1 Boring Old Man

Palin’s Favorability Rating? Still Slipping…

Going down?

On Tuesday, I reported that Sarah Palin’s favorability ratings, which peaked shortly after the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, were starting to slip. Between Sept. 13 and Sept. 17, the Alaska governor’s unfavorables had climbed in the Diageo/Hotline poll from 30 percent to 37 percent; her favorables, meanwhile, had fallen from 52 percent to 47 percent. All in all, she’d gone from the most to least popular White House hopeful over the course of five short days.

The reason? "I suspect that we’re starting to see Palin’s considerable novelty wear off," I wrote. "Between now and Nov. 4, voters will stop seeing Palin as a fascinating story and starting taking her measure as an actual candidate for office. Some will approve; some won’t… But it’s hard to argue that the journey from intriguing new superstar to earthbound politician–a necessary part of the process–doesn’t involve a loss of altitude. Just ask Barack Obama."

Focusing on Palin was the smart approach
by kos

… So we focused heavily on Palin, and make no mistake, it’s exactly that intense focus that has taken its toll on her numbers:

      ^{Approve Disapprove No Opinion}

9/11:    52       35        13     +17
9/12:    51       37        12     +14
9/13:    49       40        11     +9
9/14:    47       42        11     +5
9/15:    47       43        10     +4
9/16:    45       44        11     +1
9/17:    44       45        11     -1
9/18:    42       46        11     -4

That’s a shocking 21-point collapse in a single week. She went from being just about the most popular person on the top of the ticket, to the (lipstick wearing?) goat…