AP poll: Obama losing on experience to … Sarah Palin
posted at 6:52 pm on September 12, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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How did that massive attempt to define Sarah Palin as dangerously unprepared to become the “standy President”, as one wag put it, work out for Barack Obama? Decidedly mixed. On the good side, he got 36% of the voters in the latest AP poll to agree with him. On the bad side? Well ….
The poll suggests that perceived inexperience is more of a problem at the top of the Democratic ticket than in the No. 2 spot for Republicans.
Eighty percent say McCain, with nearly three decades in Congress, has the right experience to be president. Just 46 percent say Obama, now in his fourth year in the Senate, is experienced enough.
Fully 47 percent say Obama lacks the proper experience — an even worse reading than the 36 percent who had the same criticism about McCain running mate Sarah Palin, serving her second year as Alaska governor after being a small-town mayor.
Hey, thanks for making experience an even bigger issue than before, Senator Obama! After the first shrieks of “untested” went out about Palin, the Democratic offensive got everyone wondering about the credentials of the top of the Democratic ticket. Result? Epic fail. More people believe Obama lacks enough experience for the job than believe him suitably prepared.
Overall, McCain takes the lead among likely voters by four, 48-44. He has more base loyalty now than Obama, by eleven points. And while Obama leads in younger voters, McCain’s lead is strongest among older voters — who show up more reliably to vote in elections. He also has a large lead among white voters of all educational backgrounds, a sign that Obama may have the same problems he had in the later primaries once out of the urban areas.
The AP poll also confirms the Gallup findings that the generic Congressional ballot has narrowed considerably. They have the Democrats with only a five-point lead, which bodes ill for any expansion of the Democratic majority. Given the trends since the beginning of August, a Republican victory in the House appears a rational possibility instead of a pipe dream.
Democrats have to be dumbfounded at the state of the race with less than eight weeks to go before the election. Their presidential ticket was supposed to usher in a new era of Democratic control. I’d start watching for overt signs of buyer’s remorse in the next few days.
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Love it. The effectiveness of Rudy’s speech, in my honest opinion, played a huge part because it was the defining “emperor has no clothes” moment. Ever since then everyone is willing to blast Obama’s experience (so-called).
Spirit of 1776 on September 12, 2008 at 6:53 PM
Anybody know why the AP and Zogby polls don’t show up in the RCP average?
D0WNT0WN on September 12, 2008 at 6:54 PM
Wow… I’m starting to feel guilty about my emotions over all of this.
DaveS on September 12, 2008 at 6:54 PM
Scratch that. The AP poll is there. I’m just blind. But what about Zogby? Is it cause he does internet polling?
D0WNT0WN on September 12, 2008 at 6:55 PM
caveat emptor(sp?) baby!
mrfixit on September 12, 2008 at 6:55 PM
So will I.
semloh on September 12, 2008 at 6:57 PM
I guess the Obama needs to get back to that hope-y change-y thing, since he doesn’t have anything else going for him.
Right_of_Attila on September 12, 2008 at 6:57 PM
That’s what happens when you put your #1 up against our #2 you just look like a fool and foolish to think that everyone would buy it.
tee866 on September 12, 2008 at 6:58 PM
hey barry…its woodshed time.
elduende on September 12, 2008 at 6:58 PM
The media should be meaner to Gov. Palin. It’ll eventually sink in.
BadgerHawk on September 12, 2008 at 6:58 PM
Some people are too mature to giggle at Obama’s “dog whistle” thumbnail on the main page. I’m not one of them. Apparently more and more of the electorate are starting to agree with me.
innominatus on September 12, 2008 at 6:58 PM
Obama would lose on experience to my 26 year old grandson. Who’s surprised?
rplat on September 12, 2008 at 6:59 PM
Sarah ran a State and Obama ran a campaign into the ground while spending a gazzillion.
Judgment!
Biden.
Ballgame!
