Can I get an AMEN?!
sweetpotato
Posts: 1,278
Polls Show Palin Is Starting to Drag Down McCain
By Markos Moulitsas, Daily Kos
Posted on September 19, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/99424/
No one can doubt that McCain's choice of Palin rejuvenated a listless, dying campaign. She excited the Theocon Right and brought them home, and being a fresh new face with an interesting bio, she captivated the nation's attention. Her initial numbers were sky high, and she packed them in for McCain. Suddenly, what had been a large Obama post-DNCC bounce turned on a dime, and Palin delivered a huge surge for her ticket.
Bloggers and tradmed reporters took a hard look at Sarah Palin and began raking her over the coals for myriad transgressions. She is a liar with theocratic tendencies, sports an intellect that makes Bush look like a Mensa member, and features an obvious fondness for Cheney-style abuses of power. And that's not even the worst of it.
But then the worriers began to question, "Why are we focusing on Palin? McCain is getting a pass! We're tilting at windmills, since she's too popular to damage!" We were told to stop talking altogether about Palin, as if ignoring her would remove the spell she had cast on America. This Andrew Sullivan post must've been emailed to me two dozen times by panicked worrywarts. A few bad polls, and people seemed to be losing their minds and sense.
But we continued to focus on Palin. Republicans were busy trying to build a positive narrative about Palin -- the "hockey mom" who was so folksy she could "field dress a moose" and had "said no to the Bridge to Nowhere and other government waste" and was overflowing with "small town values." McCain had shot up in the polls because of Palin. Common sense dictated it would be hard to knock him back down as long as she consolidated her popularity. So we set out to build the negative narratives about Palin. This is stuff straight out of Taking on the System. I have a whole chapter on it, in fact.
So we focused heavily on Palin, and make no mistake, it's exactly that intense focus that has taken its toll on her numbers:
Approve Disapprove No Opinion
9/11: 52 35 13 +17
9/12: 51 37 12 +14
9/13: 49 40 11 +9
9/14: 47 42 11 +5
9/15: 47 43 10 +4
9/16: 45 44 11 +1
9/17: 44 45 11 -1
9/18: 42 46 11 -4
That's a shocking 21-point collapse in a single week. She went from being just about the most popular person on the top of the ticket, to the (lipstick wearing?) goat. And it's not just our Research 2000 polling showing this collapse.
In the three days after Palin joined Team McCain--Aug. 29-31--32 percent of voters told the pollsters at Diageo/Hotline that they had a favorable opinion of her; most (48 percent) didn't know enough to say [..] By Sept. 4, however, 43 percent of Diageo/Hotline respondents approved of Palin with only 25 percent disapproving--an 18-point split. Apparently, voters were liking what they were hearing. Four days later, Palin's approval rating had climbed to 47 percent (+17), and by Sept. 13 it had hit 52 percent. The gap at that point between her favorable and unfavorable numbers--22 percent--was larger than either McCain's (+20) or Obama's (+13).
But then a funny thing happened: Palin seems to have lost some of her luster. Since Sept. 13, Palin's unfavorables have climbed from 30 percent to 36 percent. Meanwhile, her favorables have slipped from 52 percent to 48 percent. That's a three-day net swing of -10 points, and it leaves her in the Sept. 15 Diageo/Hotline tracking poll tied for the smallest favorability split (+12)** of any of the Final Four. [UPDATE: The Sept. 17 Diageo/Hotline tracking poll shows Palin at 47 percent favorable and 37 percent unfavorable--an even narrower +10 split.] Over the course of a single weekend, in other words, Palin went from being the most popular White House hopeful to the least.
The trendline is indisputable (it was just picked up by CBS). And just as Palin's initial popularity bolstered McCain, her sudden faltering is now bringing him back down to earth. You might have even noticed that the latest round of McCain ads don't even feature her or refer to "McCain/Palin." It's back to just "McCain." She was starting to drag him down.
Palin will continue to excite and energize the wingnut base. She was designed for that purpose, and won't fail at that task. But her cratering popularity now hampers McCain's efforts to expand beyond that core base.
