Tuesday, October 7, 2008

palin's lost luster a gain for obama

CQ Politics has an interesting analysis of Palin solidifying Obama's lead. Let's see if it holds up. I wonder if the white supremacist backlash she and the Republicans are trying to stir up will work to their advantage:

...Georgia Republican Rep. Jack Kingston said some of his staffers have asked to take Tuesday off so they can drive more than two hours from Savannah to Jacksonville, Fla., to catch a glimpse of Palin at a rally there. “She actually helps because she generates a lot of excitement on our side, and we’ve needed it,” Kingston said.

Palin may well boost turnout among steadfast Republicans in what is shaping up as a dismal year for the GOP, with party analysts already previewing the 2010 election-year argument that divided government is better for the public. But there is a downside for GOP prospects as well: Palin isn’t playing well among independents and Democrats, and she appears to be helping Obama pick up those who were not yet in his camp.

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found in a survey conducted after last week’s only vice presidential debate that 42 percent of respondents view Palin as qualified to be president, up from 40 percent before the debate. Biden got 77 percent after the debate... Perhaps more disturbing for McCain supporters: A Washington Post/ABC News poll taken at the end of last month showed that 55 percent of respondents viewed Obama as a “safe” choice for president, compared with 51 percent who said the same of McCain.

Campaign dynamics can change quickly, and history suggests that McCain has enough time to recover.

But in suggesting that Palin is ready to take the reins of the presidency, McCain and his surrogates appear to have inadvertently undermined their own questions about Obama’s preparedness for the job.

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