Shivas Irons on September 12, 2008 at 6:59 PM
Good!! I hope Barack loses this election in a landslide. I hate his guts and I never want to listen to another liberal speak as long as I live. They are reprehensible.
skree on September 12, 2008 at 6:59 PM
Funny stuff. Cock gun……shoot foot.
conservnut on September 12, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Forgot to put one thing also in that poll that the dems have failed at
William Amos on September 12, 2008 at 7:00 PM
True, but Palin ain’t no Rudy. She may have more ‘executive’ experience than either McCain or Obama but that doesn’t mean that she’d more qualified. If Palin had even half of Rudy’s brain or knowledge, then it would be another matter.
bayam on September 12, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Oooo. That’s gonna leave a mark.
lorien1973 on September 12, 2008 at 7:01 PM
Barry and the press have succeeded in doing McCain’s work for him. This reaction by the dynamic duo was a part of the logic in picking her as well. Barry in succumbing to his ego retaliated to her barbs by going into a full blown out orf control blitz on her credentials never quite realizing that as an unknown entity people would look critically at him while looking at her.
Schmidt/Rove/McCain whichever or all of you who picked are geniuses sirs.
Sarah Palin may well not be ready to be President the day after John McCain is inaugurated but Barry in flailing at her like a drunken child at a pinata has proven to many that he is not ready to be President on day one of his inauguration either.
Splendid move.
sven10077 on September 12, 2008 at 7:01 PM
Truly the best picture of Obama ever!
lorien1973 on September 12, 2008 at 7:01 PM
I am not at all sure about the AP poll, but as to why the Zogby poll does not show up, well, you might want to ask President John F. Kerry about that.
semloh on September 12, 2008 at 7:01 PM
Palin rules!
mindhacker on September 12, 2008 at 7:01 PM
I’m starting to get a tingle up my leg!!!
tomk59 on September 12, 2008 at 7:02 PM
Many, many conservatives predicted that Obama would end up trying to run against Palin on day one.
His arrogance allowed him to approve the “hair-trigger” response of inexperience.
Most kids running for senior class president are more astute than that.
blink on September 12, 2008 at 7:02 PM
WTF? Pee Wee Herman?
carbon_footprint on September 12, 2008 at 7:02 PM
Don’t forget Obama’s fatal mistake this election year – dropping out of public financing. By forgoing the guaranteed funding he now has to continue drawing from the same pool as congressional Democrats, leaving less available funds for local elections against Republican opponents and the RNC whom have more cash on hand. And with McCain no longer taking donations his contributors will trickle down to local levels where Democrats will be outmatched starting later this month until the election in November.
Democrats, failing in the energy debate, being shown to be fools on the national level, just might find themselves being washed out of the majority by Hurricane Palin.
smfoushee on September 12, 2008 at 7:03 PM
Will their buyer’s remorse make democrats bring Hillary in as the Presidential nominee?
Rules are ignored by dems all the time, but they may have trouble even getting her on the ballot in all 50 states if they started yesterday.
The they would have to worry that Hillary compares unfavorably with Palin’s experience.
CHECKMATE!
Right_of_Attila on September 12, 2008 at 7:03 PM
an had McCai picked Rudy with similar results it wouldbe “Rdy lacks personal ethics” Buy’em. Sarah Palin was smart enough to hold her own in a confrontational interview of a type “the ONE” has never had to endure. I remember another charismatic republican who was contantly belittled for his “lack of brains”.
He’s rightly hailed as a national treaure now.
sven10077 on September 12, 2008 at 7:03 PM
What’s worse than putting your number one up against your opposition’s number two? Failing at it.
OneGyT on September 12, 2008 at 7:04 PM
Good point. And the AP poll is there. I’m just blind.
D0WNT0WN on September 12, 2008 at 7:04 PM
Somebody should tell the Dems that they shouldn’t be the ones bringing up the experience issue. In fact, they should be avoiding it. Eh, never mind. Let ‘em be.
malan89 on September 12, 2008 at 7:05 PM
This is what I meant on the other thread about outsmarting yourself. As also noted previously, Obama steps on his pecker more than any POTUS candidate since McGovern / Eagleton/Shriver
Janos Hunyadi on September 12, 2008 at 7:05 PM
Then I think you are in the wrong country and about 60 some years late.
