国际英语新闻：Poll: Americans growingly skeptical of Palin

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Americans are growingly skeptical of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's readiness as she is prepared to debate Democratic counterpart Joe Biden Thursday night.

Though she initially transformed the race with her energizing presence and a fiery convention speech last month, Palin is now a much less positive force, according to a new Washington Post-ABC poll. 

    Six in 10 voters now see her as lacking the experience to be an effective president, and a third are now less likely to vote for Republican presidential nominee John McCain because of her.

U.S. Democratic Vice Presidential nominee and Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) and Republican Vice Presidential nominee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin are seen in this combination file photograph. Palin and Biden share the same stage in a vice presidential debate on Oct. 2, 2008 but the spotlight will be on the untested Palin as she tries to ease doubts about whether she is up to the job. The encounter could draw a larger television audience than the 52 million who watched last week's first debate between the presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

    A month ago, voters rated Palin as highly as they did McCain or his Democratic rival Barack Obama, but after weeks of intensive coverage and several perceived missteps, the shine has diminished.

    Meanwhile, nearly a third of adults in a new poll from the Pew Research Center said they paid a lot of attention to Palin's interviews with CBS News's Katie Couric, a series that prompted grumbling among some conservative commentators about Palin's competency to be the GOP's vice presidential standard-bearer.

U.S. Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain is joined by Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (L) and Palin's daughter Piper during a rally in Media, Pennsylvania September 22, 2008

In the Washington Post-ABC poll, Palin matches the Democratic vice presidential candidate Biden on empathy, one of McCain's clear deficits against Obama, while fewer than half of voters think she understands "complex issues."

    But it is the experience question that may prove her highest hurdle, as about half of all voters said they were uncomfortable with the idea of McCain taking office at age 72, and 85 percent of those voters said Palin does not have the requisite experience to be president. 

    The 60 percent who now see Palin as insufficiently experienced to step into the presidency is steeply higher than in a Post-ABC poll after her nomination early last month.

    The Washington Post-ABC poll was conducted by telephone Sept. 27-29 among a random sample of adults nationally, including interviews with 1,070 registered voters.