Nine in 10 Washington elites consider Palin unqualified to be US President: Poll

Washington, Dec 16(ANI): A new poll has found that nine out of ten Washington elites believe that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is not qualified to be the United States' next President.

According to Politico, 86 percent of Washington elites think that Palin is not qualified, compared with 64 percent of the general public.

In addition, 79 percent of Washington elites believe that Palin is a "negative influence in national politics", while just 15 percent find her to be "a breath of fresh air".

"Palin is a populist-oriented phenomenon drawn heavily from lower middle-class voters, but she also deliberately comes off as anti-intellectual and anti-Washington, so it is no surprise she does not play in the Beltway," said Mark Penn, CEO of the polling firm Penn Schoen Berland, which conducted the survey for Politico.

"Elites almost everywhere are turned off by her and some of the very things she does that attracts her core support," he added.

Washington elites' low opinion of the former Alaska Governor was also clear when those surveyed were asked who is "most likely to win" the Republican nomination in 2012.

Only 11 percent of Washington elites believe that Palin is likely to win the nomination, compared to 30 percent who back former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. (ANI)