A new study from Edward Burmila and Josh Ryan of the Bradley University Department of Political Science shows that not only did the presence of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin not hurt Senator John McCain’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential run, it helped it. The authors found “that the positive relationship between the Palin feeling thermometer and the likelihood of voting for McCain does not depend on a voter’s ideology or party affiliation. Therefore the results call into question the major conclusions of the paper; Palin did not have a negative effect on McCain’s vote share overall, nor did she result in eroded support for McCain among critical ‘swing voters’ such as independents and moderates.”
Overall, the authors’ data analysis suggested: “We find that respondent evaluations of Palin have a positive effect on McCain vote choice, even among independents and moderates, and Palin’s effect on the election outcome is comparable to 10 of the last 15 vice-presidential nominees.”
The media, however, have continued to paint Palin as a drag on the ticket; HBO’s Game Change suggested that Palin was almost solely responsible for McCain’s loss. And the hatred of Palin continues to bubble ominously throughout the left wing, from Cher calling Palin a “dumb c***” to Martin Bashir saying someone should “p*ss” and “s***” in her mouth.
Ben Shapiro is Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the New York Times bestseller “Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America” (Threshold Editions, January 8, 2013). He is also Editor-in-Chief of TruthRevolt.org. Follow Ben Shapiro on Twitter @benshapiro.
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