What a Difference a Year Makes

One year ago today, Sarah Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska to spare her family and her state the expense of the continued abuse of Alaska’s ethics laws by a group of leftist bloggers with strong connections to the DNC. She wasn’t retreating from the battle; she was assuming a new position on the battlefield. Her Dad put it this way: “She’s not retreating, she’s reloading."

And reload she did. Now, a year later, friends and foes are talking about the significance of this date in America’s history. The haters are trying as usual to diminish and tear down any and all of Governor Palin’s achievements. But more and more, their Saul Alinksky tactics are being seen and exposed for what they really are.

Those who support and appreciate Governor Palin’s battle for her country look back with awe at her achievements over the past year. She has commanded a podium on Facebook and FOX News which is eagerly attended to by friend and foe alike. Numerous public appearances have given her the opportunity to speak out about the issues that face our country.

Thousands of people attended her book signings during her Going Rogue book tour. Now she is working on another book as well as a documentary series about Alaska that will air on the Learning Channel.

Her endorsements of candidates are making major differences in primaries and will carry a lot of weight in the midterm elections. She has often been the first and sometimes the only political figure to stand up and speak out against the radical agenda of the Obama administration.

Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer writes:

Sarah Palin isn't going to fade away.

Someone else in her position might have. Two years after the vice presidential nomination made her a star, the 2008 campaign is fading in memory. She's not even Alaska's governor anymore; she abruptly resigned that post a year ago. But she's evolved into an enduring political personality writ large — and now the talk, growing louder, is of her own run for the White House in 2012.

She's still a phenomenon. She can command weeks of headlines for a single Facebook observation — see health care "death panels" — and six-figure speaking fees from groups clamoring for her words. "Going Rogue," her best-selling memoir, added to her luster among the conservative faithful. And in this congressional election year, she has easily eclipsed other Republicans as provider of the most coveted endorsement.

Palin is everywhere: in South Carolina, campaigning for gubernatorial hopeful and fellow "mama grizzly" Nikki Haley; in Nevada, stoking the anti-establishment sentiment of the tea party movement; in Arizona, defending a controversial state law cracking down on illegal immigrants.

There are two stops she has yet to make in 2010 — Iowa and New Hampshire, the first major prizes of the presidential campaign. But she knows the way: She campaigned in New Hampshire in 2008 and was in Iowa for a book-signing event last December.

[…]

But Sid Dinerstein, GOP chairman in Florida's Palm Beach County, is among those who love Palin.

He has a signed picture of himself with her and argues that she was the only one of the four candidates in the 2008 election qualified to be president. Still, he doesn't want her to run in two years.

"She is currently the single most powerful political person in the country," he said. "The day she announces for president, she gives that up."

[…]

David Roederer, who ran John McCain's campaign in Iowa in 2008, says Palin would do well in the state, where grass-roots politics matter and the caucuses tend to be a winnowing-out of the weaker candidates.

"I think Republicans see her as a very genuine, down-to-earth person," he said. "That sure helps you win elections. (But) that in and of itself won't."

Palin endorsed former Gov. Terry Branstad in the recent Republican gubernatorial primary, a nod to the more mainstream candidate that angered some in the tea party movement. Roederer called it a "shrewd move," should she decide to run for president. Branstad won, and he'll face one of the more vulnerable Democratic governors, Chet Culver, this fall.

[…]

Palin has been noncommittal about her intentions, saying only that she is keeping all options open. In recent weeks, however, she has stepped up her criticism of Obama's leadership and focused on her own credentials.

[…]

Her immediate focus, aides say, is on 2010 and getting conservatives elected. So far this primary season, she's scored some high-profile wins, including with Haley in South Carolina. She has another book in the works, an enviable spot as a Fox News contributor, a travelogue TV series on the way and a schedule on the speaking circuit. She reportedly has made at least $12 million from the book and other media deals.

"I think if you want to look at what motivates Sarah Palin, it's that the country is seriously on the wrong track," said Rebecca Mansour, a consultant to her political action committee. "There's also the issue of, if you're given a megaphone and able to speak out on something positive, it would be a shame not to use it."

[…]

In announcing her resignation on July 3, 2009 — the timing around Independence Day intentional, and symbolic — she pledged to fight for the state and nation in other ways by advocating everywhere for less government and individual rights.

And running for president? Well, she hasn't said.

"I've never believed that I, nor anyone else, needs a title to do this, to make a difference, to help people," she said.

In spite of all the attacks against her, Governor Palin’s position in leadership has only strengthened over the past year. What her enemies meant to her for evil, God has turned to her for good. She knows where her strength comes from, and she knows Who her North Star is. Once during her governorship she said, “My faith sees me through.”

On Tuesday night at the Gwinnett Arena, she expressed her appreciation for the prayer shield that supporters keep around her. And as one of her supporters, I believe that God made Sarah Palin special, and that through hard work and faithfulness to Him, she has earned a place in the hearts of those who love our country and a certain place in the history of this nation. Like many others, I believe that God has called Governor Palin to lead “for such a time as this,” and that she has answered that call.