Sarah Palin’s July 4th resignation, with little explanation beyond, “Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road… They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I’m not going to put Alaskans through that,” seems strange. The AP headline suggests she’s gearing up for a presidential campaign. As usual, Mark Steyn offers a far better postulation.

I’m a fan of Sarah Palin, but I hope she doesn’t run in 2012. I’m also a Romney fan, and we know what a short memory the press has. Aware that Palin’s damaged goods after the ravaging media and Hollywood elites put her through last year, how much you wanna bet she suddenly becomes the quirky underdog versus Romney, capitalist tool with a soul as black as night?

Not like it matters. No GOP candidate will get much face time in 2012, with the networks (and any newspaper still in business) so busy trumpeting the glorious achievements of Obama’s first four years. Maybe in 2016… though I’m not as optimistic as Victor Davis Hanson that Palin can grow from a refreshing conservative talker to “a charismatic Margaret Thatcher type heavyweight.”

My bigger concern is the health of the nation’s elite. What if Sarah Palin announces she’ll never run for national office again? With Dubya at home on the ranch and the Republican party in a state of disarray, on whom will our progressive betters loose their bile? I fear we’d more likely see a spike in ulcer-related deaths in California and D.C. than any acknowledgment that Obama is an arrogant statist, Biden’s a horrendous VP, or Democratic Congressmen are at least as dumb as Republicans.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned my feelings on this round of Republican primaries yet, and I’m sure that’s been difficult for the American public in general. Consequently, the topic is a good opportunity for me to broaden the bits and pieces I’ve brought up regarding how I feel about politics.

I am not a party guy, or operative, or whatever angrier term one might use. I’m a Republican because I think there are certain things government should manage in return for our tax dollars (national defense, transportation, criminal justice) and certain things they should not (nearly everything else). That we can afford to provide some degree of safety netting in education, retirement, and health care is well and good. That pandering politicians insist these are somehow inalienable rights lends to a sort of socialist scope creep which, in my opinion… sucks. Republicans and Democrats are both guilty of this, but a Republican is at least unlikely to do it constantly (see: Edwards, John, a trial attorney obsessed with income redistribution).

As a conservative 24-year-old with low tolerance for b.s. and relatively weak party ties, I should be all about McCain, right? That seems to be the conventional “wisdom” coming from the big paper and TV news outlets. Thing is, when it comes to the important issues it’s almost impossible to guess where John McCain is going to stand. McCain is assertive about fighting Islamism overseas; he’s for amnesty when it comes to securing the borders. McCain stands for straight talk; somehow he also got his name on pretty terrible campaign finance reform and is prone to the “no tax cuts for the wealthy” line. McCain hates bureaucracy, but hearts the global warming regulations boondoggle.

With Thompson out and Giuliani crashing, Romney looks more and more like my favorite Mormon candidate. Come to think of it, he’s probably my favorite Mormon, too… sorry Senator Reid. There are some questions about Mitt’s credentials, but I was leaning his direction even before the field’s recent narrowing. Given the option between Romney’s waffling and McCain’s downright unpredictability, Romney strikes me as the most reliable conservative in the race. Given the option between McCain and any of the Democratic choices, I’d tick the box for McCain – but we’ll burn that bridge when we get there.