Pollster says Palin pick could help with suburban women in Pa.

By Dan Hirschhorn, PolitickerPA.com Reporter

Like many in the political world, G. Terry Madonna says his initial reaction to the news that U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate was one of skepticism.

"At first I thought this was not exactly a strong choice," said Madonna, a longtime pollster and political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.

"But the more you go and look at her biography—a reformer, taking on the republicans in her state—she’s got a wonderful personal story to tell," Madonna said.

Her inexperience aside, Palin could prove helpful in courting women in the critical Philadelphia suburbs, Madonna said.

Surely, Madonna said, conservatives in the state will prefer her to former Gov. Tom Ridge.

"I think the pro-life people in Pennsylvania will take to her," he said.

And while former Ridge may have given McCain a boost of a couple points in Pennsylvania, Madonna said, it will be up to both candidates at the top of the ticket to sell themselves, not their running mates.

"Once you get past the experience problem, it’s not a bad choice," Madonna said. "I didn’t think so at first, but it’s a good choice."

DAN HIRSCHHORN is a PolitickerPA.com Reporter and can be reached via email at danh@politickerpa.com.

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Comments

Palin as VP?

posted by Anonymous in NY

Are you serious? If McCain was to fall over with a stroke, ah, he is 72, you want her to run the country? Are you kidding me, this is horrible.

08/29/08 1:08 pm

You have got to be kidding.

posted by Westmoreland Dem

You have got to be kidding. I would have been concerned had he picked Hutchinson, Snow, or Whitman all great republican women leaders with vast experience. Palin two years ago was a mayor. Her whole state has a population of 670,000 there are at least 19 major cities in the U.S. who's mayors are responsible for more people and bigger budgets than she has. I certainly don't feel comfortable with a 44 yr old beauty queen with no foreign policy experience running our country if something should happen to McSame. This is a real stretch.

08/29/08 8:29 pm

Can Palin help with suburban women

posted by Poobah Elderon

Sure she can as long as they are not interested in making sure they or their families get a decent, Clinton type, health care program; if they want their daughters to have to go to a dangerous underground abortionist once a Bush/McCain court gets one more radical right wing justice to overturn Roe v.Wade; if they want their children to be sent to Iraq (McCain has already said he wouldn't be opposed to reinstituting the draft so he can keep our kids there for a long, long time. Now, shall we talk about the current banking collapse, engineered in great part by former Republican Senator Phil Gramm (he's the fellow who called America a Nation of Whiners). He's McCain's chief economic strategist.

08/29/08 9:07 pm

Maybe Bill Ayers the

posted by Anonymous-05

Maybe Bill Ayers the terrorist can help Obama with foreign policy if Biden dies of an aneurysm and Tony Rezko can consult Obama from jail on executive experience.

Talk about being sexist.

08/30/08 3:09 pm

small state

posted by Matthew Best

Hmm, no one seemed to complain about Biden being from a small state and he doesn't have executive experience.

08/30/08 3:30 pm

Palin Just Won PA for McCain

posted by indievotes

You bet she will help with suburban women here in PA, and she's already picked up and huge number of Hillary Clinton supporters who see her for what she is - a bright, articulate, experienced governor who is one of us.

She has more experience than obama, and she has more executing experience than all three men running. Ask any governor in this country. They do more work in one month than a senator does all year and its all decision making.

Of course, obama wins hands down for being the most experienced campigner and speech giver. That's all he's done his entire career.

08/30/08 7:15 pm

Palin is fine

posted by Anonymous II

While Alaska has a smallish population, geographically it is enormous -- twice the size of Texas and four times the size of California, which is an enormous piece of real estate to manage. On top of that, it is our most important state for energy, which is one of the top issues in the campaign right now. Finally, Alaska pre-Palin was the most corrupt state in the Union, and thanks to Palin taking on our her own corrupt party's machinery it is getting cleaned up, which explains why her approval ratings have been as high as 90 percent. I would love to see partisan Democrats attack a woman elected to the largest geographical state in the union, with very high approval ratings from the people know who her best, as being unqualified. Just you go ahead and try. What the hell experience did Al Gump have? Tennessee isn't that big either and Gump was very young and hadn't been in the US Senate that long. Look at Lincoln, he might have had the thinnest resume ever, and went on to be the greatest president ever. Americans have to get away from this mindset that the only people qualified to be in the White House are those who've spent their entire lives in the beltway. I think people are finally starting to figure out that it's precisely that mind set which has led us down the garden path, as the proverb goes. Palin will do just fine. This much I can tell you, the GOP base is the most juiced its been since 1980 and Reagan, and we all know how that one turned out.

08/30/08 9:07 pm