A month ago, most Americans had never heard of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, but following her speech at the Republican National Convention where she accepted the party’s vice-presidential nomination, 58 percent of American voters have a positive opinion of her, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey released on Friday.
Among the 58 percent of respondents who have a favorable opinion of Palin, 40 percent have a very favorable opinion, while among the 37 percent with a negative opinion, 18 percent have a very unfavorable opinion of the 44-year-old governor. Before her acceptance speech, 52 percent had a favorable opinion of her, while a week ago, 67 percent had never heard of her, Rasmussen reports.
A week ago 67 percent of respondents had never heard of her.
New data indicate a significant increase in the number of those who say McCain made the right move by choosing Palin, as well as the number of those who believe Palin is ready to become President of the United States. Overall, Palin has slightly better ratings than Barack Obama’s choice, who selected political veteran Senator Joe Biden as his running mate.
Palin, with 58 percent has a higher approval rating than the two presidential candidates.
The most surprising result is that Palin, with 58 percent, has a higher approval rating than the two presidential candidates. On Friday morning, Obama and McCain had approval ratings of 57 percent each, while Biden was trailing with 48 percent.
There is a strong partisan divide in perceptions of Sarah Palin. Favorable views of her are held by 89 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of Democrats, as well as 59 percent of independent voters. There is also a gender difference in support, with 65 percent of men viewing the attractive Palin, a former beauty queen, favorably, while 52 percent of women have a favorable opinion of her.
Rasmussen’s daily tracking of support for presidential candidates shows that Obama maintains a lead over McCain with 50 to 45 percent of the vote. A difference of four to eight percentage points in favor of Obama is also shown by other daily voter surveys released on Friday: Washington Post – Obama 49 percent, McCain 45 percent; AP/Ipsos – Obama 47 percent, McCain 41 percent; and Gallup – Obama 50 percent and McCain 42 percent. (Hina)
