On Eve of VP Debate, Polls Now Show Palin a Drag on the Republican Ticket

Never was the phrase 'make or break' more telling as Sarah Palin and the McCain campaign look ahead to tonight's first and only vice presidential debate. Once she steps up to the podium later this evening, she absolutely cannot afford to make any mistakes.

The results of public opinion polls taken in the last few days reveal why:

• From a Pew Research Center poll as reported in the Washington Post: "Nearly a third of adults [polled]... said they paid a lot of attention to Palin's interviews with CBS News's Katie Couric, a series that prompted grumbling among some conservative commentators about Palin's competency to be the GOP's vice presidential standard-bearer. The Pew poll showed views of Palin slipping over the past few days alone."
• From a Washington Post/ABC News poll as reported by ABC News: "Palin now looks more like a drag than a boost to the GOP ticket: Thirty-two percent of registered voters say her selection makes them less likely to support John McCain for president, up from 19 percent last month....Just 35 percent say Palin has the experience it takes to serve effectively as president, down a dozen points since early September; 60 percent think not, up 15. And just 46 percent think Palin "understands complex issues," while 49 percent think she doesn't -- a poor assessment on this most basic qualification."
• From an Associated Press/GfK poll as reported by AP: "[J]ust 25 percent of likely voters say Palin has the right experience to be president if needed, a huge drop from 41 percent in the previous poll last month. She posted an enormous loss in confidence among Republicans; three in four had called her experienced enough before, but not even half say that now....Caitlyn Pardue, a Republican from Rohnert Park, Calif...decided last week that she probably would vote for Obama after determining that Palin 'doesn't have the breadth of knowledge.' Pardue, 60, called McCain's selection of Palin 'pretty ill-advised' and added: 'It shows irresponsibility to me.'"