[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/02/art.palin1102.gi.jpg caption="Is Palin hurting the GOP ticket's chances?"](CNN) - A new national poll suggests that Sarah Palin may be hurting John McCain more than she's helping him.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Sunday indicates that McCain's running mate is growing less popular among voters and may be costing the Republican presidential nominee a few crucial percentage points in the race for the White House.
Fifty-seven percent of likely voters questioned in the poll say that Palin does not have the personal qualities a president should have. That's up eight points since September. Fifty-three percent say that she does not agree with them on important issues. That's also higher than in September.
"Just after the GOP convention in early September, 53 percent said they would vote for Palin over Joe Biden if there were a separate vote for vice-president. Now, Biden would beat Palin by 12 points if the running mates were chosen in a separate vote," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
And what if voters were allowed to vote for president separately?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/10/21/art.biden.10.21.08.jpg caption="Biden occasionally slips off-message."]GAINESVILLE, Florida (CNN) – If you listen carefully, every so often Joe Biden will slip a few words into his speech not intended for those he’s giving the speech to.
“Stop moving the prompter.”
He’s talking about the two glass panels on either side of his podium - the teleprompter with his speech scrolling down that - controlled by Biden’s speechwriter and an assistant.
Typically, he can slip the line in without his supporters noticing - but Sunday, afternoon when the crowd laughed, Biden revealed the goal isn’t just to help him remember his remarks, but to keep him on message.
“I believe the possibilities for this country are absolutely amazing, and stop moving the prompter,” Biden told a laughing crowd of over 4,000 on the University of Florida campus. “There’s a prompter I hardly ever read here. They don’t want you to know that. They put it up to make me sound disciplined.”
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/02/mccain.event.sun.jpg caption="Watch the event on CNN.com/live."](CNN) - John McCain is holding a town hall event in Peterborough, New Hampshire this hour.
Watch the event on CNN.com/live
(CNN) – At his last rally before the election, Joe Biden will appear with players from the World Series champions Philadelphia Phillies, his campaign announced Sunday afternoon.
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and a longtime resident of Wilmington, Delaware, Biden is a big Phillies fan. Though his love for the team seems to be outmatched by his wife Jill’s, who attended the final games, and whom Biden describes as a ‘rabid’ fan of all Philadelphia teams.
It is unclear which Phillies will attend the late-night rally in Philadelphia, his final campaign rally before heading home to Wilmington, Delaware to vote Tuesday morning.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/POLITICS/11/02/bush.absent/art.bush.gi.jpg caption="President Bush has been absent from the campaign trail in the final days."]
WASHINGTON (CNN) - In the waning days of the election season, as both parties campaign fervently for their candidates, one man has been notably absent - President George W. Bush.
Reporters began asking questions immediately after the White House schedule last week noted Bush had no public events Friday through Monday, and would spend most of his time at Camp David.
Watch: President Bush in 'hiding'
"The president is pretty focused on the activities that we have here, especially getting this economy back in order," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday.
"We canceled a lot of our fundraisers, and he's going to focus on being with Mrs. Bush and others this weekend at Camp David."
But Perino couldn't list any fundraisers that had been canceled recently.
Friday, Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto offered a more detailed explanation.
"The truth is we're also trying to stay out of the public limelight during this period of the election season," said Fratto. "There are two individuals out there running to be president of the United States, and we don't want to complicate that for them."
Political experts acknowledge the reality that a lame-duck president with record low approval ratings - 28 percent according to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll - is a political liability for Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
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