Oh my...listen to this poll question I was just asked...

[CoffeeCat]

I live in Iowa.

I just got off the phone with a pollster. She indicated that
she didn't know which candidate commissioned the poll, and that this
was to ensure that the callers were not biased.

I was asked standard questions: How well I liked each candidate; How
well each candidate would deal with education and social security; Which
candidate did better in the debates; the likelihood that I would attend
the caucuses; how much I felt I knew about each candidate.

I identified myself as an "undecided but leaning toward Edwards, but
liking Obama as well."

Then--one of the last questions I was asked was this: What is your
understanding of Barak Obama's religious affiliation: Christian, Muslim
or Don't Know?

I said, "I have no idea" and I said nothing else. I was shocked by that,
and to me--someone was trying to associate Obama with the negativity surrounding
the Muslim religion.

Is someone on the Dem side playing dirty?

[MadMaddie]

1. Yea..is there anyway to find out who payed for the phone poll?

That's bullshit....I am surprised that they didn't ask if it bothered you he was black....seriously they are just one step away....

[CoffeeCat]

6. I asked the person at the end...

...of the interview.

She said the questions are from the "American Interview Poll."

She said she didn't know which candidate asked for the polling to be
done.

This person was only polling people in Iowa, and asking the bulk of
the questions to Iowans who were very likely to attend the caucuses.

[mourningdove92]

2. Am I missing something here?

Why do you wonder if someone on the "Dem" side is playing dirty? Is there a reason to believe it wasn't a Repug?

[Bitwit1234]

3. You don't get their drift, they want to blame HIllary

If not, any real democrat would have thought it was republican dirty tricks right off. How low can the supports of that OTHER candidate go. Pretty low from their posts.

[CoffeeCat]

9. I never said that...

...but it's interesting that you would think that.

I don't know who commissioned this poll. I do know that it is
counter intuitive to suggest that a Republican paid for and put
the energies into this---when the Republicans are not up against
the Dems yet.

It's Dem against Dem right now--and it's just common sense to know
that if someone was doing this to Obama---right now--with Iowa caucus
goers--that it was someone attempting to negatively impact Obama in the
Iowa caucuses.

And just for the record--I have not decided which Dem I am supporting.
I've been wishing on Gore's star, and am coming to terms with the fact
that it's not going to happen. I like Edwards, Richardson and Biden--in
that order--but I'm still open.

[Inspired]

10. Really? You should have heard the call I got a few months ago.

It is described below.

You tell me who was behind it. I would love to think it was a Republican poll. Really. Unfortunately, the line of questioning was a little too pro-Hillary for my comfort. Sorry.

[CoffeeCat]

5. That wouldn't make sense...

We're not into the General Election yet. If it was
Romney running against Obama, I'd say that it was
a Republican.

Why would a Republican commission a poll to damage
Obama when he's not even the nominee?

It's a Democrat who would benefit--at this point in time--
from slurring another Democrat. They're battling it out
with each other right now and I just assumed that this
was part of that battle.

I don't have a crystal ball, but it seems a bit bizarre
to suggest that the Republicans are committing resources to
attacking Dems--before the primary is over--and to dismiss
this as a non-Dem action.

[Blashyrkh]

4. Testing the waters to see the feasibility of dropping some more 'Barack Osama' "typos"?

If enough people plead ignorance, will that give them the confidence to keep it up, knowing the people don't know any better or won't call them on it.

[Inspired]

7. What state do you live in?

This reminds me of a poll I received a few months ago. I was asked who I was supporting. I said Edwards was my #1 choice and Obama #2. I was then asked very odd questions about both Edwards and Obama.

The questions they asked went something like this....

If I told you that Hillary's dad raised her to be a good girl scout and respect our country and the flag, would you think more favorably or less favorably of her?

Followed by something like this....

If I told you that John Edwards was a trial lawyer, which contributes to the health care crisis, would you think favorably or unfavorably of him?

I really wished I had paid more attention to the caller ID and asked more questions.

It didn't take me long to figure out what this poll was all about.

[CoffeeCat]

11. I'm in Iowa...

...and our caucuses are coming up in early January.

You and I can see through this nonsense, but many people will be affected
by these dirty tricks.

Where are you...Iowa, NH or SC, I presume?

[Inspired]

13. I'm in Iowa, too.

[CoffeeCat]

16. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Someone is attempting to influence Iowa caucus goers.

Luckily, most of us aren't the hayseeds that they
assume we are.

:)

[orleans]

32. it sounds like push polling

the same crap rove did against mccain
"would you still vote for john mccain even if you knew he has a black baby?"

remember that?

push polling: putting a bug up your ass about another candidate in the guise of a survey question

[Clintonista2]

8. It could be Obama himself

If you were the Obama campaign, and you knew that smear was floating around, wouldn't you want to see how much of an effect it has had before you decide whether or not its important enough to take action over?

[CoffeeCat]

12. Highly unlikely...

There are many uncertainties about this poll, but one thing
I know for sure.

Someone asked that question to perpetuate rumors or misconceptions about
Obama. Someone is trying to get people to directly connect Obama with Muslims.

Obama would not commission a poll that blatantly attempted to associate his
name with a demographic that most people associate with terrorists, radicals,
Osama bin Laden and people who want to kill us.

Not possible.

