By Kathleen Gilbert
WASHINGTON, DC, February 11, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In an interview with CNN's Larry King that aired Wednesday night, Vice President Joe Biden said he thought the views of his former vice-presidential competitor Sarah Palin were out of touch with the large majority of Americans.
“My sense is that Gov. Palin appeals to a group of people who are generally frustrated, feel disenfranchised, are very conservative, not all of them … Tea Party people,” said Biden.
“She has appeal beyond that as well, but I don’t [see] that it represents anything approaching a significant portion of the population.”
Saying that Palin has a “great personality” and that he likes the former Alaska governor, Biden added: “I don't agree with what she says and I think some of the things she says are not … well … some of the comments made are just so far out there, I just don't know where they come from.”
Some sources suggest, however, that Palin's harsh critique of Obama administration policies actually aligns with a strong current in public opinion.
On Monday, Rasmussen Reports released a survey in which 75% of respondents said they were at least somewhat angry at the government's current policies, an increase of four points since November, and nine since September. 45% said they were “very angry,” as opposed to only 19% who said they were not very angry, or not at all angry.
At a Tea Party convention in Nashville, Tenn. this weekend, Palin criticized Biden's role as overseer of funds distributed under the stimulus bill. The measure came under fire recently after the discovery that 440 nonexistent congressional districts, as well as phantom zip codes in 38 states, have been recipients of stimulus funds, according to Recovery.gov.
“Remember, Vice President Biden? He was put in charge of a tough, unprecedented oversight effort,” Palin told the crowd. “Now, this was all part of that hope and change and transparency. And now a year later, I got to ask the supporters of all that, how is that hopey-changey stuff working out for you?”
However, another recent poll also suggests that, even as Sarah Palin is at the height of her popularity, a large number of Americans do not believe she is qualified to become president. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll releasd on Thursday found that 71 percent of Americans say Palin is not qualified to become president, while 26 percent say she is qualified.
Thus far, however, Palin has typically brushed off questions about whether or not she intends to run for president in 2012, saying only that she wishes to contribute to the public discourse.