McCain's 'Stop Sarah Palin' strategy working like a charm, polls show

Fresh evidence tonight that the brilliant McCain campaign strategy to lock away the political effervescence of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to stoke overconfidence among the nation's Democrats and set the stage for yet another improbable Arizona comeback is working exactly as planned.

For more than 10 days now the 44-year-old mother of five, who upset the ancient Republican establishment in Alaska two years ago by driving herself to campaign events and talking to pretty much any group that would have her, has been cut off from normal Americans who watched her by the many millions give a spunky speech at the Republican National Convention and then overnight turned her name into seven of the top 10 search terms on Google.

But John McCain's strategists had a better idea than letting Palin be Palin. They set her up with TV reporters born to ask questions until they found some she couldn't answer.

No doubt the campaign's idea was to show the hockey mom was pretty much like any other American who couldn't recall Marbury vs. Madison if their cellphone depended on it.

Wait, come to think of it, the other vice presidential candidate didn't cite a famous Supreme Court case by name either. But never mind. We don't want to confuse the conventional Palin storyline.

So the pressure is even greater for Thursday night's sole vice presidential debate between Palin and Democrat Joe Biden, the senator from somewhere who wears his hair down pretty much all the time.

The Washington Post published a new poll this morning showing that six out of 10 Americans now see Palin's two years as governor of the largest state as insufficient experience to become president.

Almost half the voters polled expressed discomfort with McCain's age and, of those, 85% found Palin too inexperienced to take over. A third of those polled now say they're less likely to vote for McCain because of Palin. It's almost like a dream, it's working so well. A previous Times poll showed little Palin effect on female voters.

Our colleague Mark Silva over at the Swamp reports on a separate Pew Research Center poll that also shows this Hanoi strategy unfolding perfectly. Confidence in Palin's ability to lead has plummeted from 52% in early September before the imprisonment of Palin to 37% now.

It's not all good news though. The Pew poll finds 70% view Palin as down-to-earth, vs. only 55% for the gaffey guy who's been a yabbering senator with congressional perqs since Palin was eight years old.

Also discouraging for the McCain camp must be the finding of a new Marist Poll, described by the Swamp's same Silva. It reveals that while a plurality (45%) expect Biden to perform better in the debate and a majority (61%) expect him to show a greater understanding of issues, compared to Palin's 36% and 28%, nearly two out of three expect Palin to come across as more likeable, compared to Biden's measly 23% anticipated likeability.

To facilitate the latest McCain plunge into oblivion by Nov. 4, the hockey mom is clearly going to have to do something outrageous during the debate to drive down her likeability. Maybe talk innocently about hairplugs. Or let slip something about her home state being 279 times larger than, say, Delaware. 

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credit: Office of the Alaska Governor

Comments

[cecilia, los angeles]

I am a republican woman and I find this VP pick INSULTING! McCain doesn't think the American people are smart, but he will soon find out that not only are they smart, but they're a hell of a lot smarter than he is, not to mention his pathetic VP pick. Mediocrity did not make this the greatest country in the world nor will it take us out of the pit inwhich we find ourselves now. Obama/Biden are the ONLY responsible choice, and it's my choice!

[Judith]

and I question your sanity in voting for an empty suited Marxist. You "citizens" have been snookered good as you will all find out too soon. Me, I don't even want to ever have to look at his ugly face or hear his name. My project for the next 4 years when I am not lmao.

[RandalH]

Palin's conservative answer regarding the supreme court should have been "Who cares about any one decision; consult the constitution regarding the powers assigned to the court. The fact is, they have no business ruling on any of the issues that come before them".

[Larry Fogelberg]

I turned off the debate only 15 minutes into it. Joe Biden blamed the entire mess in Washington on failed Bush policies and lack of regulation, and Sarah Palin did not nail him on his party's complicity in the mess. Where is Ronald Reagan to remind everyone that "Washington isn't the solution to the problem. It IS the problem?" Oh, well. Four years of Obama-Biden, and the American people will get the government the MSM media wanted them to have. And Gwen Ifill will be rich.

[D]

Alaska is a large state by square footage, sure. Population-wise, it ranks 47th.

Color me unimpressed. I'm still looking for substantive reasons to vote for her ticket (and the fact that she's female and so am I just won't cut it). I'm still waiting for some sign that she's thought about issues of national and global importance for more than five weeks, and can speak intelligently beyond her stack of notecards and regurgitated talking points.

I'm watching the debate right now, and see facile evasions in place of true understanding, nose wrinkles in place of facing facts Oh, there Biden goes again, actually talking about the errors of the past! How dare she be dismissive of this? We need to understand the past to make intelligent decisions about our future. Shame on her.

Let her finish her job and stay in Alaska. I don't want her speaking for my nation.

[ABW]

As a young black woman and knowing how destructive we as black people are to ourselves and our own neighborhoods I am supporting Palin/McCain. She appeals to me because she is not part of the Washington establishment. Her limited education and knowledge makes her human and more down to earth than the other candidates . Other countries have had women running their countries, why not America. I was once a Democrat, but the in fighting amongst Dems, which started during the Clinton era turned me away from the party. Have Americans really thought about the aftermath of McCain losing. I can just imagine what the streets will be like if Obama is elected as the first black? president. Black people, we are destructive by nature. Those of us that made it out of the ghetto hoods don't go back. I guess you can say we forget were we came from. It is a reason for that. Predominately black neighborhoods are destroyed by black people, what do you think we as black people will do to America if Obama is elected? SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

[D]

"Black people, we are destructive by nature." - ABW

I feel some doubt about your true identity, but regardless: your racism isn't persuasive, and it isn't helping.

[H.L.]

"AS DEMOCRACY IS PERFECTED, THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT REPRESENTS, MORE AND MORE CLOSELY, THE INNER SOUL OF THE PEOPLE. ON SOME GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY THE PLAIN FOLKS OF THE LAND WILL REACH THEIR HEART'S DESIRE AT LAST AND THE WHITE HOUSE WILL BE ADORNED BY A DOWNRIGHT MORON"
Written on July 26th, 1920
-H. L. MENCKEN (1880-1956)

[Cindy]

Yeah, she's just what we need, another Republican who'd love to make us more dependant on oil than we are already. Let the oil companies continue to run America.