Move over Obama-mania. Make way for the Palin Effect.

Three polls this week in Florida, the nation's biggest battleground state, show that vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is helping John McCain break away from Barack Obama.

The keys: the support of women and the history-making buzz she's generating on television and in celebrity mags.

For the first time this campaign season, McCain now leads Obama among Florida women -- 47 percent to 45 percent -- according to a survey of likely voters released Thursday by Quinnipiac University. Obama leads among women in the other polls, which nevertheless show him losing ground due to the Palin pick.

The numbers spell trouble for the Democrat and potential success for the Republican because strong backing by women often ensures a win in Florida. As the state goes, the nation often follows.

And television leads the way. In a state as large as Florida, campaigns spend outsized time and money in 10 media markets, which together reflect virtually every major voting bloc in the nation.

But it's more than just television. Palin is dominating political Web chats, drawing giddy crowds, gracing glossy celebrity magazines and offering witty one-liners, with a life story made for the 24-hour news cycle.

''The context of Palin's place in history is this: Modern politics have been taken over by the entertainment industry,'' said presidential historian Allan Lichtman of American University. 'This is a phenomenon this nation hasn't seen, where a vice presidential candidate could -- I say, `could' -- make a real difference and put a candidate in the White House.''

Lichtman also noted the McCain campaign is benefiting from the very celebrity attention for which it once mocked Obama.

Still, pollsters and pundits caution that Palin's flash could prove to be nothing more than a flash in the pan in a tough election year for Republicans.

Now, though, readers and voters are hungry for more about the political newcomer. OK! Magazine reported twice as many readers viewed its Palin story online compared with its Obama piece. And the National Enquirer, featuring an armed Palin on its website, also reports heavy readership.

In the week that Palin catapulted from little-known Alaska governor to the first Republican woman vice-presidential candidate, she received more media coverage than did the well-established Democrat the week he became a major party's first black presidential candidate, according to the Pew Research Center.

''There's no doubt she's been a phenomenon,'' Obama told CBS' David Letterman Wednesday night. ''As somebody who used to be on the cover of Time and Newsweek, those were the days,'' he said, adding in jest, ``I had a recent offer with Popular Mechanics.''

PLAYING IT SAFE

Voters and crowds don't seem to mind that Palin is recycling the same lines from her convention speech and hadn't ventured out of a media-free cocoon until Thursday's interview with ABC's Charles Gibson, in which she talked forcefully about the threat from Russia.

The late-season conventions and the rise of early voting have given little time for the campaigns or media to fully vet Palin before the first ballots are cast heading into Election Day on Nov. 4.

So just as a presidential campaign resembles a marketing drive for a new product, the Obama and McCain camps are warring over what the Republican label will say.

''This campaign is now a race to define Sarah Palin,'' said Quinnipiac University pollster Peter A. Brown.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@