Pollsters - Real Clear Politics or Real Dishonest Politics?
Nick Flint wonders what the true purpose of Presidential primary polls are in America today. by Nickalis N. Tower
(libertarian)
Monday, February 18, 2008
As of February 18th, 2008, these are the current results of a major Presidential poll generated by 'Real Clear Politics', as posted at Fox News' website:
Do you notice anything unusual about the Republican (GOP) poll numbers? How about the margin of error : plus/minus 22.3% !!!
Does anyone else see the dishonesty here? Since I am a Ron Paul supporter, if I indulge myself by including the 22.3% into Ron Paul's numbers, then he winds up ahead of Mr. Huckabee (at 29.5%).
My indulgence may be out of line, but the bottom line is that the mainstream media loves talking about the significance of the latest polls when they try to claim the would-be winners in races such as the Presidential nominations of 2008.
But what is the purpose of a political poll then, if not to persuade the public into thinking and acting a certain way during election time? Shouldn't we be honest citizens who are driven to vote for a candidate based on what we want, and not based on what pollsters are predicting we should want?
I would like to take a poll of voters to determine how many of them based their vote on what OTHERS thought about a candidate, rather than what they thought about a candidate. How about this as an exit poll:
1. Did you vote for your candidate based on polls of who was in the lead?
2. Did you vote for your candidate based on what your friends said about them?
3. Did you vote for your candidate based on what your family said about them?
4. Did you vote for your candidate based on someone else's endorsement?
5. Did you vote for your candidate based on their skin color?
6. Did you vote for your candidate based on their gender?
7. Did you vote for a candidate based on your own thinking about the issues the candidate addressed?
What I would really like to see is for 'Real Clear Politics' to stop posting dishonest polls (e.g. polls that have a margin of error above double-digits).
If 'Real Clear Politics' insists on posting imaginary numbers, why not try posting this poll and see what the mainstream media reaction is:
Ron Paul 80%
John McCain 10%
Mike Huckabee 10%
Error : +- 10%
Rationale : 70 to 80 percent of Americans that learn about Ron Paul at his campaign website, and read through the issues he addresses, end up agreeing with him.
Update : Feb 19th - Thank you for clarifying what the poll number means. McCain's average lead is +22.3%. There goes my whole lead-in for the article. !!!
But my premise of using polls to influence outcomes stands.
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