Sarah Palin, whose summer bus tour raised speculation that she would seek the Republican presidential nomination, announced tonight that she will not run, settling the GOP field one day after Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey announced that he would not enter the race.
Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, made the announcement in a telephone interview on the Mark Levin Show, a conservative talk radio program.
She said that while she would not seek the presidency, she wants to stay active in the national scene as a supporter of conservative causes and candidates.
“I believe I can be more effective and more aggressive in this mission in a supportive role,” she said. “We’ll see what the future holds in terms of me personally in a political career.”
A Palin candidacy had seemed an increasingly unlikely proposition in recent weeks. Republican leaders had said it would have been very difficult for her to set up a national organization and qualify for the ballot at this late stage in the primary.
The enthusiasm for a Palin presidential run also seemed to wane with the emergence of Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Georgia businessman Herman Cain, candidates who also appeal to Palin’s socially conservative, Tea Party base.
But even as the once ubiquitous firebrand seemed to slide from the national stage, she had refused to rule out running for the White House. Her cross-country bus tour of historic sites this summer only intensified speculation that she might run.
Speaking tonight, Palin said she had reached the decision after careful consideration. “I do want to assure you that this has been prayerfully considered,” Palin said.
She said that, by not running, it would be easier for her to speak her mind and “branch out” as an activist. Decrying what she called “crony capitalism,” she said she would remain involved in “this mission to help wake up America to what’s going on in our country.”
How devastated is the, crew, and writers of SNL? Honestly, if I worked there, I would be poishing up my resume, because now what's the point? Tina Fey is probably relieved, but her paycheck for the next year will be cut in half.
I wish there was some way I could incorporate "wombshifter" into everyday conversation, but I don't see how this could happen. Based on this interview and his performance on the Charlie Sheen Roast last night, I think Mike is making a push to become the go to for philosophical debates or reflections on current events.
I mean, Iron Mike has made a major turnaround. From the Hangover, to political commentary, to poetry. That face tattoo is still distracting as sh!t though. No matter how many times I see it, I never get use to it.
The more I think about it, Sarah Palin should have, 100%, chosen Glen Rice. Everything may have worked out better for both of them. She could be a news reporter, Glen, would still be a retired NBA player, they would probably still have a son playing starting at guard for Georgia Tech (based on both of their athletic abilities), Palin wouldn't be exposed to be dumb as rocks, would probably actually have traveled outside the US, wouldn't have a a grandson who's father's name is Levi, and Glen would have married his true love and not have to watch his ex-wife on "Real Housewives of Miami," and most importantly, she wouldn't be married to a snow mobile racer or whatever her husband is right now. Win-win all around.
I'll cut to the chase a bit here. Last week reports surfaced that Sarah Palin boned Glen Rice (most random pairing ever?).
"In the book, which will be published on September 20th, McGinniss claims Sarah had a steamy interracial hookup with basketball stud GLEN RICE less than a year before she eloped with her husband Todd.
Sarah hooked up with the NBA great, then a 6-foot-8 junior at the University of Michigan when he was playing in a college basketball tournament in Alaska in 1987, the book says. At the time, Sarah, just out of college, was working as a sports reporter for the Anchorage TV station KTUU.
A publishing source told The ENQUIRER that McGinniss claims Sarah had a “fetish” for black men at the time and he quotes a friend as saying Sarah had “hauled (Rice’s) ass down.”
A source unrelated to the book told The ENQUIRER, Todd was very much in the picture at the time and the couple married just nine months later.
In the book, McGinniss quotes Rice as confirming the one-night stand."
Now, there are the excerpts from the book that I think comes out today:
"After her graduation, Sarah returned to Alaska and worked on the sports desk of Anchorage television station KTUU. On weekends, she'd sometimes appear on camera, delivering sports reports during the 10:00 PM newscast.
Her attitude toward people of color was evolving. In Anchorage, she even dated black men. A friend says, "Sarah and her sisters had a fetish for black guys for a while."
Each year, over Thanksgiving weekend, the University of Alaska hosted a basketball tournament called the Great Alaska Shootout, featuring some of the country's best teams. In 1987, one of the top squads to visit Anchorage was the University of Michigan, led by six-foot-eight junior Glen Rice, number 41.
