WASHINGTON - One of Governor Sarah Palin’s potential presidential rivals said yesterday that her abrupt resignation won’t help her dodge scrutiny. And President George W. Bush’s chief political adviser said her strategy is, at best, unclear.
Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, said Palin’s announcement that she would not seek a second term as Alaska’s governor - and leave office before finishing her first - simply doesn’t make sense in a conventional political setting. Karl Rove, a longtime Bush counselor, said Palin has engaged in a “risky strategy.’’
Then again, the pair said, Palin has never been a conventional candidate and her stunning announcement on Friday is what they have come to expect from the Republicans’ 2008 vice presidential candidate.
Even her rival during the last election seemed confused by the move.
“It maybe had a lot to do with what the state of their life was and the state of their family, et cetera,’’ Vice President Joe Biden said. “So I’m not going to second-guess her.’’
Senator John McCain of Arizona plucked Palin from near-obscurity to be his running mate last year. The folksy governor remains a potent figure in GOP politics, although her resignation, effective July 26, could make a potential 2012 campaign even more dicey.
Huckabee, who ran for president in 2008 and could try again, said her announcement raised more questions than it answered. He said he remains a Palin fan and insisted she continues to be a viable candidate.
But her reason for resigning, that she was dogged by critics who cost her state millions in legal fees, will be a liability for her if she seeks the White House, Huckabee said. But if she’s looking to be a national political figure, it’s not going to get easier, he said.
