Most Americans think Palin wouldn’t be ‘effective’ president

The Upshot

Nearly 3 in 5 Americans don't think Sarah Palin would be an "effective president," according to a new 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents in the survey think Palin wouldn't be effective in the White House. But a deeper look at the numbers, on the basis of party affiliation, shows just how politically polarizing the former Alaska governor can be. Seventy-five percent of Democrats say she wouldn't be a good fit in the office. Ditto for 63 percent of self-described independents and 70 percent of moderates — swing voters whom she would need for a White House run.

But the poll also hints that Palin, should she run in 2012, doesn't exactly have the GOP base locked up either. While a healthy share of Republicans — 47 percent — say she would be effective, self-described conservative voters are deadlocked on the question. Forty-one percent say she would be an effective president, while 40 percent say she wouldn't.

(Photo of Palin at Saturday's Glenn Beck rally: Alex Brandon/AP)