Brendhan Nyhan compares Sarah Palin’s approval ratings with Dan Quayle’s over a similar period and finds good news for the former Vice-President and Senator from Indiana:
[P]erceptions of Palin’s qualifications are unprecedented among presidential/vice presidential nominees and major presidential contenders in recent years. From Joe Biden to George W. Bush, no one has been perceived as less qualified since Dan Quayle and Ross Perot. The Palin-Quayle parallel, which Jon Chait nailed soon after her nomination, is particularly striking. Each was a surprise VP pick who sparked initial enthusiasm but later became widely perceived as incompetent.
And here’s how they compare:
Quayle never recovered from the disaster that unfolded after he was first introduced to the public. Yes, he was elected Vice-President but that had more to do with who was at the top of the ticket, and who the Democrats had nominated for President, than it did with Quayle. Throughout his Vice-Presidency, Quayle was a continual butt of jokes, not the least because of his own spelling errors and absurd attempts to fight a culture war, and when he tried to run for President, his campaign was short-lived to say the least.
As the chart shows, Palin suffered even more from her initial introduction to the public than Quayle did, and she’s continued on a downward trajectory ever since with no sign of a turnaround — although she’ll likely get a slight bump when he book comes out next month. For her to become a credible candidate for President would require a comeback unlike anything ever seen in American politics.
Might it happen ? Yea, anything is possible.
Will it happen ? I think it’s more likely that Fidel Castro will come out of retirement to pitch for the Mets.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:53 am
For a second you had me thinking this was a Quayle/Palin ticket for 2012.
October 30th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Raymond,
Even the Republican Party isn’t that stupid.
Wait a minute, what am I saying ? They’re probably printing the campaign signs right now !
October 30th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Nixon