Can you imagine this?
Let's say that you own or run a polling organization.
Let's say that a client hires you to do a poll about this or that.
Let's say that your client learns that the polling sample was skewed.
In fact, the sample is so flawed that the results are meaningless, not realistic at all and totally worthless! In other words, a first rate waste of time and money!
Would the client simply write this off as a meaningless mistake?
My guess is that most clients would fire the polling organization and not recommend them to any other company interested in a poll.
Yesterday, Wash Post/ABC News released a poll that showed some unusual information:
Over at Rasmussen, Obama approval is 47% and support for BO-Care is 42%!
Obama job approval: Gallup is 51% approval. FOX had 49% approval! Zogby is 49% approval!
Gallup, Zogby, FOX and Rasmussen are between 47 and 51%, a realistic spread.
Wash Post/ABC has Obama at 57%!
What's the difference?
To begin with, Rasmussen relies on likely voters, a more reliable sample.
The big difference is the sample!
The Wash Post/ABC pollster was either sloppy or had a political objective!
Let's bring in Ed of Hot Air:
" The sampling comprises 33% Democrats, as opposed to only 20% Republicans. That thirteen-point spread is two points larger than their September polling, at 32%/21%.
More tellingly, it’s significantly larger than their Election Day sample, which included 35% Democrats to 26% Republicans for a gap of nine points, about a third smaller than the gap in this poll.
Of course, that’s when they were more concerned about accuracy over political points of view."
So what do we have here?
We have dishonest and agenda driven journalism disguised as a poll!
Somebody needs to get fired over this.
Do you understand now why they are losing readers and laying off reporters?
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