Former Vice Presidential Candidate and conservative sweet heart Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced that she will step down from the office of Governor on July 26, handing over the office to Lt. Governor Sean Parnell.

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MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports that Palin has had it with politics.

Given the pressure and criticism Palin has recieved from the media since she was announced as McCain’s running mate in August it is possible that Palin wants to get out of the lime light and return to a normal life. But, Politico has a story that says quite the opposite. Mike Allen reports that Palin will stay “extremely visible,” and will seriously consider a run for President in 2012. Bill Kristol thinks this is “a gamble,” but “it may be a shrewd one,” if she positions herself as the national leader conservatives are looking for.

(h/t Breitbart)
And on the Left coast: CA Assembly Leader Karen Bass on conservative talk radio: “I don’t know why we allow that kind of terrorism to exist. I guess it’s about free speech, but it’s extremely unfair.”

American troops completed the scheduled withdrawal from most Iraqi cities today, handing over security to Iraqi forces.

Barack Obama’s shining countenance on TV plus the death of Michael Jackson have pushed news from the war in Iraq to the background. Today, talking about Iraq was more important than ice cream and basketball.

In a press conference this morning the President thanked our troops for their bravery and courage, and gave support to Iraqi soldiers who will now be responsible for defending the budding democracy.

There was no mention however, of President Bush’s resolve and strength as he battled through the hardest part of the war and struggled to implement the “surge” strategy that snatched victory from the hands of defeat. It’s probably because Barack Obama opposed the surge back when the Bush administration and top generals were calling for a new strategy  for victory in Iraq, claiming that the war of distraction was already lost. Obama’s strategy back then, in the hardest of times, was to have our troops flee and leave hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to die. Vice President Biden’s “solution” to the quagmire we faced only two years ago was to forcefully split the country into separate nation states divided by race, ethnicity, and religion…Yeah, good one Joe.

Although the President doesn’t have the courage to thank his predecessor—how could he? he has a policy of blaming all the world’s problems on Bush—the former president’s strength and resolve is painted proudly on the canvas of a now free and locally controlled Iraq.

Thank you President Bush, mission accomplished.

The Flash Report, the top web destination for California political news and commentary, got it’s hands on an internal memo from the Steve Poizner for Governor campaign. The memo is intended to bolster top campaign supporters as the fiscal year’s fundraising numbers are reported today, showing Meg at a financial advantage. Best part: The comparison between Meg’s numbers and Terry McAuliffe’s overblown fundraising advantage that still led him to a loss in Virginia’s state primary.

Check out the letter from Poizner Campaign Manager Jim Bognet.

Orange County California Congressman John Campbell jumped in on the Flash Report’s blog minutes after Fleischman posted the memo, to declare the reasons why he now supports Meg. Campbell is one of the few CA legislators that switched teams to endorse Meg last week.

This morning Minnesota’s Supreme Court ruled that Al Franken won the state’s heavily contested November 2008 Senate race, unseating Republican Norm Coleman (who actually won the race on election day). Coleman had appealed to Minnesota’s highest court after losing a trial court case earlier this year, he lost the appeal in a unanimous 5-0 decision.

Coleman just conceded the race minutes ago, after both the Court and Minnesota’s Democratic party urged Gov. Pawlenty to certify Franken’s election.

The ridiculous and often hateful comedian Franken will now give the Democrats in the Senate a filibuster proof majority.

Many people have been speculating on a possible Giuliani run for NY Governor. Today on CNN he finally said that’s he’s thinking about it:

Since Eliot Spitzer’s  shenanigans with a hooker took him out of office last year,  NY has been plagued by a case of the blind leading the blind (yeah, that was lame). Gov. David Paterson is by most accounts an incompetent loser and has no chance of winning the NY’s top spot ever again. Rudy, however, is well liked and well positioned to take the seat out of Patterson’s hands.

California’s Insurance Commissioner and candidate for Governor Steve Poizner took on Iran this morning, showing Californian’s who may not know what the Insurance Commissioner does how important his position is for the state and for national security.

Since Poizner’s election in 2006—he was the only Republican elected statewide—he’s used his experience has a Silicon Valley entrepreneur to stream line California’s insurance system, saving Californian’s billions in misused premium payments and over-bloated bureaucracy.

Today Poizner announced that he is ordering California insurance companies to divest from companies that do business with Iran in the banking, defense, and energy sectors and disclose all such indirect investments. All businesses in California were ordered end all direct investment in Iran in a law passed last year, however indirect investments through European companies may still give California insurance premiums to the Iranian regime. “That might be a major loophole here, where billions might be flowing into Iran,” Poizner said today.

Last night at the California Republican Jewish Coalition’s Summer Bash Steve said that he expects the department’s probe will uncover billions in such direct investments. “The Iranian Regime is a huge threat to their own citizens, to the State of Israel, and to the national security of the United States of America,” Poizner said last night. “I will do whatever it takes to make sure that not one dime of your hard earned premium dollars gets into the hands of the people running the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he continued.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Steve at a few speaking engagements since he announced his candidacy, last night was the best. His energy and drive to connect with voters and tell them how he will lead California has grown immeasurably since the first time I saw him speak early last fall. Poizner conveys his vision for California clearly and passionately, showing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that trough the right choices  the Golden State can regain its sheen.

We can now add the Connecticut firefighter case (Ricci v. DeStefano) to the 60% of Sotomayor’s decisions that have been overturned by the Supreme Court.

This morning in a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court ruled on the side of 19 white firefighters who claimed discrimination when they were not promoted because no African American firefighters and only 1 Hispanic had passed the promotion test.

The Ricci case has been used as an example by her critics of Sotomayor’s “background” influencing her decisions, deciding cases based on “social justice” instead of Legal Justice.

Columnist George F. Will tackles America’s health care system in the Washington Post, asking why can’t we leave well enough alone? Many American’s want “change.” But what kind of “change” do they want?

Most Americans do want different health care: They want 2009 medicine at 1960 prices. Americans spent much less on health care in 1960 (5 percent of gross domestic product as opposed to 18 percent now). They also spent much less — nothing, in fact — on computers, cellphones, and cable and satellite television.

Your next car can cost less if you forgo GPS, satellite radio, antilock brakes, power steering, power windows and air conditioning. You can shop for such a car at your local Studebaker, Hudson, Nash, Packard and DeSoto dealers.  [Read More]

The American Clean Energy  and Security Act, or  the Crap n’ Tax Bill, passed the House minutes ago with a 219 – 212 vote. Forty four brave Democrats stood up against their leaders and against the President to speak for their constituents, the American people, and for freedom. Eight pathetic Republican weenies voted “yes,” effectively passing the largest tax hike in American history, and a possible death-blow to an already struggling economy. Now the ACES bill moves on to the Senate.

I hope Senator Inhofe was right this morning,  “It doesn’t matter,’ he declared flatly, ‘because we’ll kill it in the Senate anyway.”

The Eight Losers:

Mary Bono Mack (CA-45)  (202) 225-5330 @marybonomack

Michael Castle (DE-00)  (202) 225-4165 @repmikecastle

Mark Kirk (IL-10)  (202) 225-4835 @markkirk

Leonard Lance (NJ-07)  (202) 225-5361

Frank LoBiondo (NJ-02)  (202) 225-6572

John McHugh (NY-23) (202) 225-4611

Dave Reichert (WA-08) (202) 225-7761 @davereichert

Christopher Smith (NJ-04)  (202) 225-3765

– Jeff Flake from Arizona and  John Sullivan from Oklahoma did not vote.