First Two National Polls Find Palin Gains LESS Support from Women

[EV_Ares]

By E&P STaft

Published: August 30, 2008 1:35 PM ET

NEW YORK The first national polls on John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin yesterday came out today from Rasmussen and Gallup -- and contrary to what the GOP probably hoped, she scored less well with women than men.

Here's a finding from Gallup: Among Democratic women -- including those who may be disappointed that Hillary Clinton did not win the Democratic nomination -- 9% say Palin makes them more likely to support McCain, 15% less likely.

From Rasmussen: Some 38% of men said they were more likely to vote for McCain now, but only 32% of women. By a narrow 41% to 35% margin, men said she was not ready to be president -- but women soundly rejected her, 48% to 25%.

Only 9% of Obama supporters said they might be more likely to vote for McCain.

Overall, voters expressed a favorable impression of her by a 53/26 margin, but there was a severe gender gap on this: Men embraced her at 58% to 23%, while for women it was 48/30.

And by a 29/44 margin, men and women together, they do not believe that she is ready to be President.

As for voters not affiliated with either major party, 37% are more likely to vote for McCain and 28% less likely to do so.

Gallup is now out with its own initial poll. It also shows women with a slightly less favorable view of Palin. An excerpt from USA Today:

There is wide uncertainty about whether she's qualified to be president. In the poll, taken Friday, 39% say she is ready to serve as president if needed, 33% say she isn't and 29% have no opinion.

That's the lowest vote of confidence in a running mate since the elder George Bush chose then-Indiana senator Dan Quayle to join his ticket in 1988. In comparison, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden was seen as qualified by 57%-18% after Democrat Barack Obama chose him as a running mate last week.....

Among all those surveyed, 35% call Obama's speech at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium Thursday night excellent, 23% good, 15% "just OK," 3% poor and 4% "terrible." Sixteen percent say they didn't see it and 14% have no opinion. That's higher than the ratings for acceptance speeches by President Bush and Democrat John Kerry in 2004, by Bush and Democrat Al Gore in 2000 and by Republican Bob Dole in 1996.

Asked about the Democratic convention's impact, 43% say it makes them more likely to vote for Obama, 29% less likely. Nineteen percent say it won't make a difference.

Link: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003844485

[Donkeykick]

1. This does not surprise me none.

Democratic women (supporters) aren't for Hillary just because she is a woman - those polls are substantial proof of it.

[KittyWampus]

2. But it firms up support amongst Fundies. And may help w/Conservtive women IF Democrats

end up making her seem sympathetic.

[Balderdash]

3. I coulda told ya that

As someone who's first choice was Hillary, I didn't vote for her because she was a woman. I voted for her in the Primary because I thought she was best for the country. That she was a woman was just icing not the reason.

McCain made a mistake, a pretty sexist mistake in thinking that women would vote for a woman just because of her gender. Women are a lot smarter than that and both parties should take heed and stop under valuing us.

[moriah]

4. Women see her BS for what it is, BS.

Yeah, I know that some fundie women are head over heels for her.

I already got a political email from one lady at work who insisted on inviting me to her church when I first moved up here (I politely said that my family was Episcopalian and I hadn't found a local Episcopalian church here, which threw her for a moment, I don't think she knows what that is, and I wasn't going to tell the woman that I am Pagan) and who has called another coworker of mine the Antichrist because he admitted he was Buddhist, saying how absolutely wonderful she is, but she was already a McCain supporter.

She has another reason for her totally enthusiastic embrace of Palin -- her daughter has cerebral palsy.

I politely replied that I hoped that Palin's experiences would help raise the discussion of how we need to expand programs like the Arkansas Medicaid Waiver Program (which my mother practically ran while she was a state employee) so that people with children with special needs but not a lot of money could get assistance to help take care of their children.

We'll see if she responds sometime next week, she does the Monday-Friday thing and I ... well... don't.

-------

But when I spoke to my mother this weekend, her response to the pick was "Does he really think that he can win over Hillary supporters with a woman who is so against everything Hillary stood for?"

... my grandmother, who supported Hillary over Obama but does have a pretty Republican streak to her since she is a very religiously conservative woman, just said "Oh, too bad he didn't pick Reverend Huckabee." (She was fond of our Republican governor.)

[CreekDog]

5. It's offensive they would compare her to Hillary and think to get her voters

:eyes:

[EV_Ares]

6. Yeah, you are right on as Hillary supporters/women especially are far more intelligent

than just voting for a woman because she is a woman. Palen wants to outlaw abortion period or a woman's right to choose even in the cases of incest and rape. She wants Creationism taught in the schools. She supports John McCain's policy of a woman not getting a fair and equal wage even though she might be doing the same thing as a man & this is not including all of her other far out right-wing agenda beliefs which is why she was a fund raiser for Pat Buchanan. Can you see a Hillary supporter supporting Buchanan? I don't think so.