[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/12/07/art.palinhat1207.gi.jpg caption="Sarah Palin has erased her drop in the polls that followed her resignation as Alaska governor, according to to new CNN poll out Monday."]
Washington (CNN) - Sarah Palin has erased her drop in the polls that followed her resignation as Alaska governor, according to new national survey.
But when it comes to opinions of Palin, a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday suggests a partisan divide and a gender gap.
The survey indicates that Americans are split on Palin, with 46 percent saying they have a favorable opinion of her and an equal amount saying they have an unfavorable view of last year's Republican vice presidential nominee.
Palin resigned as Alaska governor in July, with a year and a half left in her first term. She attributed the decision to tremendous pressure, time and the financial burden of a litany of ethics complaints in the past several months, complaints Palin said were without merit and took away from the job she wanted to do for Alaskans.
Related video: Public split on Palin
Following her resignation, Palin's favorable rating dropped to 39 percent in CNN polling, but her popularity is now back to the same level it was before she stepped down. The former governor is in the middle of a national tour for her best selling book, "Going Rogue: An American Life."
Eight out of ten Republicans questioned the survey have a favorable opinion of Palin, with more than seven in ten Democrats view her unfavorably. Independents are evenly divided on Palin. According to the poll, 51 percent of men see her in a positive light, with an nearly equal amount of women view Palin in a negative way.
"The gender gap on Palin is not simply a function of the fact that women tend to identify with the Democratic party more than men do," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Even within GOP circles, Republican men like Palin more than Republican women do. John McCain put Palin on his ticket in 2008 to appeal to female voters, but it looks like men are a natural constituency for her."
How does the first female vice-presidential major party candidate in more than two decades compare to recent vice presidents?
"Palin is still not as popular Al Gore and remains more unpopular than Joe Biden, but her favorable rating is much higher than Dick Cheney's," adds Holland.
Palin's book tour brought her to Iowa on Sunday. With the former Alaska governor considered a possible contender for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, attention has been sparked by her visit to Iowa, site of the first event on the presidential calendar. Long lines of people have waited hours to see Palin during many stops of her nearly month long book tour.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted December 2-3, with 1,041 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
How can 46% of Americans possibly feel this woman is remotely qualified for the Presidency? And to think the Right blasted Obama for his perceived lack of experience – this woman QUIT her job as governor!?
I say that's good news, from the perspective of a 100% liberal, blue-state Democrat.
Ain't lunchtime fun?
Isn't that a commie hat? Appropriate since she ran what equates to a communist, pay off the population welfare state in Alaska.
This women is dangerous, it's not funny or sad just scary.
Well, of course that would happen. Now that the media and the Democratic party can no longer define her, and no longer have an impact attempting to tell the American people what she is about vs what she really is about, America is listening. I'd say she is on her way to be the next president of the United States... and without a teleprompter! How refreshing!
Gotta love you right wing nuts who bash the President who's been in office less than a year and yet you simply accept the mess Bush created in 8. Palin in any office would be a disaster but as President it would be catastrophic.
Those who have a favorable opion must not really listen to what she says. When it comes right down to it I'm sure the country would not elect her as president, she DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING!
Go ahead, GOP, throw this lame duck in the air come next election time, so you can watch us independents shoot her down yet again.
Further evidence that LUNACY is also on the rise.
If this woman gets elected as President I will be moving to Canada
She certainly will be the best looking president evah!!
Funny how this supposedly "stupid" woman was able to hold her own in a debate with Joe Biden viewed by many millions of people. Wonder how many of the haters could get up there and do that? Anyone that can force the oil companies to rebate excessive profits back to the citizenry upon whose land they are drilling is ok with me.
Who cares!
More popular than Dick Cheney....kinda like Mussolini being more popular than Hitler.
I am a democrat and believe that Palin should run for president. That being said she has a lot of work to do to become competent presidential candidate.
'Tis style over substance. There is no there there! It needs to be said over and over again .... she quit her only state wide executive position. She is a quitter plain and simple. Her ability to grasp and handle tough complex problems are non-existent. But can she sure wink!
This just in to our newroom: Her poll numbers had nowhere to go but up. We now return you to your regularly scheduled lame-brained CNN Sarah Palin love fest poll results.
Palin Power...She's not qualified to be president of the outhouse scrubbers, don't get your hopes up, she's just plain stupid. If her ratings have in fact improved it's no doubt those polled were the men who oogle over her. Those with at least a some level of intelligence know she's an idiot.
Give her her own reality show already-just not the white house
"idiot", 'Stupid"....seems the party of compassion really isn't compassionate afterall. Mean spirited is more like it. For those of you criticizing the electorate, isn't this the same electorate that just voted in your guy Obama?
and ready to go.
Her detractors have made her wealthy and independent.......... certainly not their intention.
Sarah Palin/Liz Cheney 2012'....Obama is ONE and DONE.
With all the fawning over her by media outlets such as CNN, this is no surprise.
And by golly, if the hype continues, America may have its first brain-dead president. Oh. I'm sorry. I guess she'd be the third, after Reagan and W.
Well – there are alot of Wal-Marts in this country too...
so she's a genius to the Wal-Mart crowd...
I could have got my Palin book for $5.00. She must be extremely popular. It seems the major interest in the book is being to sellinjg a signed copy on eBay.
These polls have to be as bogus as her book "sales".