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PALIN'S SHRINKING POPULARITY.
Contrary to the assertions of Republican strategist John Feehery, if you strike Sarah Palin down, she does not become more powerful than you can possibly imagine. As word has spread of Palin's ignorance about foreign policy, her conduct in Alaska, and her dishonesty regarding her own qualifications, the initial enthusiasm about her has waned, most dramatically among white women. A new CBS/NYT poll shows a 21-point swing among white women in Obama's direction in just the last week. Palin's favorable rating among women has fallen 11 percent. It is folly to extrapolate too much from any one poll, but others confirm the trend.
According to the poll, the two things McCain voters like most about Palin are that she is "outspoken" and "a woman," neither of which are actually qualifications for the presidency. While arguing for months that the only reason Obama has come so far is because of his race, it turns out that Palin was picked mostly because of her gender. Poll respondents tend to agree: only 17 percent think Palin is qualified to be president. Conservatives love her anyway; 78 percent are enthusiastic about her candidacy. Turns out that tokenism is an exciting phenomenon for a party that is increasingly homogeneous.
Neither Obama nor Palin are qualified in the way past nominees have been. The country has spent a year evaluating Obama, and despite his relative inexperience, they've decided they like him, for the most part. This is probably because Obama didn't try to pad his resume: everything from community organizer to senator was out on the table. If it didn't look appealing, you weren't going to vote for him. He won liberal skeptics over through his conduct on the campaign trail, the way he managed his multimillion-dollar campaign organization, and by defeating Hillary Clinton. Essentially, he convinced people over by excelling beyond their expectations.
Palin, on the other hand, lied about her experience on everything from the Bridge to Nowhere to selling the governor's plane on eBay. For women voters, the growing realization that Palin was put on the ticket not because she was qualified, or because she would be a good vice president, but merely to boost McCain's electoral fortunes, might strike some as the exact kind of exploitation that feminism is supposed to end.
I can't actually hate on people who like Palin because she's a woman. Of course, that's not the only reason people like Palin -- it's because she's a woman and an outspoken conservative. Liberals like Obama not only because he's black, but because he's black and an outspoken liberal. The symbolic power of these combinations is more than the sum of the words used to describe them. Both Obama and Palin represent a vindication of their movement's worldview, and one hopes that conservatives might look at their reaction to Palin and come to a better understanding of what identity means. But they probably won't.
--A. Serwer
COMMENTS (14)
Who knew? From Chop-job Charlie's heavily edited (read biased) interview, to HuffPo, DailyKos, WaPo and the rest of the relentless blood-thirsty liberal wackos out there you vehemently and viciously attacked her, who knew they could be so successful?
Posted by: FlaLady | September 18, 2008 11:57 AM
"I can't actually hate on people who like Palin because she's a woman."
That's ok. I can hate them enough for both of us.
Posted by: Anonymous | September 18, 2008 11:59 AM
FlaLady, putting public figures on the spot and exposing uncomfortable facts is not "attacking", it's journalism. But if you disagree, fine; I eagerly await your ringing defense of Barack Obama against all manner of libelous smears.
Posted by: Reader X | September 18, 2008 12:05 PM
I think you almost hit on an important point, which is the difference between experience and qualifications. Democrats didn't vote for Obama simply because they "liked him for the most part." If that had been the whole of it, they'd have elected Hillary Clinton.
They voted for Obama because they agreed with him on some core issues - the largest of which was his vocal opposition to the Iraq war. He has also demonstrated through interviews and debates that he's highly knowledgeable about foreign and domestic policies and has detailed plans for each.
Palin, likewise, would have won over more people over time if she had demonstrated a fundamental knowledge of the issues. "I can see Russia from my house" undercut that completely.
Posted by: Jinchi | September 18, 2008 1:04 PM
Reader X: Here's an example of ObamaWaPo-style journalism, and here's an example of an ObamaWaPo-style journalist:
24ahead.com/blog/archives/007986.html
I guess when BHO becomes president, we're going to all be issued books with the new definitions for words like "journalist".
