Governor Palin Dragged Down the Republican Ticket? Um...Really?

Rasmussen Reports released the results of a suvey about Governor Sarah Palin. Among the findings:

69% of Republican voters say Palin helped the ticket

91% of Republican voters have a favorable opinion of Palin

65% of Republican voters have a very favorable opinion of Palin.

From the report:

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Republican voters say Alaska Governor Sarah Palin helped John McCain’s bid for the presidency, even as news reports surface that some McCain staffers think she was a liability.

Only 20% of GOP voters say Palin hurt the party’s ticket, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Six percent (6%) say she had no impact, and five percent (5%) are undecided.

Ninety-one percent (91%) of Republicans have a favorable view of Palin, including 65% who say their view is Very Favorable. Only eight percent (8%) have an unfavorable view of her, including three percent (3%) Very Unfavorable.

When asked to choose among some of the GOP’s top names for their choice for the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, 64% say Palin. The next closest contenders are two former governors and unsuccessful challengers for the presidential nomination this year -- Mike Huckabee of Arkansas with 12% support and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts with 11%.

Three other sitting governors – Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Charlie Crist of Florida and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota – all pull low single-digit support.

These findings echo a survey earlier this week which found that Republicans were happier with their vice presidential candidate than with their presidential nominee. Seventy-one percent (71%) said McCain made the right choice by picking Palin as his running mate, while only 65% said the party picked the right nominee for president.

Makes one wonder what might have happened if the old man had picked a liberal like Lieberman or Rendell...maybe then President-elect Obama would truly have a mandate.

One more thought...if Governor Palin would be such a horrible pick for the GOP in 2012, why are the Dems seemingly suffering from the newest strain of BDS, Palin Derangement Syndrome? I think they fear having to run against her!