Sarah Palin is receiving a highly partisan reception on the national political stage, with significant public doubts about her readiness to serve as president, yet majority approval of both her selection by John McCain and her willingness to join the Republican ticket.Why then do we not see a headline reading: Highly Partisan Reception Greets Biden as V.P. Pick? If you're voting for Obama, does this make you highly partisan?
Given the sharp political divisions she inspires, Palin's initial impact on vote preferences and on views of McCain looks like a wash, and, contrary to some prognostication, she does not draw disproportionate support from women. But she could potentially assist McCain by energizing the GOP base, in which her reviews are overwhelmingly positive.
Half of Americans have a favorable first impression of Palin, 37 percent unfavorable, with the rest undecided. Her positive ratings soar to 85 percent among Republicans, 81 percent among her fellow evangelical white Protestants and 74 percent of conservatives. Just a quarter of Democrats agree, with independents in the middle.
Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, is similarly rated, with slightly fewer unfavorable views and partisanship running in the opposite direction.
Buried deep within this story is this nugget:
Among personal and policy matters tested in this poll, the most positive response is to Palin's decision to have her fifth baby earlier this year after a diagnosis of Down syndrome; 41 percent say this makes them see her more favorably.Guess that nonsense about her daughter Bristol actually having the baby isn't quite working out.
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