memeorandum: Surreality Only Beginning — As David noted below … (Josh Marshall/Talking Points Memo)

12:15 PM ET, July 4, 2009

Top Items:

Did a Scandal Sink the U.S.S. Palin? — Blogs and Stories — The suddenness of Sarah Palin's resignation raises questions about whether a coming scandal caused her to leave office. Max Blumenthal looks at one possibility. — Plus: Read more of The Daily Beast's coverage of Palin's resignation and the GOP implosion.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, The Reaction, The Huffington Post, TalkLeft, Pam's House Blend, American Power, D-Day, Liberal Values, Glenn Thrush's Blog, Blogs and Stories and DownWithTyranny!

Brad Friedman / The BRAD BLOG:

EXCLUSIVE: PALIN RESIGNATION ‘DAMAGE CONTROL’ FOR COMING ‘ICEBERG SCANDAL’ ... MORE: EMBEZZLEMENT INDICTMENTS COMING? — [See update below for exclusive source details from Alaska...FURTHER UPDATE now added below: AK sources say ‘embezzlement’ scandal related to Palin's house, federal indictments may be in offing.

Bruce Reed / Slate:

In Sarah Palin's GOP, the leaders keep quitting and the troubles don't. — “It may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down [and] plod along,” Sarah Palin said Friday, in an attempt to suggest that serving her full term as governor would add to the nation's apathy.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Alas, a blog and The Caucus

Erik Sean Nelson / The Huffington Post:

Palin Will Run In '12 On More Retardation Platform — In Sarah Palin's resignation announcement she complained about the treatment of her son Trig who always teaches her life lessons. She said that the “world needs more Trigs, not fewer.” That's a presidential campaign promise we can all get behind.

Discussion: theblogprof, Erick's blog, Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, The Confluence, American Power, Pundit & Pundette and JammieWearingFool

Mickey Kaus / Kausfiles:

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11, 12, 13, 14 Palin Theories — I can see [5 6 7] [8] [9 10] [11 12] [13] 14 Palin theories ... and counting: 1) She's running for president; 2) She's undergoing fame withdrawal and plans to get more attention in the lower 48; 3) She wants to cash in ($); 4) …

Discussion: NewsMax.com, The American Scene and Pajamas Media

Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:

Did an embezzlement scandal force Sarah Palin to resign? — Max Blumental reports on The Daily Beast that Sarah Palin may have quit her job today because she was trying to avert a major, yet-to-be-disclosed corruption scandal. The gist of the rumor is that an Alaska building company called …

Discussion: Donklephant, American Thinker, Washington Post, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Blogs and Stories, Maggie's Farm and The Reaction

Rachel Sklar / The Huffington Post:

Sarah Palin, You Owe The Media An Apology — “I told you so” moments are pretty sweet — and thanks to Sarah Palin, now I've got one. Ten months to the day after her speech at the Republican National Convention, I would like for this woman to eat her words:

Discussion: No Sheeples Here!, The American Scene, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Piece of Work In Progress, American Street, Guardian, The Other McCain, News Desk and Pajamas Media

New York Times:

Palin's Move Shocks G.O.P. and Leaves Future Unclear — Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska abruptly announced on Friday that she was quitting at the end of the month, shocking Republicans across the country and leaving both parties uncertain about whether she was leaving national politics or laying the groundwork for a presidential run.

Discussion: WTOP.com, Washington Monthly, The Caucus, The Huffington Post and The Page

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Kristol: A Contrarian Take — If Palin wants to run in 2012, why not do exactly what she announced today? It's an enormous gamble - but it could be a shrewd one. — After all, she's freeing herself from the duties of the governorship. Now she can do her book, give speeches …

Discussion: TPMDC, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, TPMCafe, Washington Wire, Taylor Marsh, Ezra Klein, The New Republic, Balloon Juice, Talking Points Memo, Winds of Change.NET and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Phoebe Connelly / American Prospect:

SARAH PALIN INSISTS YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE INTERNET ON HOLIDAY. — Never a slow news day with these Republicans. — Couple of quick hits — it's worth re-reading Ann and Tim's initial reactions to the arrival of Sarah Palin on the national political scene as McCain's VP. (Shorter Tim: it's a gimmick.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Surreality Only Beginning — As David noted below …

Discussion: Jezebel, The Huffington Post and No More Mister Nice Blog

The Huffington Post:
GOP Official Who Emailed With Palin Moments Before Decision, Explains Her Move

Discussion: Wizbang, The Mudflats, The New Republic, The League of Ordinary … and NO QUARTER

