Afternoon NewsUP: Jobless Rate, Obama, Clinton Palin,

Jobless Rate Surges to 6.1 in August--Tell me! Read it here.

Polling on the Palin Effect:
This is actually pretty darned interesting. Look where we were before her speech:

CBS News Poll. Sept. 1-2, 2008. N=540 registered voters nationwide. MoE � 4.
					.
"Does John McCain naming Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate make a difference in whether or not you will vote for John McCain in November?" If yes: "Does having Sarah Palin on the ticket make you more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain in November?"
		More Likely	Less Likely	No Difference	Unsure
	9/1-2/08	14	13	68	5
	8/29-31/08	13	11	72	4

The next polls will probably tell a different tale.

AP Discussing Clinton Supporters and Palin
Read it here.

Palin's Speech didn't change independent voters (focus groups) (US News and World Report) or weak McCain/Obama supporters
This is an interesting piece and underlines exactly what I predicted--those that were GOP committed, got more committed, and those that were committed to Obama remain committed. Palin would drive a few one way or another, but not many and probably in equal number. But this is just during her speech time. Read it here.