Sep 5, 2008 10:06 pm US/Central
Power Of Palin Gives McCain Campaign A Boost
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, stands on stage with vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin during the Republican National Convention 2008 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Sept. 03, 2008.
Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images
Sen. John McCain is getting some post-convention pop out of his running mate. A Washington Post poll shows six in 10 voters like Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine found the same reaction even here in generally pro-Obama Chicago.
The time-tested police tactic known as good cop-bad cop works in politics, too, it would seem. And in this case, it's not hard to figure out which one's which.
"Senator Obama said the surge had worked beyond our wildest dreams. That it had worked in ways that nobody expected. Well, when you turn out to be profoundly wrong on a national security issue, I guess it's some comfort if you can pretend that everyone else was wrong, as well," Palin said during an appearance.
Roosevelt University professor Paul Green says Palin is a "double plus" for McCain's campaign.
Green was there as Palin wowed the faithful in St. Paul. Friday night, a week to the day after she was introduced as McCain's running mate, it appears she's having the same effect on voters.
"And I think that she did push me for McCain because I wasn't fully on that side but now I am," said Donna Tizzano.
"I was a Republican looking for an independent third party candidate until she came aboard and now she has brought me on board," Phil Peters said.
"Her energy is captivating and a politician hasn't done that for me in a while," David Temas said.
Palin was at McCain's side on the campaign trail for the first time Friday, just north of Milwaukee, working one of the battleground states where the race will be won or lost.
"In the suburbs of Pennsylvania, in Ohio, where Hillary Clinton beat Obama, that's what's amazing, in two weeks, she's reached this level," Green said.
"I think it is what John McCain needed -- great strategy now that Hillary is out of the game," said Herbert Van Stephens.
Bringing Clinton back, Green feels, may be the only way to stop the McCain-Palin momentum.
"She could be his attack dog on Sarah Palin, she could go after her," Green said. "I don't see anyone else."
CBS 2's was not a scientific survey, but the overwhelming majority of the people we randomly selected to question Friday night had good things to say about Palin.
A more scientific poll released by ABC News indicated that while most people thought McCain made a good choice, only about 25 percent said it would make them more likely to vote for him. In a close race, that could well be the difference.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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