Jim Putnam: 'Obama is still wailin' about Palin'

*
The "lamestream" media frequently pushes the meme that Sarah Palin "doesn't poll well," but it rarely never compares her poll numbers to those of President Obama. They avoid doing so because poll numbers for the two are in a statistical tie, i.e., within the respective margins of error of the polls. Were the media to admit this, that would be tantamount to admitting that if Sarah Palin is "polarizing" (the favorite media meme), the beta male in the White House is equally polarizing.

Jim Putnam, publisher of The Coltons Point Times in Maryland, took note of this in a Friday commentary. He goes on to point out the difference between polls and performance by contrasting the value of a Palin endorsement with the lack of same that comes with a nod from the president. Putnam also makes the more important point that recent polling results demonstrate that Sarah Palin's positions on the issues are consistent with the opinions of the majority of Americans, while Obama continues to push an agenda which surveys show defies the wishes of the majority on almost every major issue:

Not a day goes by that the liberal media doesn't try to make Palin look bad going so far as to induce her son-in-law to tell lies about the Palin family which he recently admitted. Whenever any poll that shows Palin in a negative light comes out it is shouted from the media castles in NYC to Washington, DC to further prove she is not a legitimate factor in this election year.

[...]

Right now in national polls Palin and Obama have almost identical poll numbers. Obama's favorable rating has slipped 19 percentage points in the past year while Palin's have consistently gone up. Most recent polls show Obama with a 43-44% favorable rating while VP Biden has a 26% favorable rating. Sarah Palin has a 40-41% favorable rating as a political figure and she doesn't even hold a political office and is not running for anything right now.

On the negative side Obama and Biden have 48% disapproval, their highest negative numbers since being elected. Palin has about 50-51% negative which means Obama, Biden and Palin all are within the margin of error for the polls so they are virtually tied.

What has Obama wailin' about Palin is the public opinion on the issues and policies. Palin opposes Obama on the Arizona Immigration law and the federal efforts to block enforcement of the law. Most recent national polls show 61% of the public support Arizona's law while 56% of the public oppose Obama's efforts to block the law. Palin stands with Main Street America, Obama does not.

In issue after issue Palin agrees with the national mood of the electorate whether it is offshore oil drilling, a drilling moratorium, opposition to bailouts and stimulus, balancing the national budget, eliminating the national debt, creating a sensible comprehensive energy policy, even health care reform, yet the media tries to paint her as far outside the mainstream of American politics. They are fools.

[...]

With four months until the election, she has chalked up victory after victory while Obama has lost the major races noted previously and is stunned that many Democrats don't even want him to campaign in their states. Oh yes, Obama's got the Wailin' Palin Blues...

Read the full opinion piece here.

- JP