A fun nugget buried in some new Gallup numbers suggests the slow and clumsy rollout of the new Sarah Palin isn’t going all that well: Palin became a bit of a sensation after John McCain tapped her as his running mate last August. But over the course of the campaign, her image suffered, going from a 53% favorable rating immediately after the 2008 Republican National Convention to 42% by the end of the campaign.
Palin’s ratings have not recovered, and her current 40% favorable rating is the lowest for her since she became widely known after last year’s Republican convention.
Not only is Palin at her lowest favorability yet, her unfavorability ratings have hit a high of 50%. She’s also tanking among independents: Only 41% view her favorably, versus 48% who view her unfavorably.
Which sugggests a bit of a dilemma for Palin as she seeks to improve her national political profile as a private citizen. In order to break through into the national conversation, she’s resorted to harsh, attention-grabbing assaults on Obama and his policies, which she and her ghostwriters have executed with undeniable virtuosity (see Panels, Death).
This approach seems to have hardened her emotional grip on Palin Nation. Her popularity is soaring among Republicans, with 69% of them viewing her favorably. But it may be alienating everyone else, complicating (to put it mildly) efforts to broaden her appeal, which everyone keep saying she has to do in order to be viable in 2012.