How much of a factor do you think Sarah Palin's nomination played in John McCain's loss last November?

B. I can't say for sure if he lost solely because of his poor choice in running mate, but she definitely had a negative effect on his credibility and overall campaign.

C) No net effect

McCain's VP could have been a resurrected George Washington or Abraham Lincoln and he still would have lost - because he is a Republican and after the scandals the GOP had before the election there was no way he could win.

b)

for most voters that were on the fence, after hearing palin's radical views and seeing how unprepared she was for everything and seeing her pass the buck on responsiblity, it put a bad taste in their mouths. sure the christian extremists love her, but moderate christians felt that she was too far right to understand what was going on with most americans. she is clearly one of those people that can't see or think past the tip of her nose. she is just like too many republicans that follow blindly and don't ask questions. she is also like a republican in that she's too proud to admit when she's wrong and be willing to change the course, even when its necessary.

I'm betting on D. She changed who voted for them and who didn't resulting in likely a net equality. However, she also motivated the Republican party. Without that motivation I think McCain would have had less votes because there would have been less motivation throughout the campaign.

Before Palin, McCain had around 2000 people at his rallies.

After Palin around 25-30,000.

That's all that needs to be said. The truth is in the numbers.

"B" leaning toward "A". There were lots of folks (like me) who were giving McCain strong consideration but when Palin was nominated and we got to know her, that support vaporized. I've liked McCain for a long time...and I'm still wondering what in the world he was thinking picking Palin with Romney in the wings.

C.

She turned off a lot of moderates but did manage to get out the fanatical base of the party that would have probably stayed home, knowing it wasn't going to be close.

It was a contributing factor, but the economy was the primary reason.

However, Palin plays a huge role in signifying the decline of the republican party into a marginal party.

Most conservatives voted for McCain because of Palin. McCain isn't conservative. I'm really tired of this same old discussion though. Let's look to the future.

B. Many people in the Republican base loved her, but more moderate Republicans found her embarrassing, and many uncommitted voters cited her as a reason they voted for the Democrats.

Probably no net effect. Probably got some religious right to the polls who were going to sit out, but lost him a lot of independent votes. Probably lost more than she one, but not any significant amount.