Palin

WASHINGTON (AP):

HAS SARAH Palin become a liability for Republican vice-presidential candidate John McCain? Since joining his ticket, the overnight political celebrity has seen the shine come off her poll standings and doubts surface among some conservatives once excited about her vice presidential candidacy.

The Alaska governor still draws huge crowds and energises McCain's drive for the White House. Yet, in a whirlwind month after he made her his running mate, Palin is starting to seem very, very vulnerable.

A stumbling interview with CBS's Katie Couric last week in which Palin equated her state's proximity to Russia with foreign policy experience might have been her defining moment so far. Now, attention is shifting to her debate Thursday with Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden.

So far, Palin has been a huge hit with conservative and Republican voters, and McCain's frequent campaign-trail companion; but also a candidate largely sheltered from reporters whose few interviews have prompted some Republicans to react defensively and at times with frustration.

"If you only have one or two interviews, the focus goes on those and any mistake is going to be amplified dramatically," Mitt Romney, who lost a bid for the Republican nomination and now supports McCain, said Monday on NBC's 'Today Show'. "So let her get out there and be herself."

Lack of experience

One of Palin's problems has been her experience. In an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll conducted during the first half of September, 61 per cent said they did not think Palin - governor for less than two years and former small-town mayor - has the right experience to be president. That view has changed little in more recent surveys.

Eroding image

Polls also show Palin's image, while positive overall, has begun to erode. While an NBC News-Wall Street Journal survey in early September showed more people viewing her favourably than unfavourably by 20 percentage points, that gap faded to six points by last week. Similarly, her net positive rating in a Fox News-Opinion Dynamics poll shrunk from 27 points in early September to 11 points a week ago.

"People have positive things to say about her as a human being," said Democratic pollster Peter Hart. "But when it comes to the professional element of the job, she just comes up short."

Republicans say Palin is likely to help the Republican Party with low- and mid-income, culturally conservative voters, who could be pivotal in closely fought, working-class states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.

"If you look at the states that are really in play, at least here in the upper Midwest, the criticisms that come from the coasts don't play here," said John Truscott, a Republican consultant in Lansing, Michigan. "If anything, they infuriate people more."

Shock to political world

Palin, 44, was a national unknown until August 29 when McCain stunned the political world by making her his vice-presidential running mate. Her addition shook up the presidential race and briefly boosted the Arizona senator into a modest lead in the polls over Democrat Barack Obama, fuelled by her freshness, her popularity and maverick reputation back home, her deeply conservative social views and an every-woman appeal helped by her family's compelling story.