Iraq and the Pseudo-Polls

Issue polls are so suffused with bias who knows what they really mean?  One recent poll says Americans favor a surge in Afghanistan.  But two others say completely opposite things about a time table for Iraq withdrawal: An ABC-Washington Post poll of 1,119 adults shows voters divided 50-49 percent for a timetable for withdrawal. However, the Quinnipiac poll of 1,725 likely voters finds 51-43 percent against a timetable.

When pollsters call my house I almost never respond.  Like most busy people, I don’t have time for them.  And when I do respond, I usually end up arguing with the  questions. Of course, the poor soul on the other end has not a clue of what I mean.  He/she is just doing a job that few of us would want. I don’t enjoy sounding elitist, but what I imagine occurs with these kind of polls is that the most informed people do not answer them.  Well, it’s a democracy, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain about that.  Sometimes a gut reaction is better than being informed anyway.

Meanwhile, one of the worse aspects of buying something these days (especially something major) is that you are almost always polled to death by the vendors.  Right now I am being bombarded by Toyota (by phone, mail and email) about my “Prius experience.”  Again, I don’t have time to respond and get irritated. [Maybe they should read this blog.-ed. Maybe they should.]