Election Issues Today

PALIN POPULARITY STILL TO BE TESTED

Political pollsters from both parties are busy trying to assess the impact Sarah Palin will have on the McCain ticket, and for that matter, the impact on the Obama-Biden ticket as well.  

In post-convention polls, Sarah Palin, overall, is seen as a good choice as running mate, but still earns an unfavorable opinion on whether she is ready to be President.  That seems weird to me, in that the public evidently does not view qualifications and readiness to assume the presidency as the primary measurement of a candidate’s suitability to run for the office of VP.   I will offer up here the possibility that it is a sexist statement that is being made by the potential voters who are being polled.  Somewhat surprisingly, at least to me, is that she polls more favorably amongst male voters than female.

Palin needs to attract new voters to the McCain candidacy, and so far, at least so far as the polls show, she is attracting the same potential voters as McCain already appealed to, and not having much effect on the Independents or “leaners” or disaffected Democrats. 

By “disaffected” Democrats, I mean Hillary Clinton supporters who are not enamored with Barack Obama.  These voters, Democrats and Republicans, and I would imagine, a large number of them women voters, are not swinging over to the GOP ticket in anywhere near the numbers that McCain was hoping for.   Of course, that could change in the remaining two months of the campaign, as Palin makes herself known.  What she needs to prove, in her interviews, in her responses to difficult questions of policy, is that she is knowledgeable and can think on her feet.

Evidently, she is a quick study, but recently acquired knowledge doesn’t necessarily equate to sound judgment.  Her impact on the McCain campaign could go either way.