Why Palin quit as Governeur

[Bastler]

Sarah Palin
• Former governor of Alaska, Fox News contributor, author, speaker
• $12 million

How she parties: In 2009, Sarah Palin resigned as Alaska governor after just 2½ years, allowing her to take full political and financial advantage of the explosive celebrity status she gained as John McCain's 2008 White House running mate. Although her arrival on the national scene predated the birth of the Tea Party, she quickly became the politician in America most closely associated with it. This January, Palin signed on as a contributor for Fox News. In February, she delivered a keynote address at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tenn. Last month, she rallied Tea Party conservatives in Arizona to support McCain in a Republican primary and spoke out at the first stop on the recent Tea Party tour — an event organized around the bid to defeat Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev.

How it pays: Wherever Palin goes, attention follows — and money usually comes with it. In a just-released cover story for New York Magazine, Gabriel Sherman details the growth of what the magazine calls "Palin Inc." According to both Sherman and ABC News, Palin has gone from a state of indebtedness (due to legal troubles in Alaska) to estimated earnings of $12 million in less than a year. Palin makes $1 million a year for her contributions to Fox News. She sold her first book, "Going Rogue," to HarperCollins for $7 million and a second book for an undisclosed amount. She gives speeches around the country for an average fee of $100,000 each. According to Sherman's reporting, Palin insisted on charging full fee for her speech to the National Tea Party Convention because the event itself was being run for-profit by its organizers. The $100,000 included $18,000 for a private jet. Beyond her Tea Party activities, Palin has also signed up to star in a reality show on life in Alaska for the Learning Channel. She'll reportedly be paid $250,000 per episode.

Sure better then to be actually responsible for other people I guess.