Poll - Did GOP VP choice inflence your vote? - Our own exit Poll Q#1

redchief wrote: I've seen this several times, and exit polls were a little bit contradictory on this particular issue. So, how, if at all, did the choice of Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate influence your vote?

For the record, I'd decided before the GOP convention who I was voting for.

cameragirl21 replied: my option is not really up there. I was undecided but leaning toward McCain until Palin entered the picture. I voted that I changed my vote after she was chosen but that is not entirely true, but then again, neither is undecided because I was leaning toward McCain.
Anyway, to answer your question, that is where I stand...or rather stood back when that happened. I do think Palin lost McCain the election but I am not sure he would have won without her either. I think if he had picked someone like Olympia Snowe he would have had a really good chance but we'll never find out, will we?

jcc64 replied: I can't remember where I heard this, but I believe Joe Lieberman was McCain's top pick, and the party wouldn't support that.

lisar replied:
he should have picked Condeleeza Rice. I really like her.

cameragirl21 replied:
Now THAT would have been interesting....

my2monkeyboys replied: I was going to vote for McCain to begin with, but Palin made me more comfortable with my choice.
I would have loved to have seen Romney get the presidential nomination, actually, but Palin as VP helped the ticket in my opinion.

msoulz replied:

I think the recent economic issues, coupled with the party association to our current, very unpopular president, sealed his fate. I really don't know if Palin helped or hurt him. It sure seemed like she initially helped but then the whole financial mess happened.

redchief replied:
That scenario would have sealed my vote. I like Lieberman. It truly would have been a bipartisan ticket, though Democrats and the GOP see Joe Lieberman as a turncoat who can't be trusted to maintain course. He was a moderate Dem, but changed to Ind. when he lost in the 2006 Senate primary.

How much fun would that have been? For what it's worth, I don't think there is a potential running mate who would have boosted McCain over Obama in this election. I truly believe this election was the reaction of a country tired of business as usual, and McCain, despite his often contrary positions on topics, is seen as typical Washington elite by independent voters.

luvmykids replied:
ITA, I don't think Palin did him in, because nobody would have gotten him past the fact that he's a Republican, plain and simple.

I already knew I was voting for him, and Palin for me personally was a great choice.

jcc64 replied:

I disagree. I think McCain ran an abysmal campaign. Imo, his most disastrous decision was to pander to his base rather than court the independents and undecided. No one deeply embedded on the Right would have EVER voted for Obama anyway, so why go with a VP pick who would only appeal to them?? Her views, while applauded wildly by the party faithful, are not representative of the people in the middle, who turned the election for Obama. Had he gone with someone less radically conservative, I think he may have had a better chance. I personally don't think Lieberman would have turned it for him- he's despised by anti-war people and anyone even remotely Democratic.
I think an ingenious choice would have been NY mayor Michael Bloomberg- there is someone who could have given McCain the credibility he needed on economic issues and prove that he is indeed thinking outside the box and beyond Washington's borders. Had he chosen Bloomberg, whose intellect and managerial style I thoroughly respect, it would have been a tough choice for me, a die-hard lefty. I LOVE Bloomberg!

MommyToAshley replied: I actually liked John McCain better in 2000. McCain is better than the campaign he ran. I am not sure Palin really hurt him as much as she really didn't help him to win over the votes that she needed to (the Hillary supporters), which is why she was selected. Even if McCain had ran a good campaign, he most likely wouldn't have won. He was up against the stigma of an unpopular President in the same party and an opposing campaign with a cause greater than promoting their own political agenda. In a way, I feel bad for McCain as a person because he is a patriot, has served our country in ways some of us could never imagine, and this was his last chance. Those aren't reasons to vote for him for president, but you still have to admire him as a person and I can't help but to feel bad for him. Although he would never come out and say it, I am sure he feels cheated that he has lost the presidential election due to Bush twice in a row.

jcc64 replied: I'm agreeing with you all over the place this morning, Dee Dee. (see other political thread)
I had the very same feelings about McCain towards the end of the campaign, and certainly on election night. He IS a true patriot and public servant, and he absolutely was screwed over every which way by Bush, who couldn't shine his shoes, imo. He is a much better man than the campaign that he ran.

redchief replied: Wow, Jeanne... I agree with you on almost everything you said (and maybe even closer to everything, but I have to think a bit on the Bloomberg idea - it is intriguing though). I don't know that I'll ever be convinced that McCain could have overcome his long standing Washington ties. I truly believe that Obama won because he is seen as anti-establishment. I really don't think the McCain camp did enough to contradict Obama's platform with his true voting record. They spent way too much energy on his inexperience instead, when it was obvious, at least to me, that those following him didn't care that awfully much. Hillary is vastly more experienced than Obama, and she couldn't beat him either.