Charney Research article: To Weaken Sarah Palin, Democrats Must Take Her Seriously

To Weaken Sarah Palin, Democrats Must Take Her Seriously

by Craig Charney

More than a few Democrats have been hyperventilating since John McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Her inexperience, family problems and potential wobbliness on the national stage have many believing she is Dan Quayle in a skirt. Some even mutter “Eagleton” — recalling the Democrats’ 1972 vice presidential choice, Tom Eagleton, dropped from the ticket when his psychiatric history was revealed.

If it continues, this self-delusion will be self-destructive for the Democrats. Palin brings major strengths and accomplishments. She has helped McCain fire up his base and draw independents looking for reform but skeptical of Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

To win the argument, Obama’s party must treat Palin as if she is ready for prime time and then take her on — with care. The keys are to focus on her ideological extremism, not her inexperience, show her respect and have women lead the charge.

Culturally, Palin is a great fit for Republican-leaning voters. A moose-hunting hockey mom with five kids, she is also an evangelical Christian who, as we all now know, wouldn’t abort a Down syndrome fetus. Her Iraq-bound soldier son is a patriotic symbol. Even her personal problems make her seem “one of us,” not a Washington creature.

Palin has also notched up important successes — ones that cannot be dismissed just because they occurred near the Arctic Circle. She defeated two giants of Alaska politics in hotly contested elections. Her campaign against government waste has garnered her poll ratings of 65%-plus in her state. As a pollster, I cannot write off numbers like this; Palin has done something right.

No wonder the GOP base, which was always uneasy with McCain, is swooning. His “very favorable” rating jumped six points among Republicans in a Rasmussen poll afterward. More important, the pick gave McCain a 10-point boost in favorability among independents, with Palin’s appeal strongest among men.

That said, McCain, too, faces a problem over Palin. While her positions delight his base, the very same stands could repel swing voters.

So how can Democrats respond, if they want to weaken Palin without risking backlash?

Give her rope. Don't harp on Palin’s lack of experience; the media are doing that already. Rasmussen found Sept. 2 that the public thinks her unready to be President by nearly 2-to-1 and that McCain’s gains after naming her were receding. Each disclosure and gaffe ahead will reinforce this narrative. If you pile on with more cheap attacks, you’ll risk charges of sexism — and keep people thinking about Obama’s inexperience, to boot.

Attack her extremism. Palin’s out of the mainstream, especially on social issues. If a woman aborted a disabled fetus, Palin would send her or her doctor to jail. She’s against sex education and cut funds for teen moms. Her views on global warming (it’s nature, not humans) and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (in favor) are to McCain’s right. Running for governor, she called for teaching creationism alongside evolution. These things will worry independents and Hillarycrats.

Do not condescend. Take Palin’s views seriously and be respectful. And by all means, stop this sordid, shrill and counterproductive sniping about her private life. That will only provoke sympathy, especially among moderate women. (Joe Biden, resist the temptation to say, “I know Hillary Clinton, and Governor, you're no Hillary Clinton!”)

Let women lead the way. Women can make attacks on Palin that would boomerang from men. Enlist purple- and red-state Democratic women governors to do this work: Kathleen Sebelius (Kansas), Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Jennifer Granholm (Michigan) and Janet Napolitano (Arizona). And, of course, Hillary Clinton.

Democrats, wipe that saliva off your face. Palin isn’t a gift from heaven. She has vulnerabilities, but she’s a formidable candidate for the second highest office in the land, and a real threat to much of what you believe. Act like it.

Craig Charney is president of Charney Research, a New York polling firm.

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