New NBC/WSJ Poll: Palin Favorables at 73% Among Repubs

According to the latest NBC/WSJ poll, "President-elect Barack Obama is enjoying a larger post-election honeymoon with the American public than his recent predecessors did." There are plenty of numbers to illustrate this point and some interesting numbers about how Republicans see Governor Sarah Palin.

67% say they're pleased with Obama's early appointments, 75% believe that the level of his involvement in making policy has been exactly right, and his fav/unfav rating is 67%-16%. By comparison, a month after their initial presidential victories, Bush's rating was 48%-35% and Clinton's was 60%-19%. These scores -- combined with the fact that nearly 80% believe Obama will face bigger challenges than other recent presidents have, and 90% who say the nation's economy has gotten worse over the past 12 months -- seem to have given Obama some leeway with the American public.

That's impressive, but there's more. Remember when Obama said, "Hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty... the bedrock of this nation, a belief in things not seen, a belief that there are better days ahead." Now that candidate Obama will soon be President Obama, the American people still believe that Obama will tangibly deliver on that promise.

80 percent say it's likely he'll improve American's image around the world.
73 percent say it's likely he'll put the economy back on track.
70 percent say it's likely that he'll pull most U.S. troops out of Iraq within the next 16 months.
61 percent say he'll reduce taxes for the middle class

However, for my moderate and Jewish Republican friends there is one number that will stand out more than the rest -- 73%. According to this poll, Governor Sarah Palin has a favorable/unfavorable rating among Republicans of 73%-13%. That's right, for those Jewish Republicans who held their nose and voted for the McCain/Palin ticket, for those Jewish Republicans who chose to write-in their favorite celebrity, or even for those who voted for Obama/Biden but still align themselves with the Republican Party, Palin isn't going anywhere.

From the first day of the McCain/Palin ticket, there was no doubt that the selection of Palin as the Party's vice presidential nominee meant that the already minuscule space for moderates in the Republican Party became even smaller. Furthermore, it is clear that the Jewish community, including some Republicans, did not support Palin's addition to the ticket. I'd imagine they also don't support her as the future of the Republican Party.

I wonder if Palin runs in 2012 there will be a way for Republican Jews to declare victory like they did with their 21% of the Jewish vote this year?

Follow Aaron Keyak on Twitter: www.twitter.com/akeyak

Comments

[koyaanisqatsi57]

I suppose that, when you consider Palin's competition in the Republican Party, she doesn't seem all that bad. Are there any decent, moderate, country-first Republicans left?

[alvdh1]

The most important question regarding Palin's popularity among Republicans is: Who cares?

[foxbat]

I'm not sure why this is getting so much attention. Giuliani had a 68% favorability rating and Thompson had a 64% favorability rating wen the primaries started according to Rasmussen. Thompson's "very favorable" rating was 28%. Where are those guys today? Heck, they didn't even make it to Super Tuesday.

In all honesty, I hope Palin does get the nomination for 2012. This last election cycle did wonders for opening the eyes of many independents and Reagan Democrats and even moderate Republicans. It also helped bring out some of the latent "ugliness" and caused many folks to examine whether that's what we want our country to be or whether we want better. Do we want to truly be the country of "E pluribus unum" or just a country of divided and divisive groups? Another therapeutic and cleansing cycle would be good to get the country on more stable/reasonable ground.

[cloudmaker]

Well so much for polls. I know lots of Republicans and not one of them actually
likes Sarah Palin. A few think she's smart. Some think she's hot. But all
thlnk she cost the GOP the election. So who are these 73%? I think
Republicans are incredibly misguided, but not that misguided.

[Girl28]

Great. Let Palin run at the head of the ticket in 2012. Obama will have no choice, but to blast her record and lack of knowledge. She won't be able to hide behind John McCain this time. If people voted for Obama last time because they didn't want Palin as vice-president, I'm sure the image of her as president will send even more moderate republicans over to our camp. I for one will welcome them with open arms.

[eden4barack08]

Jewish Republican is an oxymoron..­..my grandma used to say.

[LMKay66]

It's amazing. She's more popular post-election. How short their memories are. They've all forgotten the poll that came out a week before the election in which (correct me if I'm wrong) 69% voters thought she was unqualified to be VP. Now she appears to be the best of what the Republicans have to hope for. How sad.

[SirReal1]

You've confused two sets of poll results that are not in contradiction.