All of this is happening because we did not relent on Palin, blocking Republican efforts to paint her in a positive light. The results are speaking for themselves.
[size=-2]Markos Moulitsas is founder of the political blog Daily Kos and coauthor of "Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics" (Chelsea Green Publishing). [/size]
© 2008 Daily Kos All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/99424/
By Markos Moulitsas, Daily Kos
Posted on September 19, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/99424/
No one can doubt that McCain's choice of Palin rejuvenated a listless, dying campaign. She excited the Theocon Right and brought them home, and being a fresh new face with an interesting bio, she captivated the nation's attention. Her initial numbers were sky high, and she packed them in for McCain. Suddenly, what had been a large Obama post-DNCC bounce turned on a dime, and Palin delivered a huge surge for her ticket.
Bloggers and tradmed reporters took a hard look at Sarah Palin and began raking her over the coals for myriad transgressions. She is a liar with theocratic tendencies, sports an intellect that makes Bush look like a Mensa member, and features an obvious fondness for Cheney-style abuses of power. And that's not even the worst of it.
But then the worriers began to question, "Why are we focusing on Palin? McCain is getting a pass! We're tilting at windmills, since she's too popular to damage!" We were told to stop talking altogether about Palin, as if ignoring her would remove the spell she had cast on America. This Andrew Sullivan post must've been emailed to me two dozen times by panicked worrywarts. A few bad polls, and people seemed to be losing their minds and sense.
But we continued to focus on Palin. Republicans were busy trying to build a positive narrative about Palin -- the "hockey mom" who was so folksy she could "field dress a moose" and had "said no to the Bridge to Nowhere and other government waste" and was overflowing with "small town values." McCain had shot up in the polls because of Palin. Common sense dictated it would be hard to knock him back down as long as she consolidated her popularity. So we set out to build the negative narratives about Palin. This is stuff straight out of Taking on the System. I have a whole chapter on it, in fact.
So we focused heavily on Palin, and make no mistake, it's exactly that intense focus that has taken its toll on her numbers:
Approve Disapprove No Opinion
9/11: 52 35 13 +17
9/12: 51 37 12 +14
9/13: 49 40 11 +9
9/14: 47 42 11 +5
9/15: 47 43 10 +4
9/16: 45 44 11 +1
9/17: 44 45 11 -1
9/18: 42 46 11 -4
That's a shocking 21-point collapse in a single week. She went from being just about the most popular person on the top of the ticket, to the (lipstick wearing?) goat. And it's not just our Research 2000 polling showing this collapse.
In the three days after Palin joined Team McCain--Aug. 29-31--32 percent of voters told the pollsters at Diageo/Hotline that they had a favorable opinion of her; most (48 percent) didn't know enough to say [..] By Sept. 4, however, 43 percent of Diageo/Hotline respondents approved of Palin with only 25 percent disapproving--an 18-point split. Apparently, voters were liking what they were hearing. Four days later, Palin's approval rating had climbed to 47 percent (+17), and by Sept. 13 it had hit 52 percent. The gap at that point between her favorable and unfavorable numbers--22 percent--was larger than either McCain's (+20) or Obama's (+13).
But then a funny thing happened: Palin seems to have lost some of her luster. Since Sept. 13, Palin's unfavorables have climbed from 30 percent to 36 percent. Meanwhile, her favorables have slipped from 52 percent to 48 percent. That's a three-day net swing of -10 points, and it leaves her in the Sept. 15 Diageo/Hotline tracking poll tied for the smallest favorability split (+12)** of any of the Final Four. [UPDATE: The Sept. 17 Diageo/Hotline tracking poll shows Palin at 47 percent favorable and 37 percent unfavorable--an even narrower +10 split.] Over the course of a single weekend, in other words, Palin went from being the most popular White House hopeful to the least.
The trendline is indisputable (it was just picked up by CBS). And just as Palin's initial popularity bolstered McCain, her sudden faltering is now bringing him back down to earth. You might have even noticed that the latest round of McCain ads don't even feature her or refer to "McCain/Palin." It's back to just "McCain." She was starting to drag him down.
