Teflon Sarah Palin?

Chris Cillizza:

The two most successful politicians in recent political history -- former presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton -- had one very important thing in common: negative stories rarely stuck to them.

This so-called "Teflon" quality allowed both men to weather political storms that would have destroyed most politicians and to emerge at the end of their political lives beloved by large swaths of the American public.

In the three weeks since Sarah Palin was introduced by John McCain as his vice presidential running mate, the little-known Alaska governor's ability to remain popular with voters even while being pilloried in the press over a series of missteps large and small has baffled and mystified Democratic strategists who have wondered privately whether she has that Teflon quality all politicians covet.

A series of national polls conducted since the Palin pick in late August have revealed sterling favorabilty ratings that have -- by and large -- held up through her public vetting.

...

There are several reasons why the attacks on Sarah Palin have been so ineffective to date. From the beginning many of them were so loud and over the top and came at the same time that they drowned each other out. It was like trying to listen to a dozen heavy metal bands at once. People tuned it out.

Then the facts kept getting in the way of the negative narrative. You know it is bad when left leaning Newsweek runs a fact check debunking many of the attacks.

Another reason the attacks fail is because like Reagan and Clinton, Palin is very likable regardless of her political point of view. It is just hard to see her and believe all the hate spewed her way.

Will it eventually have an effect. Possibly. It took about five years for it to have an effect on George Bush. I think it will take for the the few weeks left before the election to knock Palin down. She is a governor with the highest approval rating in the country and stories that focus on the small minority of those who don't like her without covering those who do are just bad journalism. Journalism is supposed to be about facts in perspective. If the only perspective given about this popular and successful governor are negative, there is good reason to tune them out.

What has been happening is that because the attacks have been ineffective many have ratcheted up the noise level further hurting their credibility.

Jay Nordlinger is sick of the unfair attacks on Palin. Lynn Cheney says the attacks have been so over the top that it has "given her a level of invulnerability."

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