Todd Palin: Of Course Sarah Quit For The Money

There is an interesting video of Todd Palin out in the last few days that finally admits what many have long argued: Sarah Palin quit the Alaskan governorship to cash in on her celebrity status. When a woman confronted Todd about his wife not finishing her term, he responds “What would you do” with “thousands and thousands of dollars a day?” He notes that the had “all this debt” and made the obvious choice.

What I found striking about this acknowledgment was that it came only a couple days after Palin criticized the President for taking another vacation and said that he is “very tone deaf.” She added “I wouldn’t if I were he, especially to Martha’s Vineyard.” No, she would apparently recommend quitting his job early and signing on to a reality show based on his private life.

What is really impressive is that such admissions will make no difference to Palin’s supporters who still want her to assume the presidency after she quit the state governorship. It does not matter that she promised the voters to serve as governor and her husband now admits that she simply wanted to cash in on a better deal. That would appear to me to be a rather dishonest choice for any public figure — particularly given her prior statements denying that she resigned for the money.

Of course, Palin has always denied that she is in it for the money. Indeed, she insists that her career was guided by prayer in search of a higher purpose:

[When I resigned as Oil Commissioner], there was a longing inside me that winter, a sense of purpose hovering just beyond my vision. Was it ambition? I didn’t think so. Ambition drives; purpose beckons. Purpose calls. I definitely wasn’t driven toward any particular goal, like power or wealth or fame. So what was it? I prayed that if I was to resign myself to what felt like a public service career cut short, that I’d embrace being home full-time. I asked that the fire in my belly, an whatever was feeding it, would simmer down.
I thought of a passage from the book of Jeremiah 29:11-13: “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord.” It irked me that too often women are made to feel guilty for seeking the next open door. I wasn’t sure what I was to do next, yet. I resolved to seek confirming signs along the way–the open door–to show me the right road. In winter 2005 I decided to toss my hat in the ring to replace Frank Murkowski as governor.

It now appears that Jeremiah 29:11-13 means that God’s plan for Sarah begins with accepting huge amounts of money from a reality show, speaking engagements, and celebrity appearance. God truly does move in mysterious ways.