The Palin Factor

Tomorrow it will all be over.  At least we hope, hanging chads and recounts aside.

And as we head into the final hours of the election, new polls are indicating that Sarah Palin may be dragging the Republican ticket down, and McCain may be doing better in the polls without her.

According to a new CNN poll released yesterday, if Biden and Palin were to go toe-to-toe on a separate vote for Vice President, Biden would beat his opponent by 12 points. And, removing the Palin factor, would give Obama only a 4-point lead over McCain.

Conventional wisdom tells us that people vote for the top of the ticket.  But, according to a New York Times article earlier this week, a third of voters say the vice presidential pick is a major factor in their vote.  And 59 percent of voters say Sarah Palin is not prepared for the job of vice president.

And it makes sense.  When Barack Obama chose Joe Biden to join his ticket, he gained experience, respectability and conventionality.  When John McCain chose Sarah Palin, he gained youth and excitement at the base of the Republican party.  But, much like the scrutiny Obama faced over whether or not he had enough experience to be president, Palin has had to work to prove herself.  And according to these numbers, it doesn’t look like most Americans think she passed the test.

Either way, after nearly two years of intense campaigning, November 4 will come and go and, with it, a new president and vice president.  I’m excited to look at where Sarah Palin, only the second women to be nominated for vice president by a major party, will fit into the future of the Republican party.

Don’t forget to vote.