"That lame duck status"

Oldish news, but what better time to contemplate this statement from Sara Palin:

"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."

And I'm not talking about her idiosyncratic use of demonstrative pronouns, either.

Many governors with two years to go don't abandon their states. Even if they've decided not to run again, they continue to do the job they were elected for instead of quitting half-way. Why, some of them even embrace "that lame duck status" and use the freedom of not running again to accomplish things they couldn't, wouldn't even dream of accomplishing, with one eye on the next election campaign.

But then, some governors actually care about their states.