Don't let Polls Manipulate Morale here at DU. We are better than that, so say NO, Not This Time!

[FrenchieCat]

Please do not allow the media and the "Rs" and their operatives a chance to manipulate our enthusiasm with their polls. We have all witnessed how the News Media never fails to select the worse poll showing for Barack Obama and hail them as the Holy Grail. And if the polls are positive for Obama, then they pick on a tab question where Obama is not doing as well as McCain....and then that becomes the topic of discussion. Or they ask puzzled, why isn't Obama much further ahead.

In other words, Obama can never win in these polls, whether he is 8 points ahead, 5 points ahead, 2 points ahead, tied, or losing by 2 or 3 or 4 or 5.

"They" do this to dampen our excitement and our spirits on purpose. It's all that they've got in combating our people movement.....the only thing that they believe can have an impact on swaying the opinions of the undecideds and the uninformed.

So please.....Do not allow it to work.

I repeat, do not allow it to happen; do not give them what they are angling for....and be suspicious of those proclaiming such polls here at DU....in particular watch how they phrase the headlines in reporting these polls, and how often same polls are posted.

Always, always look into the voracity of the methodology; check out who owns the polling outfit, the margin of error, the date of the polling, the questions asked, etc....

Also check to see who paid for the poll results.

There are several things to keep in mind:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7075425
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7075556
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7075374


Because in elections, morale is a big part of the success or the failure of a campaign.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6996468

[DarthDem]

1. Word

Please, NO HANDWRINGING OVER RASMUSSEN RESULTS!

They're polls commissioned and paid for by a rightwing evangelical nutjob. Do. Not. Rely.

[FrenchieCat]

3. That's it!

Just like the Corporate media lies and omits to influence so does their hired polling outfits.

It is potent for the uninformed, but shouldn't be so for those who are informed about such matters.

:hi:

[ClassWarrior]

2. The only statistic that matters right now...

...is the number of hours you're volunteering for the campaign.

NGU.

[FrenchieCat]

4. Action, not just word!

:patriot:

[FARAFIELD]

5. THE FIRST LINK YOU HAVE IS A CROCK

Look sure forget the polls, is an OK strategy, but following anything that comes out is bad. Also that ca-ca mammie thread on Gallup was False, they didnt "CHANGE" the methodology on the daily tracking poll, the dumbass that wrote the article on KOS (and the loser that linked it on DU) either pretended (or most likely didnt know) that the 54-44 McCain poll was commissioned by CNN and so Gallup conducted it the way their employer (in this case CNN) asked them to... and that was with LIKELY VOTERS. GAllup has never changed the methodoloy of their daily tracking poll its always been Registered Voters. The writer poster took two separate issues and conflated them, for a stew shittier than Moose.

[FrenchieCat]

6. I have watched polls manipulate the fuck out of us......

and Corporate media use them to their advantage against the Democratic candidates.

I'm not new at this.

[NorthCarolina]

7. I think they also do it because the impression of a "close race" is an important

first step in selling the public on a stolen election. Voter disenfranchisement is another step, and we are all well aware of the voter caging efforts well underway by the GOP, like the Michigan - Lose Your Home (to foreclosure) Lose Your Vote campaign. The third step, easily compromised voting equipment, is now well documented, and the final step of selling the public on the results via the corporate MSM is routine now with the 2000, 2004 and 2006 elections securely under their belt of experience.

[FrenchieCat]

8. kick!

[writes3000]

9. I just added to my ignore list. Better to ignore than to kick it up by arguing with them. nt

[AllieB]

10. Kick

for common sense.

[cliffordu]

11. Yep - K&R

[An Intellectual]

12. No offense, but there's no need for you to try to micromanage our emotions

You know that you are not so weak-minded as to be swayed by an M$M poll; what makes you think we are weaker-minded than you?

[NYC_SKP]

13. Just a hint here, friend.

My advice to you, if you expect to stay for any period of time, and if your intentions are good and you support Barack Obama, is to get to know veteran members here like FrenchieCat, before you use such self-righteous phrases as are included in your reply.

I'm not impressed, at best it suggests YOUR weak-mindedness. At worst it indicates that your are a troll or shit-stirrer.

So give it a rest, please.

[An Intellectual]

16. Excuse me? I'm probably prorgressive than you.

While I will absolutely vote for Obama, I still am honest enough to recognize that he's still too far right.

Posts like the OP reek of condescending paternalism; we don't need someone to tell us how to think and react to news.

[NYC_SKP]

18. You must be at the wrong site, we're aren't living up to your expectations. nt.

[FrenchieCat]

15. I'm just throwing it out there.....

you can "Manage" what you'd like.

FrenchieCatmussen don't play that.

[barack the house]

23. No-one can determine any of our emotions all up to you BUT I encourage any motivation that's what->

will win this not giving up in despair.

[NYC_SKP]

14. K&R Not all polls are as they seem. nt.

[bridgit]

17. I worked poli polls for years: candidates, bond measures, initiatives...

tracking, daily tracking, never administered push polls though, still...you want a real fun time? Try working samples where people just don't give a shit about participating anymore the last week or few days or day & night *before* the polls open. Yeah, that's a real hoot! But having said that I'll say this:

Data can still be manipulated in many ways. The Q's themselves, the LOQ's, where to insert skip patterns and why, response options are very very important, many want to offer verbatim responses where no option is provided; they want to explain their opinions, etc, and so...

I'm out of the business now a little over 5 years cause the genus of polling has changed. The survey pool is diluted. And in most cases, polling firms aren't offering data gathered from samples much larger than 750+ respondents; and while that is considered 'scientific', their Q's are designed with little more effect than a cookie that tracks buying habits. A firm I know of here in town was bought into by a merchandising/product placement firm in NYC. Poli polls are too often being treated like just another form of 'will they buy this dish soap in that package', Luntz has degraded the way poli polls are gathered and he's famous for deploying pulse rate/eye wander gadgets & means of data capture as a for instance.

The short of it all is that people really need to be wary of polls, especially in so volatile a cycle as this one.

[FrenchieCat]

19. Yep...because depending on what zip code they call, what time of the day,

who they ask to speak to, the order of the questions, etc., etc.....

they can yield whatever results they were commissioned to achieve.

It is quite simple in fact.....too simple, perhaps.

[NYC_SKP]

21. Your comments speak volumes to the marriage of politics and marketing.

a great documentary I watched earlier this year was from the BBC and called "the Century of the Self".

Only the fourth one-hour segment applied to American politics, but it was an eye-opener.

I highly recommend it and can provide a link to view online or save to your computer.

NYC_SKP

[TheKentuckian]

20. It's the heart on the sleeve emotionalisim

that is the problem. There is nothing wrong with knowing the time and score but you have to play like it's 0-0 or even down 10 may be better. ALL THE TIME.

You can't coast because you're up or give up when you go down, this is about mental toughness and fighting through adversity.

If were down, we have to work harder.
If we're up, we have to work harder.
If it's tied, we have to work harder.

The polls distraction either way for many. Grain of salt, I sez, good, bad, or indifferent.

[barack the house]

22. Exactly, you got it perfect it's all about keeping all of our dream alive. WTG.

[FrenchieCat]

24. That's it......

So far, so good.

Folks are letting those threads sink! :rofl:

[Shine]

25. No worries on this end, frenchiecat!

:toast: on to the White House....

I'm stayin' positive and holding the vision.

[farmboxer]

26. Candy Crowley made me puke today

she was for Bush and now for McCain.