Now that I’ve literally had a night’s sleep over Governor Palin’s decision not to seek the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, I’ve had time to reflect on two of the themes she has given regarding her decision.

Family First

As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.

Recall another time and another election in which Sarah Palin put her family first.

2004 Alaska Senate

Lisa Murkowski had served the last two years of her father’s senatorial term after being appointed by him in a dog-and-pony show that included Sarah as one of his final five candidates to replace himself. That was in 2002. The same year Palin had lost the lieutenant governor race by only a couple of percentage points.

She seriously considered taking on Daughter Murkowski in 2004, who was still not popular with Alaskans because of the blatant nepotism.

Sarah was in a GREAT position to win that seat – when you combined her new state profile from the lieutenant governor’s race against Murky’s low popularity from the appointment.

Sarah asked the family, and Track, who was still playing high school hockey, was a NO.

So Sarah didn’t run. And instead became a hockey mom, the manager and treasurer of her son’s hockey team.

Folks, those are times – with her son and his hockey team – that she would have missed if she’d run for Senator at that time. And she’d never have an opportunity to get them back.

But what happened?

Dad Murky was an AWFUL governor whose one good decision was to appoint Sarah as AOGCC commissioner. And she called out his corruption in not dealing with Ruedrich’s unethical behavior. By resigning.

And she was able to win the governorship in 2006.

All this happened after she made the RIGHT call to put her son first in the 2004 election.

Perhaps now she’s doing the same for Trig?

Last night when talking about Steve Jobs, Sarah said her youngest son doesn’t talk and communicates with sign language and loves his Ipad. My niece was born in April 2008, just like Trig, and she talks up a storm, knows her alphabet, can count to 30, can write her name.

I’m just saying, if you know Sarah’s history, she has put her kids first before.

2004

2012

So this is not something new or out of character for Sarah Palin.

Family First.

Nor is it necessarily the end of her time in political office. See what happened after she put Family First in 2004.

“We the People”

Secondly, Palin wrote about us, we the people, and what we have accomplished and still need to accomplish, by working together.

My decision is based upon a review of what common sense Conservatives and Independents have accomplished, especially over the last year. I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office – from the nation’s governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency. We need to continue to actively and aggressively help those who will stop the “fundamental transformation” of our nation and instead seek the restoration of our greatness, our goodness and our constitutional republic based on the rule of law …

In the coming weeks I will help coordinate strategies to assist in replacing the President, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House.

Thank you again for all your support. Let’s unite to restore this country!

God bless America.

- Sarah Palin

In her interviews with Mark Levin, Greta Van Susteren, and Bob and Mark, she reiterates that we need to shore up the House, take back the Senate and the White House, and governorships across the nation. And remember after the 2010 success, she said that it was just the beginning. This is a muli-election process.

What her collective statements say to me is that she’s not giving up on breaking the “permanent political class,” but she thinks she can do that best on the outside at this time.

My opinion is that she thinks we need more constitutional conservatives elected to increase the power base of citizens serving for the right reasons in order to push out the permanent political class. There are still too many entrenched Establishment folks to be successful this iteration. So she’s again focusing on the House and Senate.

We’ve seen how hard the Establishment pushed back on the tea party-elected freshman on the budget. And again on the debt ceiling. We simply need more bodies in DC.

Palin talked a few times in the past 24 hours about each of us “finding the exact role” we need to play to be the most effective. SarahPac in 2010 was VERY effective. Let’s help her continue to be effective in 2012 to increase the number of constitutional conservatives in the House, take back the Senate and the White House, and governorships.

At any rate, I intend to continue to support the Governor, because I believe in what she believes in, and I admire her fighting spirit.