Skepticism of Palin Growing, Poll Finds

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Washington Post

With the vice presidential candidates set to square off today in their only scheduled debate, public assessments of Sarah Palin's readiness have plummeted, and she may now be a drag on the Republican ticket among key voter groups, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

-----

But it is the experience question that may prove her highest hurdle, particularly when paired with widespread public concern about McCain's age. About half of all voters said they were uncomfortable with the idea of McCain taking office at age 72, and 85 percent of those voters said Palin does not have the requisite experience to be president.

The 60 percent who now see Palin as insufficiently experienced to step into the presidency is steeply higher than in a Post-ABC poll after her nomination early last month. Democrats and Republicans alike are now more apt to doubt her qualifications, but the biggest shift has come among independents.

-----

In the new Post-ABC poll, majorities of conservatives and Republicans maintain that Palin has the necessary experience to step in as president, though those numbers are also down somewhat from early last month.

But a third of independent voters now indicate they are less likely to support McCain because of Palin, compared with 20 percent who said so in an ABC poll a month ago. Palin now repels more independents than she attracts to McCain. The share of independent women less apt to support McCain because of the Palin pick has more than doubled to 34 percent, while the percentage more inclined to support him is down eight points.

White Catholics, another important group of swing voters, also are now more likely to say that Palin dampens their support for McCain.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/01/AR2008100103600.html?hpid=topnews

[NYC Liberal]

1. Palin was a political gimmick designed to stomp on Obama's bounce

Problem is, McCain doesn't think in the long term. And Palin is slowly (or maybe quickly) destroying his campaign. Now it's too late.

Had McCain picked someone more experienced and reliable, I think in the long run he would be doing better.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. McCain is being handled. He seems to have stopped thinking

for himself, with respect to this campaign, a long time ago. He gave his campaign over to his handlers and they have been calling the shots. I expect as this draws to a close we will see one odd outburst after another out of John, as he fails to contain the seething rage inside him over the way this stunningly failed campaign has been run.

[Lerkfish]

7. don't forget, McLame's first choice was Lieberman

he'd still be tanking now, just not as bad with that choice.
I firmly believe his handlers picked Palin for him.

[bdamomma]

16. the Christian Right picked Palin for McCain.

she is really dangerous, too much religion can make people stupid.

[damntexdem]

18. But McCain himself shows that one need not be religious in order to be stupid.

He's managed to do it even with Palin's advantages.

[speedoo]

2. Johnnyboy reaps what he sowed.

Stupid decision for a short term and temporary splash is now very damaging.

And even if Palin overperforms tonight vs. low expectations, she will still be viewed by many as unqualified.

[Eugenian]

4. re. "even if Palin overperforms tonight vs. low expectations"

It's difficult to imagine her falling short of expectations. If she expresses a coherent thought or two, there's bound to be a lot of "she's much smarter than people gave her credit for" spin.

[stoge18]

8. anybody who's seen those clips from the Katie Couric

can't possibly think she's got the chops to handle the job. Even if she does OK tonight.... The odds of her fumbling are quite high, IMHO. I suspect any gains from a coherent thought or two will be negated the stupid flightiness we all saw in the Couric interviews. People can tell when others are lying / bullshitting under pressure. Body language / facial expressions were huge factors in the first debate -- likely to have a big impact in this one too, I'll bet.

[Eugenian]

20. Yes but

low-information voters (her target demographic) don't watch The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, most don't watch SNL, and the older ones don't surf the YouTubes.

[stoge18]

22. Good point

But somehow, these same low information voters seem to get their hands on all of the misinformation surrounding Barrack. Why is that? Perhaps it's just my own perception.... At any rate, thank you for reminding me that my friends on DU are much more engaged in the elction process than most.

[OakCliffDem]

5. After the Debate, Joe will put her on the back burner

[stoge18]

10. Somebody on ABC or CNN said Biden's best bet

would be to simply ignore her tonight. Treat her with respect, but basically just treat her like yesterday's news.

[bdamomma]

17. yea, it's really about who is on the top ticket

McCain and Obama. I love Joe though.

[wryter2000]

19. Welcome to DU

:hi:

That's good advice to Biden, whoever said it.

[stoge18]

21. Thank you!

Thanks for the welcome! You all have been very gracious to this noob from western Pennsylvania. DU is the first site I visit in the morning (while the coffee's brewing!) and the last before I hit the hay. Dozens of visits in between. I'm so happy I found you all even though I'm late in the game.

[OakCliffDem]

23. Palin will be toast after the debate,

We will not be hearing much about her between now and the election.
Except for her gaffs

[aquart]

6. Ah, but she will reassure everyone tonight.

Won't she?

[stoge18]

9. How?

With this approach:

"I was smokin' lotsa crack before those interviews with Katie. Now you see why it's not good to smoke crack. But I'm just like you -- I've got everyday problems just like folks in small town America."

And there you have it. NOW she's got al the crack smokers in her corner. Sonofabitch!

[RufusTFirefly]

11. Yup. She will. Or so we'll be told

Assuming she doesn't say something even dumber than she's already said, the MSM will conclude that Palin "did what she needed to do" to prove that she's Vice Presidential material.

Meanwhile, look for a Biden "gaffe" -- any sort of gaffe, even if it's not an actual gaffe, who cares? -- to take most of the attention away from Palin's shocking inadequacy.

[LynnTheDem]

12. I would bloody well hope so.

It's hard to believe any substantial number of Americans could possibly be deeply stupid enough to vote for Ms. OIL or any other republican.

Ever again.

[Loge23]

13. Barring a "surprise", tonight is key

If they don't get even a little bounce-back off tonight, it's pretty much over - save for the last ditch dirt dump in October.
There's still a month left and a lot can still happen, but the downward trend by M/P has to continue.
Many early Palin supporters have left the camp after her performance in the last couple weeks. Tonight, IMO, is her last chance to reverse the prevailing winds.

[Javaman]

14. after only a month of "cramming" expect only talking point and non-answer answers tonight.

she will do her best to also inject a few "gotcha" catch phrases that her moron tutors have so finely crafted instead of real answers.

They are banking on just that. People don't remember substance they only remember catch phrases.

so be prepared that by this time tomorrow, we will be flooded by the media with one of two things 1) she was an embarrassment or 2) blah blah blah catch phrase that caught Biden off guard.

They only way she can really catch Biden off guard is if she announces on national tv that she's not wearing panties.

Beyond that, it will be a really lame catch phrase the the freeps will latch onto like grim death as if it was words of brilliance.

it's going to happen, no doubt in my mine.

[DeepModem Mom]

15. K&R