We systematically investigate the transmission characteristics of the split ring resonator (SRR) for propagation perpendicular to the plane of the ring resonator. Both the vertical polarization and the horizontal polarization are considered. A retrieval procedure is used to obtain permittivity and permeability . It is found that in the normal incidence case the SRR also has strong electric and magnetic responses. The electric response occurs when electric field is parallel to the side of the SRR (vertical polarization) and the frequency band is often higher than that of magnetic resonance. The magnetic response needs a polarization rotation (horizontal polarization) and the magnetic resonant frequency is the same as that of parallel incidence. The conclusions are demonstrated and the reasons for the electric and magnetic resonances are also discussed theoretically.