This past weekend, we had two pieces of good news. Sarah Palin finally resigned from the Governorship of Alaska, and Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky finally declared he would not run for a third term in 2010.
Both are embarrassments to the GOP, which has had more than its share of humiliations this year. Palin has become a nightmare since her selection to be John McCain’s Vice Presidential running mate eleven months ago. She has now proved that she cannot finish a task, and is a quitter, leaving the Governorship after two and a half years. Alaska is better off without her, but now she will milk her fame or infamy by making a fortune exploiting her notoriety. I find it hard to believe how any intelligent person could see her as having any validity ever again to run for any public office, let alone the Presidency. But we know that Sarah will continue to be news because of her incompetence and ignorance, something unfortunately very appealing to many Americans.
Senator Bunning is famous as a Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies, but has been a real lemon as a Senator from Kentucky for two terms, making ridiculous statements and accusations, and demonstrating to some evidence of mental instability when he ran for reelection in 2004. He is at war with the Republican party nationally, and has a feud with fellow Kentuckian and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.  In my mind, McConnell is just barely tolerable, but he certainly looks a lot better when compared to Senator Bunning. Bunning WAS a great pitcher in major league baseball, but he has been a big disappointment in his Senate career, and it goes to show that excellence cannot be automatically transformed from one area of society to another.
So there is some good news coming to the GOP, as the leaving of Sarah Palin and Jim Bunning is a positive step along the long road to revival!