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Drunken Irishman

(34,857 posts)
Thu May 7, 2015, 01:24 PM May 2015

Polls...

Don't become that Romney guy from 2012 who dismissed every unfavorable Romney poll. It reeks of desperation. I've seen this over the years, and probably have even taken part in it, but it does no one any good to pretend polls are wrong. In 2012, Romney's team convinced themselves the polls were wrong - how could, after all, Americans want four more years of Obama? Living in their world told them NO ONE liked him and each poll was strikingly wrong. They over-inflated the minority vote - or the Democratic vote. At the end of the day, however, the polls were almost universally right.

Almost.

So, here's a tip.

One poll doesn't trump all. It doesn't work that way. One poll is just that - one poll. Take it as such. If one poll shows your candidate winning, while all the other polls show your candidate losing, it's likely that one poll is wrong. Just ask Gallup. In 2012, they were the only major polling organization to show Romney winning. Every other poll generally had President Obama winning the national vote by varying margins.

Gallup was wrong. The rest were right.

As we enter election season, I think it's important to keep this in mind. This isn't directed at anyone - rather everyone.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Polls...