Turns out, America ain't as dumb and the Palin-ites might want us to think we are.
As Sarah Palin marks her birthday, a new national poll indicates that 7 out of 10 Americans feel that she is not qualified to be president.Call it what you want, but I think this poll simply proves that America is tired of this gimmick, and wants it to go away. And as much as Palin's disastrous Katie Couric interview might have hurt perceptions of her intelligence, "Hand-Gate" might be even worse, simply because there's no way to spin this into a victim narrative. She had talking points on her hand, she referenced the talking points while being "interviewed" in front of a friendly crowd, who had also paid her $100k to speak. There's no way to make this look nice, or blame it on others. It seems like folks have finally had enough, as is evident by her disastrous numbers with Republicans.
According to an ABC News/Washington Post survey, 71 percent of the public say the former Alaska governor is not qualified to serve in the White House, with 26 percent saying the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee is qualified to be president. The 26 percent who say Palin is qualified is down 12 points from an ABC News/Washington Post poll from November.
The ABC News/Washington Post poll also indicates that even a majority of Republicans now view Palin as not qualified to serve as commander-in-chief. According to the survey, 45 percent of conservatives see her as qualified, down 21 points from last November.
The survey also indicates that 37 percent of Americans have a favorable view of her, with 55 percent holding an unfavorable view. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey from last month, 43 percent of the public had a favorable opinion and 46 percent had an unfavorable view of Palin.
The poll was conducted February 4-8, as Palin gave the keynote address in Nashville, Tennessee, at what was billed as the first national Tea Party convention. The survey indicates that Americans are split on the Tea Party movement, with 35 viewing the movement in a favorable way, 4 in 10 holding an unfavorable impression, and a quarter of those questioned unsure about the year old movement. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey conducted last month indicated that 4 in 10 were unsure, with one-third holding a favorable view and one quarter having an unfavorable view of the Tea Party movement.
Perhaps most interestingly, many of those polled were asked their opinions of Palin prior to her supposedly stellar speech, and before the Palm-Pilot story blew up. So, it's fair to say many of them already thought she wasn't qualified, this incident just added the cherry on top.
Part of me also wonders if this means the whole "Tea Party" effect is being overstated. Another recent poll showed a majority of Americans either don't know what the Tea Party is, or have no opinion of it, so folks who continually walk around saying this is "a revolution that reflects the angst of a majority of Americans" are selling wolf tickets. Reality is, most folks don't give a sh*t.
Then again, this is all probably just left-wing media bias, as usual.
Keep stackin' them chips, Miss Sarah.
Question: Is this poll proof that Palin should go ahead and start working on getting her own QVC show, rather than running for Prez?
[1] This is, in fact, a lie. He spoke to a group of assembled media (and a television audience) in a 6th grade classroom, and did indeed use the teleprompters for his prepared remarks. No kids were present, but why let that fact stand in the way of a good personal attack? Obama did indeed address the kids at the school the same day, sans teleprompter.
Poll no present to Palin on her birthday [CNN]
