Do political polls really matter? (Poll)

News Type: Opinion — Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:33 AM EDT

politics, white-house, president-obama, polls, politicians, fickleness

Live Poll

Do the political polls really matter?

Definitely.They are essential.
26%
Sometimes. It depends.
26%
I don't know.
5%
No, they are often smokescreens.
26%
Definitely not. They only mislead.
16%

Total Votes: 38

The latest polls seem to be going up and down like a yo-yo for President Obama. They have changed so frequently in the last nine months of him being in the White House it almost makes one's head spin.

It seems that people tend to be rather fickle. When it comes to political polls, responses appear to reflect the mood of those replying on that day, or whether they are feeling bad because their expectations have not yet been fulfilled, or they simply wish to be mean against certain politicians. So can we trust polls to tell us what is really happening at any given time, and with any accuracy, or are polls being manipulated to such an extent they should come with a health warning and be ignored until election time!

What do you think about political polls.

13 Votes
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5.4

2.3

{"commentId":10220815,"authorDomain":"mscyprah"}

Ms CYPRAH

I seldom notice any poll until election time, unless they are pretty dramatic and different from the norm. The daily news is quite sufficient for me to gauge what is happening politically and how it is being accepted or received by the public. In this way I am not unduly influenced by the anxious and insecure noisemakers who believe that a daily poll gives the answer to everything they wish to happen!

{"commentId":10220815,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"mscyprah"}

2 votes

#1 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:37 AM EDT

{"commentId":10226269,"authorDomain":"donstahoe"}

I am American

polls are a sample not reality, they are a few putting their words into all. Not reliable at all.

{"commentId":10226269,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"donstahoe"}

2 votes

#1.1 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:26 PM EDT

{"commentId":10221143,"authorDomain":"robynlewis04"}

robynlewisTX.

I voted smokescreens. I think polls are sometimes designed to fool the voter into voting for whomever the MSM thinks should win.

{"commentId":10221143,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"robynlewis04"}

2 votes

#2 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:47 AM EDT

{"commentId":10221178,"authorDomain":"mscyprah"}

Ms CYPRAH

Ditto for me on that, robyn.

{"commentId":10221178,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"mscyprah"}

2 votes

#2.1 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:48 AM EDT

{"commentId":10224647,"authorDomain":"devil1"}

DEVIL1

I voted smokescreen.Have you ever been polled?I got questioned like"Do you think Jimmy Carter should be remembered as a great president because of his crasp of economics or something other."The only time great should be used in the same breath as Carter is when refering to him in terms of a failure.

{"commentId":10224647,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"devil1"}

1 vote

#3 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:29 PM EDT

{"commentId":10235139,"authorDomain":"mscyprah"}

Ms CYPRAH

The only time great should be used in the same breath as Carter is when refering to him in terms of a failure.

Ouch! :o)

Notice the phrasing of the question and the words used. Not asking if he was great but telling you he is! All you are required to do is to choose the reason. Clever.

{"commentId":10235139,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"mscyprah"}

1 vote

#3.1 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:46 PM EDT

{"commentId":10225252,"authorDomain":"budinski"}

Budinski

Sure polls matter. Are they the hinge pin of fact and absolutes? No but as a general snapshot they reveal direction.

{"commentId":10225252,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"budinski"}

2 votes

#4 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:49 PM EDT

{"commentId":10225608,"authorDomain":"myriver"}

River-239955

It seems that they mislead, because they lead in the direction of the writer/survey-taker's thoughts.

For instance, a poll asking if America approves of President Obama's style of suits is not going to be a fruitful, insightful percentage to use as a foundation for anything of actual importance. Same goes for his foreign policy, his healthcare plan, and anything else he might be thinking about trying to do. If my personal thoughts are trained on his strategy for dealing with Texas, I'm not going to put much thought into what his intentions for Syria are.

In addition to that, the people who are polled can be targetted, leaving the numbers rigged in favor of what the survey-taker -wants to hear and relay- rather than objective numbers.