KentAllard on September 12, 2008 at 7:05 PM
Hey, thanks Obama campaign! Nice going, idiots.
Imagine the teeth gnashing going on. I wonder if we’ll start to see the old “campaign shakeup” in staff if the trend continues….
hippie_chucker on September 12, 2008 at 7:05 PM
Let’s hope that Pee Wee Herman isn’t called in to replace Biden. Using the logic of the right, Pee Wee is even more qualified than Palin to lead the nation in a time of crisis.
bayam on September 12, 2008 at 7:06 PM
*snort*
spmat on September 12, 2008 at 7:06 PM
President Dipstick should go back to checking his oil and tires.
My collie says:
You’re right. He doesn’t have enough experience.
CyberCipher on September 12, 2008 at 7:06 PM
The Obama campaign is a joy to behold.
Loxodonta on September 12, 2008 at 7:07 PM
Ed, thank you for your ability to put up an optimistic post without turning it into pessimism like others have been known to do here.
carbon_footprint on September 12, 2008 at 7:07 PM
thread winner!
lorien1973 on September 12, 2008 at 7:07 PM
PRAISE THE LORD!
Mercy4Me on September 12, 2008 at 7:07 PM
Holy Sh!t
This is a friggin’ nightmare for Barry!
Time for some ads exposing ChicagObama’s shady “communist organizer” history. Like the Chicago housing projects that are in shameful ruins. And the $100,000 gazeebo.
That will be the final nail in his coffin.
This election’s not even going to be close……
FiveWays on September 12, 2008 at 7:08 PM
The next Obama stumble: the e-mail ad. McCain can’t use e-mail because his war injuries make it impossible for him to type on a keyboard.
Wethal on September 12, 2008 at 7:09 PM
Isnt there also some public-private condo project that barry got passed and is now a disaster?
lorien1973 on September 12, 2008 at 7:10 PM
I see this weekend in the NYT’s and several other newspapers, they are distributing copies of “Obession” documentary from few years ago….thats not gonna help Obambi
jp on September 12, 2008 at 7:10 PM
We all HEAR you, troll; we just don’t LISTEN to you, or take you seriously, or believe you, or respect you……..
BTW, the HuffPost called: your ration of Kool-Aid is ready
Janos Hunyadi on September 12, 2008 at 7:10 PM
In my best Nelson (simpsons) impersonation, “Ha ha!”
El_Terrible on September 12, 2008 at 7:10 PM
Which is not revelant with an Obama win. I doubt Rudi would have stirred the base enthusiasm this much, and I’m a Rudi guy.
a capella on September 12, 2008 at 7:10 PM
HUGE Obama gaffe in todays attack ad:
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/jpodhoretz/30072
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OTliMTNiZjg5ZDEwZWNiZDYwZWFjN2JlNjNjNjkxZmM=
elduende on September 12, 2008 at 7:10 PM
The photo says it all:
“wha huh um wha’ happened?”
tru2tx on September 12, 2008 at 7:11 PM
a nice summation….
Barry is gonna feel the long knives come out from the newsies once McCain looks more than 55% likely to win this thing. The media worked HARD to prop him up, and has lost a LOT of credibility in so doing. They will NOT be amused if The ONE can’t close the deal.
sven10077 on September 12, 2008 at 7:11 PM
Plus; that ad managed to piss off the majority of senior citizens.
They don’t normally vote do they? LOL!
FiveWays on September 12, 2008 at 7:11 PM
BTW Ed, love that photo that you and AllahPundit are using. Collie gives me that same “cock the head and look clueless” look all the time.
My collie says:
CyberCipher on September 12, 2008 at 7:12 PM
Before I learned about Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin, I thought the party had a pretty dim future. Now it seems as though that has changed drastically over the past few weeks with how Palin and Jindal have performed in their own ways.