Posted by: 24AheadDotCom | September 18, 2008 2:05 PM
Look, i'm a woman, and just listening to the hypocrisies of Palin makes my skin crawl.
She's everything I would never want my daughter to be. She's against nearly everything that have brought women this far. She's the anit-feminist "feminist".
Her 1950's moralistic approach on how to run a family is exactly what went wrong: from keeping your kids in the dark about conception & sex, to the sheer idea of banning literature!
And she intends on running our country with the same approach.
The light is finally shining on the reality of this 'energized' state.
Let's hope it continues.
I don't want my country run like her household anymore that you would want some to tell you how to rasie your kids.
Posted by: RuffNReddy | September 18, 2008 4:36 PM
Just like all those blacks supporting O-No simply because he's....wait....er, um....sorta black looking and can talk like it when he's on a roll. Then there are the whites who are voting for O-No out of liberal guilt. They have a lot more than that to feel guilty for, if you know what I mean.
Posted by: Candy Ass CPA | September 18, 2008 10:38 PM
I have to share something with all of you fellow Americans; I can't stand her NASALLY voice.
It grates, it's annoying, and despite many other more sinister attributes; its the voice that really bugs.
Posted by: Anthony Look | September 19, 2008 12:56 AM
Anthony, I had the EXACT same impression the first time I heard her talk and I can't believe more people haven't mentioned it. What an irritating voice. Between looking at McCain and listening to her.... what an unattractive ticket. No, I don't base my votes on looks, but they are ugly on the inside and the outside.
Candy Ass, that has to be one of the most candy ass statements I have ever seen on here. I don't think many liberals feel guilty about race. Liberals recognize that value is found in all races and that race is immaterial.
Posted by: JAB | September 19, 2008 9:02 AM
Palin wikk bring the whole McCain campaign crashing down in one or two weeks.
Her lies and her scandals which will explode on TV and the internet in afew days exposing and ending her hopes for VP that Obama/Biden were doing at a slower, more deliberate pace.
Her political conservatism, her bellicose threats towards Russia over Georgia, her lack of experience in practically everything, and perhaps most of all her pentecostal fundamentlaist religious views which are...or should be offensive to 95% of the country also will help to finish the job.
Go back to Alaska, and hide Sarah.
GOOD RIDDANCE!!!
Posted by: Hirotomi Takemitsu | September 19, 2008 8:45 PM
Also, Palin is dumb and incurious and Obama is smart and paying attention to the stuff that's part of his job.
There is a chunk of the electorate who views the Presidency as a job, and to that group it's very clear that Palin doesn't have the chops. It's beyond the issues, it's a basic question of who is going to do something very stupid when something unpredictable and significant (like the total economic meltdown) happens that requires action.
Confidence ain't enough--you gotta be right. Dumb and incurious people are often wrong in crisis.
Posted by: anonymiss | September 20, 2008 12:33 PM
The only thing Palin has contributed to this dicourse is sadly that the GOP now feels that at least GOP woman candidates running for office don't have to answer questions directly to the press unless hand picked ticketed town hall GOP guests or Gibson/Hannity talking point men.
The press and news networks continue to lets us down. It is now another weekend and Palin's managers (GOP woman get managed cause without men they're unpredictable-who's sexist?)do not let Palin face any news outlet. Is this the future of GOP female candidates from here on?
She can't stand on her own two heels.
Posted by: Anthony Look | September 20, 2008 11:23 PM
Lberal intelligence is a conflict in terms.
Her voice is too NASALLY.
Liberals=Looters
Posted by: Mike | September 22, 2008 3:46 PM
Lberal intelligence is a conflict in terms.
Her voice is too NASALLY.
Liberals=Looters
Posted by: Obama Liberal | September 22, 2008 3:48 PM