Palin was not the problem in 2008
Yahoo: The Washington Examiner recently reported on an academic study on the 2008 presidential election entitled "The Palin Effect" that examined the effect of then Gov. Palin on the John McCain campaign. Its conclusions run counter to conventional wisdom. The cliché, advanced by the media and the now infamous HBO TV show "Game Change," was that Palin helped to cost McCain the election because of her "controversial" personality. In fact, typical of most vice presidential running mates, Palin had a marginal but largely positive effect on McCain's standing with the voters. She certainly did not drive away independents and moderates, who along with Republicans approved and liked her. This analysis pretty much tracks with the effect of a vice presidential running mate has for most presidential elections. Opponents of an opposing ticket occasionally make the serious mistake of focusing on the person on the bottom of the ticket. Voters make decisio...