Well, I would assume her approval rating is probably based on a wide variety of things. I'm sure it does involve whether people think she is intelligent to some degree. Certainly, its a better indicator than some people who are foaming at the mouth waiting to see if they can find any Gaffe or near Gaffe from a couple of interviews. Alaska may have a lot of oil, but has any politician ever in Alaska had the approval ratings that she has had up there?
I've done extensive reading of the blog that Irvine just posted. The blog was created earlier this year to discuss Alaskan politics, so it was around well before the Palin VP nomination, it wasn't created expressly to bash her. The blogger is from Anchorage, and quite a few of the commentors are Alaskan (although the longer this campaign goes on, the more 'outsiders' go to it for information, and to post).
From what I gather, Alaskan politics have long been corrupt, and Palin ran on a platform of cleaning up matters, and breaking up the ol' boys club. She took over from a corrupt administration, and people held out great hope, so of course she was popular. Add in the government payouts to citizens, and she was able to maintain that popularity for quite a while. Then, her numbers started to drop. Only into the 60's, but still, it was a drop. They apparently rose again after McCain selected her, due mostly to the fact that one of their own was on the national stage, poised for big things.
People engaged in politics up there recognize that she didn't so much take out the old boys network, as much as she created a new one, where she would hire people she knows for cushy positions, in exchange for crazy degrees of loyalty. Anyone left over from the old administration was put through certain loyalty tests, and if they didn't measure up to her standards, they were fired.
The huge news up there at this time, and, what I suspect will drop her numbers down even lower now is Troopergate. In mainland US, Republicans seem to poo-poo the trooper thing as not a big deal, but Alaskan residents seem extremely pissed off about it, especially in light of the way she promised transparency in her administration, but now, has gone to extreme lengths to block the investigation. And that's only one problem with her, there are many more.
Many people who know her personally post there, and while I've not heard her described as unintelligent, I have heard the words
ambitious, vindictive, secretive, private, lacking common sense and
insular bandied about, among others. She's also said to
politically drift in whichever way the popular winds blow. She's not nearly as principled as she lets on. As well, a week or so ago, there was a pro-Palin rally held where she spoke. It had less than 1,000 attendees. The same day, and anti-Palin rally was also held. It was the biggest political rally in Alaska's history, with well over two thousand in attendance.
So yeah, is she popular up there? No doubt. But, the state is heavily Republican in the first place, and the residents are handed oil money. And, as she's becoming mired in controversy and scandal, her numbers are dropping, and more and more people are becoming disillusioned, and speaking out against her.
I urge you to check out that blog. It's eye-opening.