Reply #34: the only reason I care about polls is because they tend to have undue influence.... [View All]

[FrenchieCat]

Which is exactly why media outlets pay for such.

The question and the data is easily manipulated, but for some,
it appears so "official" as though a disinterested 3rd party
is doing their due diligence. The MO is only mentioned if it helps
whatever the media wants to convey. Also, folks don't realize that polling
companies can call a particular zip code at a particular time of the day
and get exactly the polling results they want.

I have noticed that it isn't only till about a week prior to
election day that polls start to be accurate, and even then there's always
the outlier to be used to manipulate voters some more.

I remember during 2008 election, the Pennsylvania poll that showed McCain ahead
or tied or some shit; and then Obama beat him by what? 12 or 16 points or something
like that?

But most of all, polls as a tool for pundits is a very powerful thing to use on voters
who like to be in with the cool crowd, doing what everyone else is doing. And there are many of those types of voters, and the worlds largest clients of polling companies understand this very well.