V15J on September 12, 2008 at 7:12 PM
Tar Baby and Skyhook
The Monster on September 12, 2008 at 7:12 PM
Obama – F, Palin B+
foxone on September 12, 2008 at 7:12 PM
Have Clinton Inc operatives actually hi-jacked the Obama Shambles Camp?
Seriously……
FiveWays on September 12, 2008 at 7:12 PM
Yeah, hopefully I’m not too OT, but Ed/AP, can you make a post about Obama mocking McCain for not using the computer… because he can’t due to war injuries? D’oh! The campaign needs to be HAMMERED on that. That can be a major nail in their coffin if we play the cards right.
Pasalubong on September 12, 2008 at 7:13 PM
smfoushee on September 12, 2008 at 7:03 PM
Good points. I’m wondering if/when Soros and his pals turn off the spigot this time around.
Cody1991 on September 12, 2008 at 7:13 PM
Buyers remorse, heck. I’d look for complete and utter meltdown over the next two weeks. With the MSM leading the way.
William Teach on September 12, 2008 at 7:14 PM
And exactly what parts of the interview were so tough? Do you think that a very high level question about the Bush Doctrine was a tough question? You clearly set a very low bar for a ‘tough’ interview.
It’s also clear that Gibson felt obligated to ask real questions because Palin has been hiding from the media, as if she’s running for the politburo. Of course, that didn’t stop her from whining about Oprah, as if she was fighting for interview opportunities. She’s told refused interviews with every major news organization in the country until finally granting one to Gibson. Will the great genius participate in another interview soon, or does she need another 3 weeks of intense coaching on how to answer basic questions?
bayam on September 12, 2008 at 7:14 PM
Your mentality is that of an hysterically screaming child having an temper tantrum.
KentAllard on September 12, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Yep! If I’m not mistaken- Rezko was the slum lord of that little gem. He cashed in, and let it rot……
FiveWays on September 12, 2008 at 7:15 PM
I hope the Canadian government is preparing for the rush of citizenship applications coming in November.
Mark1971 on September 12, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Oh, from what I’m reading, I think that’s starting to show already. The Dems are looking for a game-changer, and I just can’t rid myself of the notion that it may be at the expense of Joe Biden.
petefrt on September 12, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Both Michelle Malkin and Hotair covered this earlier
William Amos on September 12, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Yep, this guy with his soooooooooper genius intellect is the right guy for POTUS.
Wyle E. Obama sOOOOoooooper genius……train comes.
jukin on September 12, 2008 at 7:16 PM
You’re insulting Jindal, as if there’s any comparison when it comes to intelligence or knowledge of foreign policy. Please take your scorn for Jindal elsewhere, you won’t find any sympathy here.
bayam on September 12, 2008 at 7:17 PM
Oh c’mon, Barry O’s given us a few chuckles along the way. That speech in which he claimed that history would look back on the day that he won the nomination as the day the oceans stopped rising and the earth began to heal was a real side-splitter. How often do we get to see that level of megalomania on display (outside of a mental institution, anyway)?
And I agree that when he tilts his head to the side like that, he does remind one of a cocker spaniel.
AZCoyote on September 12, 2008 at 7:18 PM
OMG
You can make an attack ad with this info and Joe Biden asking that wheelchair-bound Lt. Gov to “stand up.”
CanadianGuy on September 12, 2008 at 7:18 PM
Obama would lose on experience to my 30 year old pet rock.
Yes i still have a pet rock.
oh you know they are on the way .
Mojack420 on September 12, 2008 at 7:19 PM
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OTliMTNiZjg5ZDEwZWNiZDYwZWFjN2JlNjNjNjkxZmM=
AMEN TO THAT. MCCAIN NEED TO PUT THAT IN AN AD, AND RUN IT WILD.
Mercy4Me on September 12, 2008 at 7:21 PM
Krauthammer nailed Gibson on that gaffe. As did nearly every other THINKING person in America.
