Still higher then his Republican competition
http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/story?id=8157536&page=1
ABC News-Washington Post Poll: 53 Percent View Sarah Palin Unfavorably
Sarah Palin Losing Popularity, Problems for Political Future
ABC News-Washington Post Poll: 53 Percent View Sarah Palin Unfavorably
ANALYSIS By GARY LANGER
July 23, 2009â
As she packs up the Alaska governor's mansion and pushes back against the latest ethics brouhaha, Sarah Palin's got other problems: A more negative public image than she held during the 2008 campaign and broader questions about her grasp of complex issues.
Just 40 percent of Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll hold a favorable opinion of Palin overall, down from a high of 58 percent shortly after she joined the GOP presidential ticket. More than half, 53 percent, now view her unfavorably.
Favorability is the most basic measure of a public figure's popularity; 40 percent a new low for Palin is plenty to sustain some career paths that may follow her foreshortened term as governor public speaker, author, broadcast personality. But for national politics, it's a challenge.
ATTRIBUTES The tide also runs against Palin on two basic personal attributes. Fifty-seven percent don't think she "understands complex issues," 8 points higher than last fall and a serious handicap in perceived qualification for high office. Fifty-four percent also don't see her as a strong leader; her 40 percent rating for leadership lags, for comparison, 31 points behind Obama's.
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GOP in 2012: Huckabee, Romney, Palin?
GOP There are sharp partisan and ideological divisions in these views, and Palin retains sufficient popularity in her base to score in the top tier among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in early preference for the 2012 presidential nomination: Twenty-six percent in this poll favor Mike Huckabee, 21 percent Mitt Romney, 19 percent Palin.
Name recognition clearly figures heavily in such early-stage measurements; figures who were not on the primary or general election ballot in 2008 (this poll mentioned Newt Gingrich, Jeb Bush, Tim Pawlenty and Haley Barbour) come in considerably lower.
Other results underscore Palin's far better standing in her party than outside it. Seventy percent of Republicans view her positively overall. That dives to 40 percent of independents and 20 percent of Democrats.
Ideology tells a similar tale; 61 percent of conservatives see Palin favorably, compared with 30 percent of moderates and 18 percent of liberals. Her sharpest drop is among moderates: Fifty-eight percent saw her favorably just after she joined John McCain on the GOP ticket.
But Palin also has lost ground in her core groups. Her favorability rating from Republicans is 18 points below her peak last Sept. 7; her "strongly" favorable rating in her own party is down by 25 points. She's had a similar decline among conservatives.
Similarly, the sense that Palin "understands complex issues" has dropped by 19 points among Republicans (from 75 percent last fall to 56 percent now) and by 14 points among conservatives (from 67 to 53 percent). [/B]
