I haven't trusted the media since I read Bozell and Bakers... “and that's the way it isn't” back in 90. Even as a kid I wondered why they always kept printing and reporting stories that disparaged my father's professions (police officer, Army sergant) while glorifying the people that were trying to kill him (Weather Underground, Black Panthers)..
As for palin, I was with Laura Ingraham earlier this year when she said that Palin would be a great pick. She has the outsider appeal people on our side like but she has to hit Biden hard in the next debate to shut everyone up. That won't change how I feel but it needs to change how the undecided feel.
I think the polls are lies.
They are not "pure" random samples of people called totally at random.
They call people at random, and then ask the people to self-identify as Democrats, Republicans, independents, women, men, whatever.
Then they Make sure the final composition they report is 42% Democrat to 35% Republican, and so on.
And by changing the percentages in that last step, they can get the polls to swing quite a bit in either direction.
And then you have the "I'd better say I'm voting for Obama so I won't look like a racist" effect.
(And availability of more likely left-leaning voters at different times of the day or week, registered vs. likely voters, and so on.)
It's not as clear cut as the PR surrounding the polls would have you believe.
Cheers!