Rice would lead Michigan to the NCAA Championship in 1989, appearing on the cover ofSports Illustrated and setting a scoring record for the NCAA tournament that stands today. After graduating from Michigan as the school's all-time leading scorer, he starred in the NBA for fifteen years.
Whether in her professional capacity as a sports reporter or simply as a basketball groupie who'd begun to find black men attractive, Sarah linked up with the Rice during the weekend tournament. One friend recalls, "They went out. I suspect it was more than that. I can't say I know they had sex, but I remember Sarah feeling pretty good that she'd been with a black basketball star."
In one version of the story, Sarah's encounter with Rice took place in her sister Molly's dorm room at the University of Alaska Anchorage. "She hauled his ass down," a friend says, "but she freaked out afterward. Hysterical, crying, totally flipped out. The thing that people remember is her freak-out, how completely crazy she got: I fucked a black man!She was just horrified. She couldn't believe she'd done it."
Glen Rice remembers the weekend quite differently. When I spoke to him by telephone in March 2011, he said, "I remember it as if it was yesterday. She was a sweetheart. I met her almost as soon as we got out there."
Rice does not recall being in a university dorm room. "We hung out mostly at the hotel where the team was staying," he told me. "We just hit off. In a short time, we got to know a lot about one another. It was all done in a respectful way, nothing hurried."
"So you never had the feeling she felt bad about having sex with a black guy?" I asked.
"No, no, no, nothing like that," Rice said. "Even after I left Alaska, we talked a lot on the phone. I think right up until the time she got married. She was a gorgeous woman. Super nice. I was blown away by her. Afterward, she was a big crush that I had. I talked about her for a long time. Only good things. She was a well-rounded young lady. It's amazing the way that's stayed with me. I think the utmost of her and I felt that way from the start."
I can honestly say that if you told me Sarah Palin hooked up with a 15 year NBA player who ended up carrying a major torch for her, I don't think Glen Rice would have ever crossed my mind. Responses to this and more insanity will continue in the next post.
-Big Ran
PS: I wish I could have bought stock in Aqua Net in the early 80s. I could have retired by the time I was 11 and bought all the Reebok Pumps I wanted.
PPS: Initially, there were just reports that Glen Rice confirmed the story and I was thinking, "Of course he friggin' confirmed that story. Who wouldn't?" I would confirm any rumor like that because there is at least some chance I could profit from it. However, seeing those Rice quotes, he was just plain out in love with Palin. Imagine if Sarah Palin married Glen Rice and became a news reporter? Wow. I kind of just blew my mind there. Maybe she would have been the one asking people what newspapers they read instead of being the one who looked borderline illiterate.
I have a vast variety of sources too. Friggin' awesome line. God, I hope she runs for President, Palin is comedy gold.
Boston Globe - Sarah Palin’s mystery tour/summer vacation/media scavenger hunt is headed toward Boston, perhaps as soon as this afternoon.
The former Alaska governor, who has been visiting historic sites across the Northeast (and eating pizza with Donald Trump), as part of her One Nation bus tour, spent the morning in New York City, visiting Ellis Island.
Now, reporters for ABC News, CNN, and Real Clear Politics, who have been chasing after her bus, are reporting that she’s headed to Boston en route to New Hampshire, which holds the nation’s first presidential primary.
As has been her practice throughout the tour, Palin is not saying where, precisely, she will stop in Boston. The city, of course, offers many historic sites that would resonate with her message. So Palin watchers are wondering: will she stroll the deck of Old Ironsides, walk along the Freedom Trail, or admire the Bunker Hill Monument?
We’ll have to wait and see. Palin has acknowledged she is interested in running for president, but has insisted that her unusual tour is not about her, but about highlighting America’s great historic sites.
One of her potential rivals, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, is formally announcing his presidential candidacy tomorrow. In New Hampshire.
This has been an odd trip for Palin as she insists it is not part of a possible presidential campaign, but rather a tour of historic sites in the US. I guess it's just a coincidence that Romney is announcing his candidacy tomorrow in NH. I really hope that Romney, Palin, and Trump all run in 2012, because Saturday Night Live would be awesome.
-Big Ran
PS: If you go to see Palin in Boston, don't dress like a moose or a Russian, cause she will shoot your ass.