{"commentId":10225608,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"myriver"}

3 votes

#5 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:00 PM EDT

{"commentId":10235201,"authorDomain":"mscyprah"}

Ms CYPRAH

Very good points, River.

{"commentId":10235201,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"mscyprah"}

2 votes

#5.1 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:49 PM EDT

{"commentId":10227253,"authorDomain":"tony1234-1"}

tony1234

Those who voted "sometime it depends" mean depends if the poll favors their man or not.

{"commentId":10227253,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"tony1234-1"}

2 votes

#6 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:59 PM EDT

{"commentId":10227432,"authorDomain":"mmarsillo"}

Mike in AZ-1141523

I'm sure most would agree that polls don't mean anything to us personally and certainly shouldn't sway us one way or the other in our opinions. Unfortunately, polls have always seemed to sway politicians one way or the other.

Health care is a perfect example. We can talk about it all day long and politicians never listen to us. Polls come out and politicians listen to them and change their mind one way or the other. Polls certainly affect how politicians vote in congress.

{"commentId":10227432,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"mmarsillo"}

2 votes

#7 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:05 PM EDT

{"commentId":10228277,"authorDomain":"tony1234-1"}

tony1234

Well, they should pay attention because polls tell the public opinion about the issue.

{"commentId":10228277,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"tony1234-1"}

#7.1 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:35 PM EDT

{"commentId":10228376,"authorDomain":"mstanley2265"}

mstanley2265

I've not heard or seen a poll that didn't have a list of specific questions that would slant the poll to the poll payor's way of thinking. Lotsa money in those polls. good seed

{"commentId":10228376,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"mstanley2265"}

1 vote

#8 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:38 PM EDT

{"commentId":10235239,"authorDomain":"mscyprah"}

Ms CYPRAH

I've not heard or seen a poll that didn't have a list of specific questions that would slant the poll to the poll payor's way of thinking.

Indeed. Whoever pays the money gets the rewards! :o(

{"commentId":10235239,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"mscyprah"}

1 vote

#8.1 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:51 PM EDT

{"commentId":10229109,"authorDomain":"mightyblogger"}

Pacific Northwest Blogger

Do political polls really matter?

Only to people that read them.

The majority of people don't even follow politics, let alone polling.
After all there's more to life than just politics...

{"commentId":10229109,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"mightyblogger"}

1 vote

#9 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 3:05 PM EDT

{"commentId":10230037,"authorDomain":"golfpro52"}

Mike B-802126

Smokescreen.. the question that they ask are so scewed to what ever they want the poll to say!!

{"commentId":10230037,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"golfpro52"}

1 vote

#10 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 3:35 PM EDT

{"commentId":10231929,"authorDomain":"ringowolf76"}

RingoWolf76

Political polls are dangerousthings. There's just no way of knowing how 'strict' the poll takers were in gathering their data (either on purpose or not).

That coupled with the fact that everyone wants to be in the "in" crowd, one poll skewed for a certain result can influence later polls which in turn influence still latter polls.

This Sunday I can take a poll at churchs and depending on which churchs I decide to goto Obama could get near 100% or near 0% approval rating.

{"commentId":10231929,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"ringowolf76"}

1 vote

#11 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:32 PM EDT

{"commentId":10233775,"authorDomain":"remixpolitics"}

DGamble

Polling is important, not necessarily because it reveals that much about the public or because polls are tremendously reliable, but because our politicians and political consultants do pay very close attention to the polls. Their own poll results often dictate how they vote, how they phrase things, even where they go and what they say. In short, we should care about polls because our leaders - like it or not, wrongly or rightly - are influenced by polls!

{"commentId":10233775,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"remixpolitics"}

2 votes

#12 - Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:42 PM EDT

{"commentId":10240113,"authorDomain":"bjmick53"}

beej mcl

polls can and are manipulated to say what the pollster wants them to say.

sorry, i just don't have any faith in polls, but thats just me.

{"commentId":10240113,"threadId":"707179","contentId":"3411566","authorDomain":"bjmick53"}

1 vote

#13 - Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:02 AM EDT

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"707179","isPrivate":false}

MS CYPRAH

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Do political polls really matter? (Poll)

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