Palin will continue to excite and energize the wingnut base. She was designed for that purpose, and won't fail at that task. But her cratering popularity now hampers McCain's efforts to expand beyond that core base.
All of this is happening because we did not relent on Palin, blocking Republican efforts to paint her in a positive light. The results are speaking for themselves.
[size=-2]Markos Moulitsas is founder of the political blog Daily Kos and coauthor of "Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics" (Chelsea Green Publishing). [/size]
© 2008 Daily Kos All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/99424/
"Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Barack Obama."
"Obama's main opponent in this election on November 4th (was) not John McCain, it (was) ignorance."~Michael Moore
"i'm feeling kinda righteous right now. with my badass motherfuckin' ukulele!"
~ed, 8/7
"Obama's main opponent in this election on November 4th (was) not John McCain, it (was) ignorance."~Michael Moore
"i'm feeling kinda righteous right now. with my badass motherfuckin' ukulele!"
~ed, 8/7
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
oh and ... AMEN
Sounds like the wheels are coming off of the "Straight Talk Express!"
http://www.myspace.com/thelastreel http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19604327965
Yeah, I'm not sure that it was the attempts to bash her record by some people as it was just people actually getting to know who she is and what she stands for.
Things like the Gibson interview, etc... are surely leading to a decrease in her popularity. Also, I'm guessing that the militant cries of sexism over ridiculous issues from the McCain camp haven't helped much either.
I say, keep hammering away at McCain. It seems like his weakness on the economy is exposed everyday now with some gaffe, or total reverse in positions. Obama needs to keep hitting him on the economy, while reinforcing his own policies on this matter, and I truly believe that he will win in November. Rather easily as well.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
That's crazy, most people don't even know SNL is still on...let alone actualyl watch that crap anymore.
I don't know if SNL had a hand in anything, but...
http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN1545121120080915
Some people watch it (and their ratings were up), but more importantly, clips of that skit were shown repeatedly on all the morning shows and network news.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
if people were influenced by SNL to switch off of Palin ... then they had no business supporting her in the first place for her shallow, questionable resume.
But seriously, it had nothing to do with SNL ... the Charlie Gibson interview perhaps, the same speech for 2 weeks perhaps, the controversy in Alaska perhaps ... but not SNL.
edit - btw, I think it's only going to tumble further with several of the Republicans that are coming out saying she's not qualified now ...
"I don't believe in damn curses. Wake up the damn Bambino and have me face him. Maybe I'll drill him in the ass." --- Pedro Martinez
Sarah was on top of the world...and what does the media do best???? Tear people down...this isn't a shock...
and the republicans, like Chuck Hagel? Is he "media biased"?
Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel said his party’s vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, lacks foreign policy experience and called it a “stretch” to say she’s qualified to be president.
“She doesn’t have any foreign policy credentials,” Hagel said in an interview published Thursday by the Omaha World-Herald. “You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don’t know what you can say. You can’t say anything.”
Could Palin lead the country if GOP presidential nominee John McCain could not?
“I think it’s a stretch to, in any way, to say that she’s got the experience to be president of the United States,” Hagel said.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/18/hagel-palin-does-not-have-foreign-policy-credentials/
edit ... I forgot this gem ...
Hagel took issue with that argument. “I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, ‘I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia,”‘ he said. “That kind of thing is insulting to the American people.”
"I don't believe in damn curses. Wake up the damn Bambino and have me face him. Maybe I'll drill him in the ass." --- Pedro Martinez
Those crazy whyte womenzzzzzzzzzz!!!!
Exactly how have the media torn her down. By giving people information on how she has governed. By showing footage of her pathetic interview with Charlie Gibson?
This collapse has occurred as people have learned more about her. There is nothing behind the facade of being a strong woman (which she is). Her policies are crap. She has NO foreign policy understanding.
Get real, this isn't the media's doing. This has happened because there is simply nothing to her.