69% of VOTERS thought she was unqualified.

73 % of Republicans view her favorably.

This only indicates that either most Republicans are not voters, or, that the MAJORITY of voters are NOT REPUBLICAN!

When the three biggest names being tossed around are Huckabee, Jindal, and Palin, it's easy to see that the choice for the Republican voters is not an easy one.

Let's hope that they can find a way to add Bachmann to the list, that SHOULD GUARANTEE that Obama will have 8 years to fix the country.

[mitsu63]

I asked a question but I guess it got censored so I'll try again:

I don't get the part at the end about the J---s. Can someone please explain the significance of being J-wish and/or Republican vis a vis Palin, as opposed to anyone else?

[SirReal1]

Seems there is some kind of problem that some Jewish people have with the idea of another Jewish person VOTING FOR a person who advocates for the CONVERSION of EVERYONE to Christianity.

Can' t imagine why!

[mitsu63]

Ah, I can see that, definitely.

Agnostics against Palin! Save the non-christians! Forced conversion over my heathen body!

[deosil]

You can SAY Jews and Jewish..lo­l

[Oonagh]

Yeah.... are they the ones that voted Bush and Cheney....­. They are good at picking them...

[Cunningham]

Let's put this into perspective. These are the same people who deified Ronnie Raygun.

[SirReal1]

Hey now!

Didn't you get the memo that "St. Ronald" is OFF LIMITS!

[keepemhonest]

Those same people think Bush did a good job and the world is flat.

[justobserve]

Palin's qualification fit the Repub's standard and expectation but she can't win with only 73% of Repubs and 0% of the rest!The empty-headed stay-at-home Governor thought her "executive experience" and "energy expertise" could win the day with real Americans and small town folks but they are only 46% and are shrinking. Voters could see what a fake she was and is.

[SirReal1]

As Colin Powell pointed out, winning the vote in rural America, while alienating the vast majority who live in cities, is not exactly a "winning strategy".

I'd expect that in the next four years the Republicans will likely figure this out.

The question is, what can they do about it?

[DDK]

Let's hope her favorables in the Republican Party go even higher.

[zanzig]

Where was this poll taken? What small demographic does it represent? Surely it cannot represent 73% of Americans? People, I have to tell you that from the outside looking in, it is beginning to seem that the election of Bush and Cheney twice was NOT a mistake or an electoral fraud, if this poll is true. For the sake of your world reputations, please make this woman go away.

[KarenT]

It's 73% of Republicans, not Americans.

[slemay]

It was a poll of Republicans, not the general population, so you needn't lose all hope just yet.

[holdfam1]

I'm not a Palin lover, BUT I do think she was poorly used by the McCain campaign..­... I don't understand why she didn't campaign as a moderate..­.. Moderate, you laugh!!! Regardless of what you think of her personal views, she hasn't governed AK from the far right. In fact, she actually has a history of working in a bi-partisan manner in AK if you care to look up the facts. Anyone here know that one of her first acts as AK Governor was to veto legistation that would have denied rights to homosexual couples?? I certainly didn't until recently.. She made more Rep enemies than Dem enemies prior to VP role. I think it was a huge mistake in a time when folks are tired of Rep rule to have used her as attack dog. I know that is VP "role", but is was a mistake...­....

[L3ftofC3nter]

You are right in your assessment. Too bad she went on the campaign trail and made an a s s of herself. You called it "her being used," but we all have choices in life. She chose to portray herself that way and she paid for it.

[majii]

The ONLY reason she vetoed the legislation was because she was advised by the AG that she would be in violation of the AK Constitution if she had signed it into law.

[LMKay66]

I don't think the McCain campaign ever really had control over her. She went rogue from the very beginning, spewing lies about Bill Ayers even before the campaign signed off on how they were going to handle it. She seemed to have her own agenda, saying things that the campaign hadn't approved. It doesn't matter how moderately she governed Alaska. She is still ill-prepared to run a country.

[SirReal1]

Citing one example of "moderation" hardly makes her a moderate. On the other side of that coin lie the facts that she exemplified "spend and borrow" Republicanism, encouraged close ties between her Government and Corporate interests in the state, stayed "hard line" on Religion and its role in her Government, and COULD NOT KEEP HER GAWD out of her public speeches!

Perhaps you should look a little closer at the "facts" you are so liberally throwing around.