The new ABC poll, conducted yesterday so after Palin’s speech, is a mixed bag for the McCain campaign. On the one hand, less than half of voters—42 percent to be precise—think that Palin has the right experience to serve as president. On the other, Obama’s numbers on this aren’t much better; in a pre-convention ABC poll only 50 percent said that Obama had the experience he needed on this front, 47 percent thought he didn’t.
It is strategically imperative for the McCain campaign to drive up Palin’s ready to be president numbers. Not only because considering McCain’s age and health issues these numbers could be a drag on the ticket but because as long as a plurality of Americans believe McCain picked someone not ready to be president as his running mate that is going to sour these voters’ view of his judgment.
Palin’s speech on Wednesday night was about as good an introduction of herself to the American electorate as she could have made and probably explains why these numbers are so high considering that she is a first-term governor of Alaska. But building these numbers is going to take Palin demonstrating her knowledge of the issues in a context other than speeches. The two setting she should use are town hall meetings and TV interviews. The McCain campaign aren’t saying when she’ll do interviews and it is understandable that they are wary of exposing her to the media but the press won’t take her seriously until she’s done this.
Once Palin has been back to Alaska, she should start doing the rounds of the TV studios. If the campaign is worried about dirty tricks, they should insist that the interview is live or live to tape. Considering the numbers she drew for her convention speech, she can expect boffo viewing figures for her first big TV appearance and if she nails it she’d probably give the ticket a timely boost in the polls. Conversely, if the McCain camp hide her away they’ll suggest they’re somehow embarrassed about the pick. As the Wall Street Journal editorial board points out, that would be fatal for Palin’s reputation.
Comments