Erbe: Sarah Palin's Rise And Fall

I have been back-and-forth and back-on-forth on Gov. Sarah Palin's selection as John McCain's running mate. My first reaction: It was a brilliant decision to energize his base and woo Hillary Clinton supporters to the McCain camp. Then, when the news broke about her pregnant daughter and the child's pending (and seemingly forced) marriage to another teen, I started having serious doubts. My doubts deepened as more news reports revealed Palin's harsh treatment of rape victims in Alaska, and her extreme views on religion and government, and her apparent love of animal slaughter and cruelty (to wit, aerial slaughter of wolves). I ricocheted in the opposite direction. Then polls started to show her Barack Obama-like rise in popularity among voters. Now the American public is starting its own round of rapid-fire ricochet-like freneticism.

As U.S. News's Katherine Skiba reports:

But John Fortier of the American Enterprise Institute also points to a new poll that suggests "the Sarah Palin phenomenon may have passed." A CBS News/New York Times poll published Thursday shows that McCain's convention bounce has dissipated and support for Palin has dropped. Her favorable rating is at 40 percent, down 4 points from last week, while her unfavorable rating stands at 30 percent, having risen 8 points in the same period. Among women, Palin's favorable rating has fallen 11 points in the past week, the poll said.

The poll showed Barack Obama has a 48 percent to 43 percent lead over McCain, indicating the race remains a toss-up.

Did Palin peak too soon? Sure looks like it at this moment in time. Keep watchin' those polls, pals!!!

By Bonnie Erbe