Palin boost with women voters

Polling data show that GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin may be having the effect McCain intended with female voters.

Here is The Toronto Globe and Mail:

A new poll by The Washington Post and ABC News found the Republican candidate has garnered a large increase in support among white women since announcing Sarah Palin as his running mate, putting him ahead of Democratic rival Barack Obama among that demographic for the first time.

But it's unclear whether voters are simply reacting to the novelty of Ms. Palin's personal story and the historic nature of her selection with a fleeting expression of support or whether her choice as vice-presidential nominee has led women to see Mr. McCain in a new light.

Before the Democratic National Convention in late August, Mr. Obama held an 8 percentage point lead among white women voters - 50 per cent to 42 per cent - but after the Republican convention earlier this month, Mr. McCain was ahead by 12 points among white women, 53 per cent to 41 per cent, the poll found.

"Yes, it's about Sarah Palin, but not just putting her on the ticket," said Susan Carroll, a senior scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. "It's about what the choice of Sarah Palin did for McCain's image. It led women to take a second look at this candidate and this campaign and made it look more palatable."