a poll on polls

[stellanoir]

The polls are all over the place.

It's hard for me to fathom how the heck a thoroughly unattractive candidate such as McSame with a thoroughly antiquated ideology who rarely makes sense, can have anywhere near the same amount of support as either of our candidates aside from what was portrayed in this satirical piece from February.

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/diebold_accidentally_leaks?utm_source=embedded_video

The deluded optimist in me feels as though they won't get away with that this time though.

Yet the polls for PA have varied wildly lately.

Which of the factors below contribute to all of the anomalies?

Sorry none of these are really fantastic options.

I didn't include sexism or racism, not only because there's been plenty of rancor about those influences already, but I think ageism might be the over riding force in this race.

Feel free to suggest other possibilities as well as any or all or none of these options.

[TexasObserver]

1. Polls are commissioned by people with an agenda.

Pollsters are businesses, and they have to sell themselves to the person or entity hiring them. They know the political bent of their employers, and that causes each poll to conform itself implicitly to those expectations.

In 2004, Scott Rasmussen found that out when he failed to give Bush the expected uptick after the Republican convention. They practically tarred and feathered him, and he immediately apologized profusely and "corrected" his error.

There is spin in virtually every poll being taken. They can twist the outcome merely by the time they poll and the method. If you want Hillary to do well, use only voters who voted last time, poll only on weekends, and do so only by land lines. You'll get a Hillary result every time simply following those three standards.

[stellanoir]

2. All very good points and yeah I probably should have included

manipulative targeting of certain demographics as an option but that sort of qualifies as the first option.

Thanks for responding.

[TexasObserver]

5. Yes, and that's why I picked the first option.

It was closest to what I wanted to say.

[stellanoir]

6. That's fairly funny

as I often say "brevity is not my strong suit" but polls kind of lend themselves to it unless they are push polls.

Whoops I should have included that option too.

LOL

[AtomicKitten]

3. Mark Penn still does polling for the Clinton campaign.

Partisans commission out-lier polls to skew the aggregate in a self-serving kind a way.

[Not the Only One]

4. McCain has succeeded in selling his story to voters

McCain has created this narrative of himself as a maverick independent-minded experienced war hero. Voters have bought into it.

We have to work on doing what we can to convince voters otherwise, but it is something we'd be doing against the current.

Another part is that a certain segment of the voting public hate Hillary (mostly men who view her like the stereotypical mother-in-law found in mother-in-law jokes) and another segment think that Obama is a terrorist and they aren't thrilled that he's black, either.

This election will be no cakewalk, but it's a battle worth fighting.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. "There are 3 kinds of lies. Lies, damned lies, and statistics." - Mark Twain

I think Mark would place polls in the 3rd category.

[stellanoir]

8. Got to love him. Two other great Twain quotations

"Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand."

About golf: "I don't need a stick and ball to spoil a perfectly good walk in a field."

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. A couple more of my favorites.

"History has tried to teach us that we can't have good government under politicians. Now, to go and stick one at the very head of government couldn’t be wise."

"When politics enter . . . government, nothing resulting there from in the way of crimes and infamies is then incredible. It actually enables one to accept and believe the impossible."

[stellanoir]

11. Good ones for sure that I'd not heard before.

Thanks

[easy_b94]

10. I said before and I am going to say it again..

The only polls I like is in the clubs ;)

[stellanoir]

12. You know. . .

I'm so damned naive sometimes.

I read your post twice and thought you were talking about a suit in a deck of cards.

:rofl:

[autorank]

13. K*R

I voted rigged just for the heck of it.

They're not confusing, just pick one you like

With Mr. Penn gone from the campaign, he can now serve by polling or serve up polls;)

[JeffR]

14. All of the above, to varying degrees n/t

[Swamp Rat]

15. Obey