Who Quits?

Almost no one, at least not the way Palin did it. A number cruncher spent a few hours with a list of every governor of every state since 1900 and found Palin's pretty much the only quitter who didn't have a decent reason.

On a hunch, I reviewed online lists of all the men and women who’ve been elected governor of their state since the year 1900. Pored over them for a few hours. Over 1200 politicians have taken that first-term oath of office. Some soon died in office. Many resigned to accept other positions in government, including Spiro Agnew who was “tapped” by Nixon after being the Governor of Maryland for about five minutes. On a handful of occasions, a first-termer was dragged off to the slammer or impeached. One was incapacitated by a nervous breakdown and one left just as impeachment came knocking on his door. So—how many out of over 1200 just up and quit before the end of their term?

Three: Jim McGreevy, Eliot Spitzer and Sarah Palin.

That's right. Three out of 1200 (that's a quarter of one percent) quit without being forced or essentially transferring, and two of them quit amidst a sex scandal. Only one is truly a quitter. Way to lead Gov. Palin!