I think that women initially loved the idea of a woman in the white house, but once they saw what she stands for they have come back to there senses.
seriously, it's what I've been saying all along ... MANY in the American public ... are so shortsighted, have such A.D.D. ... such short attention spans ... this election can change 3 or 4 more times before ealry November ...
This is why both campaigns are throwing news ads up EVERY day ... there's no message that is sticking ... it's just "feeding the beast" ... each and every day.
"I don't believe in damn curses. Wake up the damn Bambino and have me face him. Maybe I'll drill him in the ass." --- Pedro Martinez
In all honesty, I'm not surprised but the shift up and down... As any married man knows, women can't make up their minds, and will probably change it 97 more times before the election....
*ducks*
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Chuck is as much of a republican as Joe Lieberman is a Democrat. Chuck was considered for Obama's VP and is supporting Obama...he's part of the machine to tear Palin down...just as Obama had a huge boost in 2004 from 1 speech where people fell in love with him...and now that he is a real candidate, the media (fox news, etc.) and McCain's campaign are trying to tear him down.
The truth is the media builds people so far up, with unrealitics expectations that it makes it very easy for them to knock them back down...they do it all the time. It's what the people want after all...we want our heros, but then we want to make sure they feel our pain.
The media is doing what that should have been doing years ago, asking questions in an attempt to get at the truth. Republicans just whine about the media trying to "tear people down" when they start to uncover facts that are inconvenient for their party.
This whole liberal media bias is BS unless you're talking about MSNBC. Republicans have their own biased channel too called FOX News. CNN and the regular NBC network news seem unbiased.
exactly, it's not the media ... that's the "effect" ... it's the public, which loves this, which is the "cause" ...
and beleive me, Obama took a ton of this for months and months, it just happened a year ago ....
"I don't believe in damn curses. Wake up the damn Bambino and have me face him. Maybe I'll drill him in the ass." --- Pedro Martinez
Seem unbiased to you.
So, it's just republicans "whining" abotu the media tearing people down...you must have your head buried bwtween your legs...it's what they love to do, not just to republicans, but to everyone...
Obama, Palin, McCain, Hillary...just a few recent political examples...
Even more so with "celebrities".
Well, it is the media that does the work, no? We just sit back and watch it...bitching all the time.
And I already said that this occurred with Obama as well.
exactly... Obama had the media backlash too... it was just a while ago, and spread out over time.
With Palin, it was someone that the media know nothing about, and the timeframe is so compressed, that they are doing everything they can as soon as they can to show the bad side.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Unfortunately tearing down people is what the public seems to love, so the media keeps on doing it.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Those who hate and dispise her will never understand why she matters in this race until election day. Moreover, I think the Democratic party still doesn't understand that the median voter doesn't matter as much in this day and age (look at Kerry/Bush for proof). Regardless of her current popularity amongst "all voters", she remains probably even more popular amongst Republicans. What she did was rally a base. That's the name of the game in politics. Currently, she's getting the base pissed (by the "liberal" media as they call it bashing one of their kind), so they'll show up to the polls. The media is doing that. They are pissing off the people who are behind her and they will continue to. Republicans are much better in the political game then Democrats, it's proven over and over (as Republicans keep winning even though they have much much less registered to their party) . I know, for certain, if John McCain wins it will because he chose her.
I'm just referring to the "liberal media" description that gets tossed around. I only hear Republicans refer to media that way.
I know what you mean about the media also bringing down Democrats and celebrities, but I don't hear them say it is due to liberal bias.
That term is thrown around because the majority of objective journalists happen to vote democrat. You can't turn off your common sense.
The question I have is how the media supposedly is tearing Palin down? By asking questions about her qualifications, I guess. By showing footage of her train wreck of an interview.
You want the truth???? You can't handle the truth!!
No seriously, the truth is I mentioend the liberal biased media (with a winky) cause I knew i'd get a reaction.
next up...the media show Palin as the victim of this tearing down (that they themsleves did) and build her back up...but don;t worry folks....she'll relapse again and be torn down...where will it stand come early Nov???? Keep watching!