Care to retort, or do you really want me to vivisect you here and now? With a butter knife?
Sakaki on September 12, 2008 at 7:21 PM
GO SHOPPING.
316CHRISTIANSTORE.BIZ
Mercy4Me on September 12, 2008 at 7:22 PM
Here’s some juicy Friday evening reading for you kids.
This will make a great McCain ad:
FiveWays on September 12, 2008 at 7:23 PM
JONAH G.
AWESOME
Mercy4Me on September 12, 2008 at 7:23 PM
What’s the policy on banning trolls here? I don’t oppose thoughtful disagreement (can you remember how much contention there was here pre-Palin? It’s like the whole right side of the blogosphere shifted overnight). However there seem to be a few people posting here for no other reason than to stir the poop, so to speak. Are the trolls kept on for our entertainment, or to keep us sharp? One dissenting post is enough to get you banned at Kos, that home for peace loving, open minded progressives.
zmrzlina on September 12, 2008 at 7:24 PM
I was speechless after hearing that. Obama is in freefall.
BadgerHawk on September 12, 2008 at 7:24 PM
Personally, I think it was his own speech at the DNC. Same old, same old, tried and failed democratic policies.
Sue on September 12, 2008 at 7:25 PM
Why so serious?
wise_man on September 12, 2008 at 7:25 PM
Ed and AP are actually tolerant, instead of just saying they are. They go out of there way not to ban people. I’ve seen Allah bring out the hammer several times, though, if people cross the line.
BadgerHawk on September 12, 2008 at 7:26 PM
I like Rudy, but he is not a good choice for McCain’s VP. The MSM and Dems are already hammering McCain on his health and age (even AP seems somewhat vulnerable to this logic) so Rudy is not an option.
I was a Fred supporter, but I don’t think his appeal is broad enough to add anything to a McCain ticket. He’s great on constitutional issues, but doesn’t add any dimensions that I can see to a McCain ticket on the economy. I love him. He’s cerebral. But he would not draw the crowds Palin is drawing. There is no point in being “right” if noone is paying attention.
When I reflect on Palin’s life story, how she got into politics, and what she has accomplished since then, I am so impressed by her. In a perfect world she’d be a second-term governor, but that still wouldn’t give her enough foreign policy experience for her detractors, so why wait?
The VP should add to the ticket, but I would never expect that person to be running the show behind the scenes. Obama’s choice was laughable. The Dems paint this sinister picture of Cheney pulling all of Bush’s strings, but then they put an old Senate hack on the ticket to do just that for Obama. How dumb do they think we are?
Y-not on September 12, 2008 at 7:27 PM
No Buy’em a new face got grilled in a way THE ONE never has. I challenge you to find ANY interview of THE ONE that rises to that level of invective. The key was Gibson’s body language and demeanor. He was there with one objective in mind and that was to trap Sarah Palin.
He failed and you could see that in his anger as the interview progressed.
The closest Barry has to whine about it is the Bill-O interview and Bill-O let the fish off the hook several times.
Barry WILL face hard questions about his past and past judgements, the newsies just hope it’ll be after he is inaugurated.
They are so in the bag they should all have Kroger on their foreheads.
She has not hidden anymore than O-Joe. Scranton Joe has not exactly been called to task for his bevy of gaffes this fortnight has he?
Barry wants to engage in ritual attacks on her because he rightly sees her as an open mockery of his worthiness for the big chair.
The funny thing is there is not a damn thing either you or Barry can do about it but not vote for McCain and her Buy’em.
sven10077 on September 12, 2008 at 7:27 PM
By all means, if McCain can’t use a computer because of war injuries, Obama’s ad needs to be hammered into eternity.
petefrt on September 12, 2008 at 7:28 PM
Bill O toasted Obama pretty good. But other than that, yea, his interviews have been cakewalks.
BadgerHawk on September 12, 2008 at 7:29 PM
Depends. Do you want to BE a troll? If so, you must pass the entrance exam. Collie, you ready?
