Sarah Palin bests Joseph Biden 47% to 44% in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up for the presidency, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey (see crosstabs).

Just over half of voters view both of the vice presidential candidates at least somewhat favorably, although 35% rate their opinion of Palin as Very Favorable while only 23% feel that way about Biden. Twenty-eight percent (28%) have a very unfavorable opinion of the woman governor of Alaska versus 20% who say that about the longtime Delaware senator.

Women continue to be more skeptical than men of the Republican vice presidential nominee, only the second woman to be on a national political ticket. While men split 50% to 37% in Palin’s favor, women support Biden 50% to 44%.

When Palin is pitted against Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee wins 50% to 43%.

In the same survey, Palin’s running mate, John McCain, beats Biden 49% to 45%.

McCain and Obama remain very close in both the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and Electoral College projections.

In a separate survey released Monday, a majority of voters said only McCain and Biden are prepared to be president as of now.

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Palin, highly regarded in her home state but previously not well-known nationally, has consistently beaten Biden in terms of favorability since McCain announced she was his running mate in late August But the first-term governor and former smalltown mayor has been criticized heavily by Democrats and some in the media for her lack of national experience – especially since McCain is 72 years old. They contrast that with Biden’s record as a senator since 1973 and recently as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relation Committees. He is also a two-time unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In a survey taken right before Palin's speech to the Republcian National Convention, 39% said she had better experience to be president than Obama, but 49% gave Obama the edge.

The downside for the Democrats is that Republicans and their allies have countered by citing the brevity of Obama’s resume, which includes work as a community organizer in Chicago, a state senator in Illinois and three years as the state’s junior senator in Washington. This lack of Washington experience, in fact, until recently was a hallmark of Obama’s campaign and his message of bringing change to the Nation’s Capital.

In a Biden vs. Palin race, 84% of Republicans and 16% of Democrats back the Alaskan, and 75% of Democrats and 13% of Republicans support the senator. Unaffiliated voters give Palin the edge 45% to 39%.

The numbers are similar, but more Democrats support Obama in a match-up with Palin. Unaffiliateds, however, go for the Illinois senator 49% to 42%.

Married woman like Palin more than Biden by 12 percentage points, while unmarried women favor the Democrat 58% to 36%. Women with children at home prefer Palin, herself the mother of five, 48% to 40%, but women who do not have children at home are evenly divided over the two candidates.

On the basis of income, only voters earning $40,000 or less a year favor Biden over Palin. In terms of education, Biden only wins among voters with a graduate school education.

Rasmussen Reports has released polls on the presidential race this week for Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Utah and Delaware. Additional state poll results will be released at RasmussenReports.com each Monday at 6:00 p.m. Eastern and Tuesday-Friday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll is released each morning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Other polling is released at 7:00 a.m., Noon, and 3:00 p.m. Eastern weekdays along with other updates as needed.

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