A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows plummeting approval ratings for Palin, who now may hurt the McCain ticket more than she helps. Loss of confidence among independent voters was particularly evident in the numbers.
The Couric interviews, widely watched by polled voters, left Palin badly bruised and fodder for what the NYTimes called the “devastating parody” on SNL.
While Tina Fey could arguably take credit for turning the course of the election around, she hasn’t completely cornered the market on Palin humor.
Though they appeared to take themselves seriously, Anderson Cooper/CNN reported Tuesday night on what could actually be seen from Little Diomede Island in Alaska. What they found – a rock in the Bering Strait with 150 inhabitants who had never seen Sarah Palin or any other governor, but who could see Russia from their doorsteps. And Slate offers a wonderful piece on Palin poetry – actually interesting, from a linguistic POV. In other news, the San Francisco Chronicle has raised a call to “Free Sarah Palin”.
Perhaps the quote of the week comes from conservative columnist Kathleen Parker who called for Palin to step down - "Cut the verbiage and there's not much content there," Parker wrote. "If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself."
The McCain campaign desperately needs to re-burnish Palin's image in the debate. While voters paying attention to the Couric interviews have been disillusioned, the debate offers her an opportunity work her highly honed populist skills. By all accounts, she could have an edge here.
The Wall Street Journal reports that “Palin proved to be a formidable foe in Alaska debates” and a former opponent called her a master of “the fine art of the non-answer, the glittering generality.”
I don’t think we can underestimate Palin’s potential to dazzle the electorate – still I doubt it will be enough to turn things around for McCain.
Maybe Tina Fey should run for VP.
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