First Impressions Count: Palin Viewed More Favorably Than Biden

Well, she is a looker and doesn't have those messy hairplugs. Still, what does it say when hardly anyone knows who she is and she already rates better than the Democrat VP nominee with much wider name recognition?

Sarah Palin has made a good first impression. Before being named as John McCain’s running mate, 67% of voters didn’t know enough about the Alaska governor to have an opinion. After her debut in Dayton and a rush of media coverage, a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 53% now have a favorable opinion of Palin while just 26% offer a less flattering assessment.

Palin earns positive reviews from 78% of Republicans, 26% of Democrats and 63% of unaffiliated voters. Obviously, these numbers will be subject to change as voters learn more about her in the coming weeks. Among all voters, 29% have a Very Favorable opinion of Palin while 9% hold a Very Unfavorable view.

By way of comparison, on the day he was selected as Barack Obama’s running mate, Delaware Senator Joseph Biden was viewed favorably by 43% of voters.

These numbers also look positive.

In the new survey, 35% of voters say the selection of Palin makes them more likely to vote for McCain while 33% say they are less likely to do so. Most Republicans say they are more likely to vote for Palin and most Democrats say the opposite. As for voters not affiliated with either major party, 37% are more likely to vote for McCain and 28% less likely to do so. Those numbers are a bit more positive than initial reaction to Biden.

The daily presidential numbers haven't moved much the past couple of days and we likely will have to get through the GOP Convention and then next weekend to see if things move significantly. Obama leads by four points and one would have expected a larger bump after he delivered a speech that knocked people's eyelashes off.

Judging by the nutroots reaction Friday, I expect to hear stories about how Palin secretly eats human flesh.

Ed Morrissey has more on the desperate Democrats.