Sarah Palin needs to go far away

[Ben Kenobi]

True, but she dragged McCain's sorry carcass to a winning position. He was behind in the polls until he chose her.

[Boris Godunov]

Aaaaand then he was behind in the polls after she opened her mouth and America learned she was retarded.

[Drake Tungsten]

Oh he would have lost without her, but she helped make the margin so much the worse for him.

That's preposterous. I officially dub thee stupider than He Who Shall Not Be Named.

[Japher]

Aaaaand then he was futher behind in the polls after she opened her mouth and America learned she was retarded.

Yeah, but it made her hotter.

[Boris Godunov]

Oh he would have lost without her, but she helped make the margin so much the worse for him.

That's preposterous. I officially dub thee stupider than He Who Shall Not Be Named.

The evidence that Palin dragged down McCain's numbers has been out there for quite a while. I guess your erections have made you so blind to this FACT!

[Japher]

Why is Fake Boris still posting here?

[Ben Kenobi]

The evidence that Palin dragged down McCain's numbers has been out there for quite a while.

Uh, again. Polls had him in the lead prior to the collapse in October. This was after he picked Palin. Palin nearly dragged his sorry ass across the finish line.

[Drake Tungsten]

The evidence that Palin dragged down McCain's numbers has been out there for quite a while.

I'm sure you'll be able to produce some, then.

[trev]

Intelligence is very poorly assessed in election campaigns. Somehow if a person cannot remember a lot of facts often unrelated to their previous life experience, they are judged dumb. Intelligence is better assessed as being able to make right decisions when briefed on the facts by advisors etc. Sarah Palin was judged on the former criteria, not the more reasonable latter criteria. I think her level of intelligence would have been assessed as higher if she was judged reasonably, but still maybe not what would be required of a president.
But to call her dumb because of a lack of knowledge in areas she had no need to know about prior to her unexpected selection as VP candidate is presumptious and unfair. She seemed to gain knowledge quite rapidly once coached by advisors.

[Drake Tungsten]

No, she's dumb. All four of the candidates were.

[-Jrabbit]

Palin nearly dragged his sorry ass across the finish line.

What were those electoral totals again?

Give me a break.

[Ben Kenobi]

What were those electoral totals again?

A 'landslide' of 53 percent.

Although, to be fair, the best showing since LBJ in '64.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I didn't realize that Electoral Totals came in % form, Ben.

[Boris Godunov]

At work, so limited time, but a quick search:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/us/politics/31poll.html?_r=1

All told, 59 percent of voters surveyed said Ms. Palin was not prepared for the job, up nine percentage points since the beginning of the month. Nearly a third of voters polled said the vice-presidential selection would be a major factor influencing their vote for president, and those voters broadly favor Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.

And in a possible indication that the choice of Ms. Palin has hurt Mr. McCain’s image, voters said they had much more confidence in Mr. Obama to pick qualified people for his administration than they did in Mr. McCain.

http://www.trendite.net/2008/11/04/exit-polls-2008-presidential-election-results-tracker-coverage-update-voting/

There is evidence that Sarah Palin’s presence on the Republican ticket has hurt McCain with some voters; she is the top reason voters give for having switched their support from McCain to Obama.

http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/story?id=6166666&page=1

Forty-six percent of likely voters now say having Palin on the ticket makes them less likely to support McCain -- up 14 points in just the past month and more than double what it was in early September. And among those who call the candidates' age an important factor in their vote, more, 61 percent, say Palin makes them less likely to back McCain.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/2008/10/on_the_palin_effect.html

More voters are less likely to vote for McCain because of her presence on the ticket. Independents have flipped their allegiance. In September 38% said they were more likely to vote for McCain because of Palin - now just 19% say that. Women were split last month, but now lean toward less likely, as do men.

As I said, I certainly don't think it cost McCain the election, but I wouldn't say it's outrageously absurd to suggest that Palin cost him 1-2% extra.

[Boris Godunov]

For Ben, anything that occured after McCain's high water mark in the polls is apparently irrelevant. Apparently all data froze that day.

Of course, the polling data from that period indicates McCain's bounce into the lead didn't have as much to do with Palin as it did being the typical post-convention bounce for a candidate. It was already waning before the economic crisis hit.