Los Angeles Times:
Sarah Palin's exit as Alaska governor stuns, puzzles observers

Discussion: The Swamp and Megan McArdle

Versha Sharma / Talking Points Memo:
Full Text Of Palin's Resignation Speech

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, First Draft, JONATHAN TURLEY, Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis, The Impolitic, TalkLeft, The New Republic, Hendrik Hertzberg, The Confluence and Amygdala

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org:
HuffPoster: 'Palin Will Run In ‘12 On More Retardation Platform’

Discussion: Bloggasm, Pajamas Media and protein wisdom

New York Times:
Text: Palin's Announcement

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Huffington Post

KTUU-TV:
Gov. Sarah Palin to resign her office

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
First Signs What Happened — Okay, we're getting our first indication of what happened.

Discussion: The Mahablog

The Campaign Spot:
The Weak Spot In Every Political Figure

Discussion: Wizbang

The Huffington Post:
Sarah Palin Resignation Speech: FULL VIDEO, TEXT

Discussion: marbury, Politics Daily, Gateway Pundit and PunditMom

Washington Post:
Sarah Palin to Resign as Alaska Governor, Citing Probes and Family Needs

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Ezra Klein, CBS News, The Washington Note, PostPartisan, The Nation, Brutally Honest and Above the Law

Matthew Cooper / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Three Theories of Palin's Resignation

Discussion: ProfessorBainbridge.com

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Miniseries Ends — I guessed right, which I suppose reflects …

Discussion: Jack & Jill Politics

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Is Palin's national political career over?

Discussion: The Corner, Firedoglake, AmSpecBlog, Open Left, Winds of Change.NET, Taegan Goddard's …, Anchorage Daily News, Mere Rhetoric and PoliGazette

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Analysis: Once Again, the Enigma That Is Sarah Palin Plays It by Her Rules

Discussion: msnbc.com, Erick's blog, The Campaign Spot, Taegan Goddard's …, RedState, Lawyers, Guns and Money, The Moderate Voice and Crooks and Liars

Steve / Sweetness & Light:
Palin To Resign - ‘State Media’ Wins!

Discussion: RADAMISTO

Michelle Malkin:
But I'm doing what's best for Alaska"

Discussion: The Corner, Fausta's Blog, Pundit & Pundette, The Campaign Spot, YID With LID, Don Surber, GayPatriot, The Strata-Sphere, Atlas Shrugs, Ace of Spades HQ, The Fix, Instapundit, Hot Air, The Anchoress, Christian Science Monitor, Right Wing Nut House and Runnin' Scared

Washington Wire:
Transcript of Palin's Announcement

Discussion: Don Surber

CNN:
DNC reacts: Palin decision ‘continues a pattern of bizarre behavior’

Discussion: The Other McCain

Quin Hillyer / AmSpecBlog:
Palin's Dereliction of Duty

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, The Corner and MyDD

Rachel D'Oro / Associated Press:
Palin resigning as Alaska governor on July 26

Discussion: Daily Pundit, Paco Enterprises, RealClearPolitics Video Log, The New Ledger, Hot Air, Classical Values, Associated Press and Gawker

Mark Steyn / The Corner:

Cutting bait — With respect to many of the Palinologists below, I think they're getting way too hepatomantic over the entrails. As a political move for anything other than the 2010 Senate race, today's announcement is a disaster. And I'm not sure it's a plus for the Senate - and …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Cold Fury, BizzyBlog and Power Line

Victoria Gill / BBC:

How honeybee mobs smother giant hornets to death — Honeybees mount a very effective mobbing defence — Honeybee hordes use two weapons - heat and carbon dioxide - to kill their natural enemies, giant hornets. — Japanese honeybees form “bee balls” - mobbing and smothering the predators.

Michael Slackman / New York Times:

Top Reformers Admitted Plot, Iran Declares — CAIRO — Iranian leaders say they have obtained confessions from top reformist officials that they plotted to bring down the government with a “velvet” revolution. Such confessions, almost always extracted under duress, are part of an effort …

Discussion: Salon, The Washington Note, Enduring America and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Tracy Wilkinson / Los Angeles Times:

Tensions mount as Honduras defies OAS — Supporters of the new government, lead by Roberto Micheletti, rallied at the presidential palace as the Honduran army maintained control. Ousted President Manuel Zelaya is set to return to the country over the weekend; Micheletti has threatened to arrest him.

Discussion: Not Tucker Carlson and A Gut Reaction