PUBLIC OPINION POLL: OBAMA 51% MCCAIN 36%
Newsweek has a poll that put McCain down by 15 Points.
I wonder if that was concentrated among voters in the Northeast and West Coast.
I wonder if it was concentrated in urban areas rather than rural areas.
I wonder if Newsweek polled likely voters or committed voters.
I wonder where they got their telephone list.
I wonder if they might have used targeted sampling.
I wonder if all other recent polls say the same thing.
I think from what I remember from Political Science the phrasing of words can change a poll's outcome.
For example, are you going to vote for Obama or to put it another way is it that you like Obama.
For example, are you a liberal, moderate, or conservative democrat or are you a liberal, moderate, or conservative republican.
* I do not matter since I am a party wing of one.
For example, Do you support Obama talking to Hamas under any circumstances?
Do you support the Terror War?
Do you support the Iraq War and Terror War?
Do you see the two wars tied together or separate?
I know this sound's crazy, but you get different responses in a poll based on the phrasing of the question.
The big thing I noticed in the 1980s was Reagan and Communism and Nicaraqua.
Do you support Reagan's stand against Communism? Most polls would 70% Pro 30% Con.
Do you support Reagan on the Nicaraqua War? Most polls would say 55% Con 35% Pro.
In essence, a shift in words can lead to dramatically different results.