Why is there no reporting on these screwy polls?

[goodwalt]

Is journalism dead? Day after day we hear the talking heads- from Russert to Trippi- reporting on Kerry's "bad" poll numbers and giving commentary on what he will have to do to reverse the "trend". What these "journalists" entirely fail to mention is that these "bad" numbers are wildly divergent from those of other established polling outfits (Zogby, Rasmussen, Pew) that have remained fairly constant throughout in reflecting that we have a deeply, and almost evenly divided electorate.

Polling is not done with a OUIJA board- it is a semi-scientific process. And while it is reasonable for their numbers to vary somewhat, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE for legitimate pollsters, who are SINCERELY trying to gage the voter's pulse to report a 12 point lead for Kerry in New Mexico on the 22nd (Zogby), has become a 4 point lead for Bush (Mason/Dixon) on the 25th. Furthermore, isn't ANYBODY with a byline suspicious of the fact that ALL of the grossly aberrant numbers being reported are in Bush's favor? It seems to me there is a skunk the size of a rhinoceros in the living room, and our national media seems content to talk about the wall-paper.

It is PAINFULLY obvious that several national polling organizations, Gallup included, are trying to influence the outcome of the presidential election. Is there a money trail leading to the RNC? Do the owners/management of these outfits have partisan pasts? For the love of God, if nobody will pick up this story- can they at least start reporting on Bush's miraculous 3 day, 14 point poll swings with a grain of salt?

[unblock]

1. yes, journalism is dead

or at least, journalism no longer lives at the old address.

try the internet instead, or the foreign press.

mainstream u.s. media is either owned by the rnc or slaves to an attention-deficit, trivia-based programming model.

[Eric J in MN]

2. Personally, I'm not sure what to make of these polls, and so I

don't blame journalists who don't know either.

[goodwalt]

4. I'm starting to sound like THEM

I swear, for YEARS I have been making fun of right-wing loonies and their "Liberal Media" conspiracy theories. Now I'M doing the same thing in reverse- but I honestly can't come up with any other explanation for it.

I am not math inclined, so I skipped my opportunity to take statistics in college- but I distinctly remember that it was offered, and I KNOW that it is regarded as a legitimate field of study. And here I sit- reading poll numbers off of electoral-vote.com that shift erratically day to day- poll to poll. Only TWO explanations exist for this phenomenon. 1."Polling" is an entirely subjective, futile exercise that can only report overwhelming majority opinion with any accuracy OR 2. Somebody is fucking with the polls.

Try this out, and then tell me if I need medication. Go to electoral-vote.com. Look at the numbers for various battle ground states, and then start scrolling through the "PREVIOUS REPORTS"- then ask yourself- can these wildly varying numbers be the result of honest errors in methodology, or does somebody have their hand in the cookie jar. You tell me.

[Liberal Gramma]

3. My take on it is

that the country is run by a cadre of rich and powerful businessmen, whose interests are served (willingly, it seems) by the repugs, so they do everything they can to keep the right in power, including pandering to the RW fundies whose support they must have to offset the fact that there are more of us than there are of them. The owners of the mass media fall within this group; so does the oil industry; the pharmaceutical companies, major manufacturers, and,yes,the corporate polling organizations. It takes a brave journalist to risk his/her livelihood to go against the boss, particularly since most of the media is in lock-step and that journalist would be blackballed. We are living in McCarthian times, and this administration wants it to be that way. They want to keep the power that rightly belongs to the people.

[goodwalt]

5. Too Dark?

I HOPE your vision of America is darker than the reality of it- though I'm suspect you are largely right. Is there any other rational explaination for not renewing the assault weapons ban? EASING clean air restrictions on polluters? Reversing the burden of proof on allowing oil drilling in national parks? Policy after policy that is smack you in the face pro-business/people hostile, and yet manages to get passed without being universally denounced by the media and the public. Still- the national media is a vast and unwieldly beast, and at least SOME of these hacks have to be sotted with dreams of being the next Carl Bernstein. I haven't given up all hope just yet, but as a fall back position, I AM learning the words to "O' Canada" and watching more hockey.