Obama vs. Palin Experience

I have to preface this post with a comment that comparing Palin's experience to Obama's assumes that McCain is going to drop dead as soon as he takes office. While that might be "funny" to joke about it is a rather absurd assumption.

That said, we know what the Republicans and the Democrats think. Republicans think Obama is an empty suit and Palin is the most popular Governor in the nation. Democrats think Obama is the best example of hope and leadership this country has to offer and that Palin is a uneducated hick from the a small town that can't stop popping out babies.

But what to independent voters think? From Rasumussen Reports daily presidential tracking poll:

Perhaps most stunning is that, among unaffiliated voters, just 42% believe Obama has better experience than Palin to be President. Thirty-seven percent (37%) say Palin has the edge on experience. Again, most of the interviews for this survey were completed before Palin’s well-received speech last night.

It will be interesting to see how this changes with data that takes the speech into account. But those numbers have to be considered positive for the McCain camp.

As an aside, there doesn't seem to be any doubt about my pet subject, media bias:

Last night’s polling shows that, by a ten-to-one margin, voters believe reporters are trying to hurt Palin’s campaign rather than help. Republicans and unaffiliated voters strongly believe that a double standard is being applied to Palin because she is a woman. Democrats disagree.

This is very strong evidence that you can't see a bias if you agree with it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't open your eyes and try to see things objectively.