Palin seemed refreshingly "common" and "down-to-earth," Knuth said -- a contrast to Obama and McCain, whom she views as removed from the economic struggles of working people. Yet her admiration for Palin wasn't enough to tip her toward McCain.
"If she had some experience, yes, I think she could do something," Knuth said.
For Karen Molesworth, an independent voter, her concern about whether Palin would be able to handle the Iraq war is personal -- her grandson has served four tours in Iraq.
"She talks about Russia, but come on, they said she just got a passport," said 67-year-old Molesworth, who is from Port Huron, Mich., and supports Obama. "If Palin had to step in -- oh, God, she'd better have some good people behind her."
Such negative impressions of Palin are on the upswing after her unsteady interviews and unflattering news reports about her record, including her decision not to cooperate with the investigation into her firing of Alaska's public safety commissioner.
In polling by Pew between Saturday and Monday, 4 in 10 voters said they viewed her unfavorably, compared with 32% in a poll taken two weeks earlier.
Despite the potential limits of her appeal, Palin has exhibited a rare ability to establish an emotional connection with Republican women who flock to her rallies. In interviews with more than 20, few mentioned specific issues or shared ideology to explain their support -- more often they described Palin as "real," "gutsy" and "tenacious."
Rutgers University political science professor Ross K. Baker noted that Palin "could be anybody's neighbor."
"What flows from that is the belief that she may be uniquely able to understand the problems of ordinary Americans," he said.
Her Everyman style has drawn comparisons to Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, and 70% of voters surveyed in the latest Pew poll said Palin was "down-to-earth." In an interview Tuesday with talk show host Hugh Hewitt, Palin described herself as "a normal Joe Six-Pack American."
At a recent rally in Virginia, Pam Arledge, a 45-year-old mother of five, noted that she and Palin were both PTA moms and "look just alike."
"She gets up, takes care of the kids and goes to work. I'm, like, 'Oh, my God! It's like me doing it.' It's like I'm living through her. She is going inspire an entire generation of women," said Arledge, who lives in Spotsylvania, Va.
