Tonight, I will transform from Virginia Hughes into Sarah Palin. Though the costume will probably be one of the most popular in the NYC bars, it looks like the real Palin’s appeal is dulling a bit.

From the latest NYTimes/CBS News poll:

All told, 59 percent of voters surveyed said Ms. Palin was not prepared for the job, up nine percentage points since the beginning of the month. Nearly a third of voters polled said the vice-presidential selection would be a major factor influencing their vote for president, and those voters broadly favor Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.

And in a possible indication that the choice of Ms. Palin has hurt Mr. McCain’s image, voters said they had much more confidence in Mr. Obama to pick qualified people for his administration than they did in Mr. McCain.

Crossing my fingers until Tuesday…