Palin Driving Voters to Obama

UPDATED: Former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria this week he intends to vote for Democrat Barack Obama on Tuesday. The condemnation of Palin for VP by rational Republicans just just keeps on coming. Meanwhile, the Kool-Aid drinkers think she's the future of the GOP.
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John McCain's "maverick" pick of "I can see Russia from my window" Caribou Barbie for his VP seems to be one of the large factors as to why voters are fleeing the GOP presidential ticket. The chorus of conservatives who are condemning her as not ready for prime time continues to grow. Now Lawrence Eagleburger has joined the list of those finding Palin totally inadequate to the job. Here are some highlights from the Huffington Post:

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Lawrence Eagleberger, who served as Secretary of State under George H.W. Bush and whose endorsement is often trumpeted by McCain, said on Thursday that the Alaska governor is not only unprepared to take over the job on a moment's notice but, even after some time in office, would only amount to an "adequate" commander in chief.

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"And I devoutly hope that [she] would never be tested," he added for good measure -- referring both to Palin's policy dexterity and the idea of McCain not making it through his time in office. . . . Asked by the host whether Palin could step in during a time of crisis, Eagleburger reverted to sarcasm before leveling the harsh blow. "It is a very good question," he said, pausing a few seconds, then adding with a chuckle: "I'm being facetious here. Look, of course not."

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As the New York Times is reporting, the general public other than the Kool-Aid drinker set seems to concur with Eagleberger's assessment. Palin may be the darling of the delusional Christianists but to those in touch with the real world, she's poison. Here are highlights from the Times story:

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A growing number of voters have concluded that Senator John McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, is not qualified to be vice president, weighing down the Republican ticket in the last days of the campaign, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

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And in a possible indication that the choice of Ms. Palin has hurt Mr. McCain’s image, voters said they had much more confidence in Mr. Obama to pick qualified people for his administration than they did in Mr. McCain.

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Over all, views of Ms. Palin were apparently shaped more by ideology and party than by gender. Ms. Palin was viewed as unprepared for the job by about 6 in 10 men and women alike. But 8 in 10 Democrats viewed her as unprepared, as well as more than 6 in 10 independents and 3 in 10 Republicans.