I am ecstatic over these new numbers from Pew who went into the field to gauge reaction to the VP debate. They confirmed what every other poll has shown--that the American people aren't as stupid as Sarah Palin thinks they are and that Biden was wonderful.
The thing that MOST pissed me off is that the entire coverage of the debate centered on the fact that Palin "surpassed" the absurdly low "expectations." Thankfully since 70 million people watched the debate for themselves, that didn't affect THEIR ability to see that Biden was the real story.
Biden’s favorability rating among registered voters recontacted over the weekend climbed from 54% to 63%, and the percentage believing he is qualified to serve as president jumped to 77% from 69% a week earlier.
Sarah Palin is at 55% favorable, 40% unfavorable. That's right. Despite how "likable" Sarah Palin is, Biden's favorables are 9 points higher and his unfavorables are 9 points lower. That's 18 POINTS higher net favorability, and he didn't even have to wink or call himself a maverick to get there!
And...do people think Sarah Palin is qualified to be president?
NO! They do not!!!!
In fact BEFORE the debate 50% thought she was not qualified. And after? 52% say she's not qualified! That's right, she actually LOST ground in that category.
To be fair, her "ready to be president" numbers went from 40% to a whopping 42%. But that's still woefully small progress for a performance that was hyped the way that hers was.
Meanwhile, our Joe:
Both candidates get high marks for their debate performances, though Biden receives substantially better marks overall. Roughly eight-in-ten voters (81%) who watched the vice-presidential debate rate Biden’s performance as excellent or good, compared with 65% offering positive ratings for Palin.
He actually got better numbers than Obama!
This poll was conducted among a group that was interviewed before and after the debate, and the trends are really interesting. This was basically Biden's chance to introduce himself to the American people and he did a tremendous job. It was also Sarah Palin's last chance to show she isn't Tina Fey's version of her. And yeah...that didn't go so well.
In front of this HUGE audience, Joe represented our ticket in a way that should make all of us, and Barack Obama, really proud. I don't think he gets enough credit for it, but I think he's a tremendous asset. And will be a great VP!