Way to go, Sarah! ~ By Barbara Simpson

(I must say, before you start reading, that Barbara must be able to read my mind! She says just what I think. Thank you for this column, Barbara!)

By Barbara Simpson Posted: July 06, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 It was quite amazing. Sarah Palin stole the headlines from Michael Jackson! It was Friday, the day before a national holiday, and in the way of Americans these days, Independence Day celebrations had begun. Crowds left town; many businesses closed early or didn't bother to open at all, making it another three-day weekend. But in Alaska, in the yard of her home, Gov. Sarah Palin made a speech that shook both political parties and brought out more of the insulting long knives among the so-called pundits. Even on a normal Friday, generally speaking, "news" doesn't happen and media are essentially closed for the weekend. No one expects breaking news. Sarah Palin chose late morning in Alaska to drop her media bombshell; it was after 4 p.m. on the East Coast. Media were wrapped up, and most regular talk hosts were on vacation, their microphones manned by some "fill in" who never anticipated big news! The bombshell Palin dropped on the small crowd gathered as she spoke, was that not only was she not going to run for re-election as governor, she would resign her office July 26. That's it! Done! Over! Her short speech was addressed to Alaskans and briefly outlined both the history and importance of the state as well as her administration's accomplishments. If she were a candidate, it was a perfect summary of campaign talking points. It was stunning in its political import and reaction ranged from name calling, to psychological analysis to ridicule. According to some, her political career is over. They're far from kind, but the media have never been kind to Palin. In fact, Palin talked about media attitudes – from ignoring Alaska and its people to the personal attacks on her and her family. Clearly she's not happy with the flood of dirty journalism and bottom-feeding reporters who, from the moment she was named to the McCain ticket, spent all of their time digging for dirt about her and targeting her family and children. [CONTINUE READING]