WASHINGTON - On the eve of the vice-presidential debate, a new poll shows that most Americans regard Sarah Palin as unqualified to take over as president should it become necessary.
The finding is a sharp reversal from earlier polling that showed she was considered qualified, and points to the heightened stakes for Palin in her faceoff with Delaware Sen. Joe Biden this evening.
"If Palin does well, her performance will go a long way to rehabilitating her image," said John J. Pitney Jr., a Claremont McKenna College political scientist.
In her successful run for governor of Alaska in 2006, Palin was seen as a confident and effective debater who built an emotional bond with voters. However, her national reputation has suffered as some of the excitement over her selection to the Republican ticket faded and media scrutiny intensified. She stumbled in a recent, high-profile interview with CBS anchor Katie Couric that was replayed on other networks and lampooned by late-night comics.
"The combination of the less-than-successful interviews, along with Saturday Night Live parodies, have been not been good for her image," said Pitney, a one-time director of the Republican National Committee's research department.
In early to mid-September, a majority of Americans (52 percent) said they considered Palin qualified to be president, according to an independent Pew Research Center survey. But a follow-up poll, completed Monday and released yesterday, found that just over one in three (37 percent) hold that view now.
Women were more likely than men to have changed their opinion and are less likely than men to view Palin as qualified, according to Pew's latest poll.
Biden, by contrast, was considered qualified to be president by a three-to-one margin.
Larry Rasky, a top Biden aide in the primaries, said "all the pressure is on Palin" tonight. "It's her credibility that's on the line," he said.
Biden "just has to stay in his comfort zone, and focus on answering the questions," Rasky said, while avoiding "theatrics."
How much difference the debate will make to the outcome of the election remains a matter of conjecture. Analysts said the relatively small number of vice-presidential debates, including just one with a female candidate, makes it difficult to know.
Karlyn Bowman, a public opinion specialist at the American Enterprise Institute, said it was "highly unlikely" the debate will change many voters' minds.
