Since the cable news and the Internet provide viewers with instant access to news...even to those stories that go on for hours called 'breaking news', I've wondered to what extent voters are influenced by majority counts. It seems that there have been Gallop Polls forever, in my lifetime, but now there seems to be a plague of them. If they are an accurate reflection of the voting public's leanings, they should all be reasonably close. That they might be biased is reflected in the varying results.
The media has now appointed itself to cover them as 'news' as well as having panel after panel of 'experts' spreading their own untruths and biases. It may be that their intention is to counter some of the shocking untruths in campaign ads but it is clear that it is not a real description of the complicated process presented to the viewers of Cable News. I find only rare people capable of rotating the cable news they watch. Once preferences are set, viewers seem to be loyal to them. It shocks me that viewers believe lies that are so blatant one might think even the least intellectually gifted of us would notice. This, too, seems not to be the case. Some owners of cable and radio stations seem to have purposefully peppered their stations with evangelists pushing all sorts of manufactured 'facts'. Fox news and Murdoch owned radio stations seem to top this list.
Anyone interested in a history of the American political polling might wish to read further here.
It is not clear to me why I am so rarely included in polling. The last time I was called (and the caller raced through the fact that he he was requesting permission to ask a few polling questions,) I agreed though I can't even remember if I was told who was doing the polling. A few questions were asked, which I answered honestly, and the I was asked if I agreed that Sarah Palin would make a good candidate for Presidency. When I gave my candid negative opinion, politely, I was thanked for my response and the phone clicked off. This led me to speculate that the poll was like the early straw polls had been; to see how many could be added to a supporter list and how many could be contacted for donations. I was clearly not going to be among them, thus my opinion didn't matter.
.One site posts a comment from a reader of a Republican pollster: If we do more calls, I will be using your company because you call cell phones and I love how quickly I could set up the call [project] online." -Devonna W., Colorado I was not aware that cell phones have public lists that can be called but I'm apparently behind the times. I can see that a phone call to a land line will not be charged to the receiver, but that is not true for cell phones where calling minutes are often rationed.
Hopefully some day soon, we will understand not only the results of the polls but will also have access to the questions asked. A full disclosure of the process might help explain some of the discrepancies among pollers findings. Meanwhile, I would like to see no polls taken a week before voting and none discussed during voting hours. I would also like it if exit pollers were prohibited to discuss results until the following day.
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