and ease and who is utterly insufferable because of it. She literally thinks no matter what she does, it will be right because she does it. She has the misfortune of being adorable and as a result, is an utter joke. Making excuses for this behavior is evidence of complete vacuousness of the part of Republicans.

The other day I said it was too early to judge. Well, now I'm judging.

UPDATE: Well, say it, then. A few folks are suggesting Palin is stepping down to protect her children from the ruthless taunts of the media and comedians, etc. Regardless of whether this is "playing the victim card" or acting like a martyr, she should just come out and say it - "I'm quitting because all this is too hard on my family and it isn't worth it to me to sacrifice their well being for this office." I could respect this position and might be willing to defend it, if I thought it were true. But instead, she is talking in vagaries and about the governorship, etc. If this were true, she would disappear from the national spotlight. I doubt that is in her plans. And this is just me taking her at her word.

UPDATE 2: In re-reading, I wasn't entire clear about how Palin's looks are the cause of her insufferability. There are certain people - usually women (although 30 Rock addresses the issue with Jon Hamm this past season) - who go through life being treated special because they are great looking. Everything they do, small and large, are treated by others as being "so adorable," so lovable, etc. They can be an asshole and are considered "spunky," they can be passive and annoying, and be considered "humble," they can be dumb and be considered, "easy-going," you get the point. And although Palin isn't THAT good looking (by LA standards), she was a beauty queen and it is reasonable to expect she has always been one of the best looking people in the room. Especially because she lives in Alaska, a state the size of the Westside in between the water, the 405 and the 10 freeway. She's so deluded, she thinks it's alright to quit. It isn't.

UPDATE 3: In thinking of quitting...I remember studying abroad in England and playing on their soccer team. I was the foreigner on the team and not a leader or a guy who knew everyone well...but I remember this one incident when the team was losing and playing poorly and one of our better players, this forward, got so pissed off, he sat down in the middle of the field and stop playing. This was one of the last time I had an impulse to punch someone in the face. I nearly did. I started yelling at the dude. He eventually got up and started playing again, but I'll never forget it. If I was anything more than an interloper on the team, I think I would of done more. If I were the coach, I would of strongly considered tossing him off the team permanently. There are certain things you simply do not do. And quitting a responsibility - especially as an elected official - is one of them. I can forgive mistakes, miscalculations, anything, but just giving up is the one unforgivable thing - in anything. What kind of message does that send to people? Quitting for a better opportunity in the middle of fulfilling a responsibility given you by the voters? In game theory, there is a concept called "Grim Trigger Strategy," when during a cooperative game, one party decides to abandon the cooperation, the other party will no longer cooperate because the trust is broken. The first player ruined the game. That is what Palin just did. She ruined the game.