Poll shows Palin increasingly hurting McCain

Heavy focus on taxes
Mr. McCain’s heavy focus on taxes in the final weeks of the campaign seems to be having some effect, the poll found. Forty-seven percent of voters said that Mr. McCain would not raise taxes on people like them, up from just 38 percent who said so two weeks ago. (And 50 percent said that they thought Mr. Obama would raise taxes on people like them, while 44 percent said that he would not; both numbers are similar to two weeks ago.)

With just days until Americans choose a new president, the survey found respondents deeply uneasy about the state of their country. Eight-five percent of them said that the country is pretty seriously on the wrong track, near the record high recorded earlier this month. A majority said that the United States should have stayed out of Iraq. And President Bush’s approval rating remains at 22 percent, tied for the lowest presidential approval rating on record (which was President Harry S. Truman’s rating, recorded by the Gallup poll in 1952).

Mr. McCain’s renewed efforts to recast himself as the candidate of change — he and Ms. Palin sometimes refer to themselves as “a couple of mavericks” — have apparently faltered. Sixty-four percent of voters polled said that Mr. Obama would bring about real change if elected, while only 39 percent said that Mr. McCain would. And despite Mr. McCain’s increased efforts to distance himself from President Bush, a majority still said that he would generally continue President Bush’s policies.

'Same old thing'
Dixie Cromwell, a 36-year-old cosmetologist from Shelby, N.C., who is a Republican, said in a follow-up interview that she had already voted for Mr. Obama.

“I come from a family of Republicans and I generally vote Republican, but this year I voted Democrat,” she said. “I just don’t feel we can go through any more of the same old thing that we’ve been going through with the Republican party.”

More from NYTimes.com One Town’s Rare Ray of Hope: New Auto Plant An Effort to Save a City by Shrinking It Lawmaker Is Said to Have Agreed to Aid Lobbyists Pressure Grows to Investigate Interrogations Crisis or Not, Russia Will Build a Bridge in the East External links

The poll showed that voters have sharply different expectations of how both men would perform as president. Mr. Obama’s policies were seen as much more likely to improve the economy, provide health insurance to more people, and scale back military involvement in Iraq than those of Mr. McCain. But Mr. McCain enjoyed an advantage when it came to questions about which candidate would make a better commander in chief: 47 percent of voters said that Mr. McCain was very likely to be an effective commander in chief, compared with 33 percent who said Mr. Obama would be.

While a majority viewed Ms. Palin as unqualified for the vice presidency, about three quarters of voters saw Mr. Obama’s running mate, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, as qualified for the job. The increase in the number of voters who said that Ms. Palin was not prepared was driven almost entirely by Republicans and independents.

Overall, views of Ms. Palin were apparently shaped more by ideology and party than by gender. Ms. Palin was viewed as unprepared for the job by about 6 in 10 men and women alike. But 8 in 10 Democrats viewed her as unprepared, as well as more than 6 in 10 independents, and 3 in 10 Republicans.

Hope Smith, 68, a Republican from Davie, Fla., said in a follow-up interview that she planned to cross over this year and vote for a Democrat for the first time.

“Palin is just not prepared, and also I like Joe Biden,” said Mrs. Smith, a retired clerical worker. “I think he has a lot of experience and will work well with Obama. If McCain is elected we’ll have four more years of the same policies as Bush.”

Marjorie Connelly, Megan Thee and Marina Stefan contributed reporting.

This report, Increasingly, Poll Shows Palin Hurting McCain’s Chances, originally appeared in the New York Times.

McCain concedes, urges unity with Obama McCain joins Fey to joke on 'SNL' John McCain still has a shot Subscribe to McCain headlines -

Obama elected 44th president Obama campaign head gets big book deal Tears of joy, dancing in streets over Obama win Subscribe to Obama headlines -

MORE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

The New York Times Section Front

NYT: Similarities to Iraq surge mask Afghan risks NYT: Wider Pakistan drone use OK'd NYT: S.C. rift highlights debate in GOP NYT: Medical debt spurs more bankruptcies Health bill revives abortion groups Drug firms raise prices ahead of reform For thrillers, Glenn Beck is new Oprah Analysis: Victories rekindle GOP’s hope The New York Times Section Front