What percent of the public thought Sarah Palin was not qualified to be president at the time of this commentary?

TJ WalkerTJ Walker Success

TJ WALKER - THE HABIT INFLUENCER - Personal Development | LIVE STREAM

2 Oct 2008 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:10

Pre-debate commentary by TJ Walker (live-stream) delivered hours before the 2008 vice-presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. Walker assesses Palin's fall in public standing—citing media ridicule after a Katie Couric interview and SNL parodies—and warns that she faces high stakes: she must appear knowledgeable in the debate to avoid becoming widely dismissed; otherwise pressure could mount even within her own party.

Questions this video answers

52%

Chapters

It's now only a few hours before the vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. Now the political environment has changed radically. In just the last three days, Sarah Palin has become an object of ridicule. The only thing most people have seen of her is video clips of a disastrous Katie Couric interview and more and more parodies on Saturday Night Live. Now, it's hard to remember, but only a few weeks ago, Sarah Palin's favorable ratings were astronomical. After her speech at the Republican convention, her poll ratings were higher than McCain and Obama's. Today, 52% of the public thinks she's not qualified to be president. Here's what's happening. She is in danger of reaching the quail threshold. She's in danger of being damn quaylized. Once you get to the point where you are an object of ridicule, most voters simply cannot consider you as legitimate anymore. So the stakes have never been higher for Sarah Palin. Now it's not too late. If she does a fantastic job, seems truly knowledgeable, and is perceived widely as having won the debate tonight, she can rehabilitate her image. And in fact, this could be the starting point of a Palin for president campaign. Whether that is relevant for 2012 or 2016, time will tell. But if she makes further missteps, if she becomes an object of ridicule, even more, if she seems to lack basic understanding of how government works, she is toast. And you're going to see increasing pressure not just from Democrats, not just from partisans on the opposition, but from members of her own party demanding that she steps down. Now, one bad performance won't necessarily do that, but she's hanging by a thread right now. She has to seem like she's knowledgeable and on top of things, and she can't make a fool of herself. The stakes have never been higher for Sarah Palin. And check back right here after the debate. We'll give you a full analysis of who won, who lost, and why. I'm TJ Walker for the Speaking Channel.