My collie says:
CyberCipher on September 12, 2008 at 7:29 PM
and again Buy’em Jones and the donk sliding scale of Job Worthiness….
you are akin to Al-NYT forgetting its own past words on qualifications….I’m fairly certain you had no issues with Governor Billy Jeff grabbing for the brass ring.
You can learn foreign policy on the fly a lot easier than being finally accouuntable for hard decisions or moral integrity.
Palin trumps Ears big time on that one.
sven10077 on September 12, 2008 at 7:30 PM
wise_man on September 12, 2008 at 7:25 PM
Jerked three inches off my chair, thank you very much!
Loxodonta on September 12, 2008 at 7:30 PM
If memory serves, only one man has successfully broken the speed of sound while plummetting to Earth without the benefit of an aircraft. I wonder if ‘The One’ will match that epic feat as his campaign crumbles into oblivion?
Jack.
Jack Deth on September 12, 2008 at 7:30 PM
I think it is time for the phantom menace to take off the mask and show his true self. He was offended because someone attacked him for his muslim faith and yet someone had to remind him he is a christian. And behind closed doors he talks about small town folks who cling to their guns and religion.
And dont get me started with that stupid add with mccain not knowing how to use the computer, that’s like saying don’t vote for reagan because he doesn’t know how to work the VCR.
jaboba on September 12, 2008 at 7:31 PM
The guy who parachuted from a balloon in a space suit?
That would pretty much be the funest thing ever.
BadgerHawk on September 12, 2008 at 7:31 PM
How dare they expect the chosen one to notice their plight from high a top mount Olympus.
and the chosen ones response is “you think your place is bad you should see my brothers hut”
Mojack420 on September 12, 2008 at 7:32 PM
That’s what happens to you when you get a moose in your shorts. It’s crystal clear to more and more people that Obama is not Presidential material, not by a long shot.
After watching the Chicago thug politician Obama on the ORielly interview, it’s lucky someone would hire him for his old street organizer job. There is no way anyone could watch that and say the shouting, arm waving and downright rude Obama was what you want for President.
tarpon on September 12, 2008 at 7:33 PM
it was a series of events tied into that….
1) McCain spends his own money to congratulate Barry that night.
2) McCain plays the media like a fiddle and when the afterglow of their O-gasm had subsided in the wake of following McCain’s breadcrumb trail to the killzone the newsies admitted….damn Barry riffed Cuomo’s ‘84 speech hard.
3) Sarah was Sarah and “Operation Arctic Massacre” started up….denying Barry the air he needed to reexert his “aura”.
McCain is playing 3d chess….Barry checkers….
Checkers may win but I doubt it.
sven10077 on September 12, 2008 at 7:33 PM
“Don’t go
into townnear Ft. Marcy Park,TontoBarack!”hoosiermama on September 12, 2008 at 7:33 PM
OMG! SUPER DUPER SNORT
Mercy4Me on September 12, 2008 at 7:34 PM
The only thing Obama got from the ad then was a chance to attack on all the older and disabled voters in America who don’t use computers. Good use of limited campaign money.
econavenger on September 12, 2008 at 7:37 PM
I love the pic with the headline. He looks like an Irish Setter when you hide the tennis ball.
And bayam, Obama has never been asked substantive questions about his record. CAC was a very expensive failure, a number of activists were upset at his taking credit for their work in Altgeld Gardens in his memoir (LAT had a piece on this earlier in the year), and Grove Parc is clearly still a mess. His legislative “accomplishments” were not achieved in any sort of challenging political environment. His associations with ACORN (a criminal conspiracy in virtually every respect) have yet to be fully examined.
He’s a walking talking speculative bubble.
DrSteve on September 12, 2008 at 7:37 PM
You can put lipstick on a ‘community organizer’, but it’s still just a ‘community organizer’. :)
petefrt on September 12, 2008 at 7:37 PM
I’m thinking “Obambi meets Godzilla”.
localmalcontent on September 12, 2008 at 7:39 PM
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