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Doubts About Palin a Factor in NY Times Poll

By Jeralyn

As Big Tent Democrat wrote here, the New York Times/CBS poll shows Obama regaining the momentum in the presidential race and leading John McCain.

It's not just the economy. It's also McCain's opportunistic pick of Gov. Sarah Palin for Vice President. A majority of those polled (pdf)find her unqualified and 3/4 of them believe she was selected primarily to help McCain win.

More than half of registered voters do not think she is prepared for the job of Vice President, and a majority express concern about Palin being able to take over the presidency, if necessary. Even supporters of John McCain cite “inexperience” as what they like least about her. Palin’s unfavorable rating is also up eight points from last week.

More...

Most voters think McCain chose Palin as his running mate to help him win in November; just one in five say it was because she was well-qualified for the job. On the other hand, 57% of voters think Joe Biden was picked by Barack Obama because he is well-qualified. Even voters backing the Republican ticket - 53% - say that the choice of Palin was to help McCain win the election.

Palin's buzz is fading with all but the hard core Republican base:

White evangelicals who are backing McCain are especially excited about the choice of Palin – 78% say they are enthusiastic.

Compare the views of why Palin was picked as opposed to Biden:

• Well qualified:
  Biden: 57%
  Palin: 17%

• Help win the election
  Biden: 31%
  Palin: 75%

As reported in other polls today, this one finds women are increasingly behind Obama.

Obama leads McCain 54 percent to 38 percent among all women. He holds a two point edge among white women, a 21 percentage point swing in Obama's direction from one week ago.

....Forty-eight percent of Clinton voters say they have an unfavorable view of Palin, while 20 percent view her positively.

She's dimming. The bloom is off the rose. Soon, Palin will be a footnote in history, exposed for what she was: John McCain's Hail Mary pass.

John McCain couldn't win this election without Sarah Palin. It's becoming increasingly evident he won't win it with her either.

The media is doing its job, as are the blogs. The door will close on Sarah Palin, especially the one into the nation's second highest office.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 18, 2008 (boomark / email).