Politicans Who Resign. Politicians Who Don't.

Think of all of the politicians holding elective office who were caught up in scandal and didn't resign. Off the top of my head, I can name:

• Pres. Bill Clinton
• Sen. Larry Craig
• Gov. Mark Sanford (so far)
• Sen. David Vitter
• Sen. John Ensign
  
• Rep. Newt Gingrich
• Rep. William Jefferson
• Rep. Wilbur Mills

Now think of the ones who have resigned and why:

• Pres. Richard Nixon (facing certain impeachment and conviction)
• Vice Pres. Spiro Agnew (inducted for corruption, pleaded no contest to tax charges)
  
• Gov. Elliott Spitzer (customer of a brothel after prosecuting other brothels)
• Rep. Joseph Scarborough (dead woman found in his office)
• Gov. John Rowland (convicted and sent to prison for corruption)

The only politician that I can think of, right now, who resigned for reasons not related to scandal was Gov. Ella Grasso of Connecticut; she resigned due to ill health and died of cancer a few weeks later.

Politicians do not resign their elective office without damn good reason and the three good reasons are felony indictments, insurmountable scandals and terminal illness. Running for higher office is not a reason to quit the day job. Look at the presidential candidates who ran in 2008; other than a handful of outliers such as Giuliani, Romney and Edwards, every serious candidate held elective office at the time. The nominees for the presidency and the vice-presidency from both parties held elective office.

So there has to be something really serious in the offing that Palin hopes to tamp down by not being governor (maybe her resignation is part of a secret plea bargain) or her trolley has jumped off the rails in a major way.