Here’s another of my regular conversations with Dotty Lynch, former pollster, former CBS News election editor and now professor at American University.

LESLEY: Hi Dotty. Thanks for joining us on Day 3 — or is it Day 2? — of the Republican Convention. Let’s plunge in: How much can a controversial vice-presidential pick hurt a candidate? 

DOTTY: Thinking back to 1972, the Tom Eagleton pick was disastrous for George McGovern. He first backed him, then dumped him, and chose Sarge Shriver and never really recovered. On the other hand, Dan Quayle was thought to be a bad pick but the attacks on him didn’t kill the Bush campaign and they successfully turned the attacks on him to attacks on the media. But when the VP becomes a bigger story than the nominee it usually isn’t a plus.

LESLEY: I remember how the Bush 41 campaign banished Dan Quayle to tiny cities where there was no media coverage, hoping the public would forget he existed! But isn’t there some cardinal rule in picking a veep candidate — that he or she “do no harm”? Give us your read on how Sarah Palin helps and hurts McCain with various constituencies, like Hillary voters, Catholics and Independents.

DOTTY: Clearly John McCain didn’t feel that way. He decided to roll the dice — no guts no glory, huh? The polling evidence so far is very preliminary, but The New York Times poll found that she helped more with men than with women. And I assume she will energize conservatives and not have a lot of appeal to the liberal women who supported Hillary. So far it’s not clear how she will play with Catholics or Independents.

LESLEY: Obama got a little bit of a bounce out of his convention. What was it? Six points? Then along came Sarah to overshadow everything. Any signs yet of how the Palin choice is playing in the key states?

DOTTY: Not anything new from the key states. We political junkies tend to forget that there was a holiday weekend between Palin’s selection and today. Pollsters know that is a terrible time to get people to respond to polls. Between Labor Day, back to school and Gustav, voters have been preoccupied. That is probably why the McCain folks divulged the information about her daughter on Monday. Polls won’t settle down for another few days at the earliest.

LESLEY: Then let me ask for your seasoned judgment on the issue of Gov. Palin taking the job with the five kids and the baby with special needs. Call it the Juggling Issue. Will that be a factor – with women?

DOTTY: Studies have shown that voters — especially older female voters — want women candidates to explain how they can handle both. Fair or unfair, I think Palin will have to address this and convince them that she can handle both jobs. She seems to have convinced Alaskans that she can do both, often bringing her baby to the office.

LESLEY: Obama responded to the surprising news that Bristol Palin is pregnant with sensitivity and political savvy, saying: We won’t go there. And yet just this morning I heard Republicans slamming the Obama campaign for "using" this as an issue. The Democrats are in a delicate position on this — no matter what they say or don’t say! — the Republicans will attack them for sexism, exploitation. Is there a "clean" way for the Obama campaign to take advantage of what  even some a conservative columnists are saying is an “insulting” choice?