An interesting new poll out from ABC News and The Washington Post suggests that John McCain has been hurt by his selection of Sarah Palin and his concentration on Barack Obama’s alleged ties to Bill Ayers:
More challenges for John McCain: Likely voters overwhelmingly reject his effort to make an issue of Barack Obama’s association with 1960s radical William Ayers. Fallout continues from McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin for vice president, with 52 percent saying it weakens their confidence in his judgment. And on optimism, it’s Obama by 2-1.
Skepticism about the Ayers issue was one of the factors cited by Colin Powell in his endorsement of Obama yesterday, and in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, likely voters broadly agree: 60 percent say Obama’s relationship with Ayers is not a legitimate issue in the presidential campaign; 37 percent say it is.
(…)
On the vice presidential candidates, 52 percent of likely voters say McCain’s pick of Palin has made them less confident in the kind of decisions he’d make as president; that’s up 13 points since just after the selection, as doubts about Palin’s qualifications (also voiced by Powell on Sunday) have grown. Just 38 percent say it makes them more confident in McCain’s judgment, down 12 points.
Those numbers are more than reversed on Obama’s pick of Joe Biden: 56 percent of likely voters say it makes them more confident in Obama’s decision-making, 31 percent less so.
(…)
On all these, the views of swing-voting independents are critical. They see Obama as more optimistic by 57-31 percent and as better-suited temperamentally by 52-36 percent. The Palin pick makes them less rather than more confident in McCain’s judgment by 51-39 percent, while the Biden selection makes them more rather than less confident in Obama by 50-33 percent.
Independents by 60-37 percent say Ayers is not a legitimate issue; on ACORN they divide more narrowly, 47-42 percent.
None of this is good news for McCain………
October 20th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Even Fox News Turns On McCain Campaigns Use of Robocalls…
John McCain in 2000 on Robocalls: “I promise you I have never and will never have anything to do with that kind of political tactic.”
John McCain in 2008 on Robocalls: These are legitimate and truthful and they are far different than the p…
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:18 am
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