Watson on Palin resignation: ‘Now is not the time to abandon your constituents’
Dr. Watson at an American Studies lecture last year.
Dr. Robert Watson, coordinator of the American Studies program here at Lynn University, is on the rolodexes (or should I say, Blackberrys?) of journalists far and wide who are on the front lines covering state and national elections, presidential moves, etc. And with good reason. Watson is always ready and willing to use his nearly encyclopedic knowledge of political events past to help define and discuss how current events may, as a result, play out.
Of course, this reputation has its downside. And here it is: while most of us were on our way home for a holiday weekend last Friday, Watson was holed up in his office taking phone calls from MSNBC in New York, the Palm Beach Post, Sun Sentinel, WPTV (NBC) and others. And why was he missing dinner (and a solid start to the July 4 holiday)? Friday was the day Alaska Governor Palin unexpectedly announced she was resigning her position.
And Watson had plenty to say on the subject. After I threw my own barrage of questions at him, he offered some of the following thoughts (which I crudely pulled together, sorry Robert!)
“Now is not the time to abandon your constituents and state residents if you are their governor,” Watson says. Given the state of the economy, he argues, the timing leaves much to be desired for Alaskan residents.
In April, Watson told the Washington Times – after a particularly tough publicity week for the former vice presidential candidate – that her public life was becoming “like a train wreck in slow motion. In politics, perception is reality … and all of this feeds into the very ugly caricature of her on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ which has been exploited and will continue to be. It seems to me that if it doesn’t stop soon, I think it could eventually turn into a major political liability.”
Of course, he allows, that tough week and others may also have led to Palin’s decision to forgo her last 18 months. But then again, Watson says that perhaps it’s the call of the lecture circuit (where Palin, as both governor and candidate, was wildly popular). Others have opined that she was leaving to prepare for her 2012 presidential bid. But Watson doesn’t believe that.
“The safe money is that she is not resigning to run for president.” Walking away from her elected position this early, and at this time, does more harm to that aspiration than good, he believes. Not that everyone in her party is upset, Watson says. “Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, and Mitt Romney are pleased that Palin is out of the way, at least for now.”
Interested in keeping up with Dr. Watson or reading his biweekly Sun Sentinel columns? Find him on Twitter – @ProfessorWatson.