Obama doesn't have a problem with people believing he is a Muslim, but someone
is attempting to plant that association in the minds of Iowa caucus goers.

[Clintonista2]

14. Well, a few things:

First of all, there was no "blatant attempt" to associate Obama with being Muslim. They asked whether you think Obama is a Muslim or a Christian. The Obama campaign has to be eight steps ahead at all times. If they do a poll finding that, for instance, 60% of voters believe he is Muslim, then they would probably see that as an issue to tackle. Do you really think the Obama campaign would not address a smear like this, if they found that it was a real problem?

[Inspired]

15. I'm sure that McCain was behind the S. Carolina polls

in 2000, right? The logic behind your post is absurd.

[Clintonista2]

18. Um, there is no comparison.

Roves push polls against Mccain asked something like "If you knew McCain was fathering an illegitimate child, would that make you more likely or less likely to support him?"

Are you seriously comparing THAT to THIS?: "What do you believe Obama's religion to be?"

[CoffeeCat]

23. That was NOT how the question was asked...

The question asked me to pick the religion I believed Obama was:
Christian, Muslim or other.

Come on! I was not asked an open-ended question. I was not given numerous
religious choices. It was Christian and Muslim.

Why bring up the Muslim religion at all?

Can you imagine asking that about Kucinich or Hillary? It would be absurd.

Obviously, you have some investment in believing that Obama did this to
himself. Your thought proceses defy common sense.

As a former PR executive, with decades under her belt--I can assure you that
if you want to avoid associating yourself with something negative--you don't
repeatedly interject those associations into the minds of people. Especially when
you want those people to view you favorably and vote for you.

That's not how it works.

[defendandprotect]

19. Wait a minute . . . . . .

Why are people participating in polls . . . what good are they going to do you?

And especially when you don't know who has ordered the poll or what the company is --- ????


Ask for ID first . . . then ask for a list of the questions first . . .
then decide if you can be sure there will be an honest report --- !!!!!

[Clintonista2]

22. In high school I worked for a phone poll companyn, and you're told

not to tell the person doing the survey who you are working on behalf of. It's for a number of reasons, but mainly, you're going to be biased if you know who ordered the polls to be done.

[defendandprotect]

34. Yeah . . . and polls may be biased at any rate --- Say "NO" . . .

What is this, people answer calls from people they don't know --- ???

And, people answer questions on demand --- ????

NO -- people run the show -- not polling companies ---

Wake up, folks -- !!!

[CoffeeCat]

17. That doesn't even make sense...

There is no massive Obama/Muslim misconception going
around Iowa.

You're suggesting that Obama is getting ahead of a problem
that does not even exist. Are you actually suggesting that
Obama would sabotage himself, and connect himself with a
group that many associate with terrorism---to get in front
of a misconception that doesn't even exist?

I could understand that kind of poll if it was a huge
issue for the Obama campaign. It's not.

There are plenty of examples of dirty polling like this.

This is not a new thing. It's been rampant for years.

[Clintonista2]

20. But, assuming it was the Obama campaign, that's what they are trying to find out

How would they know whether it's a real issue or not, if they don't even know how many people believe it?

[CoffeeCat]

25. By asking the question...you

draw an association between Obama and terrorists.

If Obama wanted to find out if this was a problem--the question about
religion would be asked in an open-ended way---without providing choices
that harm him.

By connecting his name to the Muslim religion--it hurts him. This is
not how damage assessment and damage control is done.

Look at it this way. Rumors have been flying around for years that
Hillary Clinton is a lesbian or has had lesbian affairs. If the Hillary
campaign wanted to determine if this issue was affecting her, they would
not call up people and say, "Would you say that Hillary Clinton is heterosexual,
homosexual or bisexual?" See the damage that causes? See the rumor
and confusion that such a question creates?

If you were Clinton, and concerned about that issue--you would ask open-ended
questions like, "Is there anything about Hillary Clinton that concerns you?"

You don't ask questions that put doubt or scandal into the minds of voters..
unless you're a complete idiot who wants to lose an election!

[Hekate]

21. Smells like Rove. No Democrat would do that. nt

[Iris]

24. Does Jewish = "don't know"?

[CoffeeCat]

28. Good point....LOL

Obviously, the question wasn't intended to give many religious
examples. It wasn't a question that was really about religion.

It was a question that was intended to manipulate and insinuate.

The question was intended to give two choices, which would cause a bit of
cognitive dissonance in the poll recipient.

I pay a lot of attention to politics, but I do not know what religion Obama
is. By providing those two choices on an issue that is not entirely clear to
most people--you force the person to wonder in only two directions. To simplify...is Obama
good or evil? Is he with our nation or is he with the bloodthirsty 9/11 bastards
who want to kill us all? Is Obama with us or is he with the terrorists?

You create the seeds of doubt in a person's mind.

The more I talk about this poll and process the question that was asked of me--the
more clear it becomes that whoever commissioned this poll was specifically trying
to erode Obama with Iowa caucus goers.

Sorry. Didn't work on me.

[Iris]

30. yeah, it seemed like that tactic became popular in the last election cycle.

Jeez. I guess there are enough people out there who fall for this sort of thing to make it worthwhile.

[napi21]

26. That sounds more like the Pubs. Remember they tried to push

the story of him attending a madrassa when he was a little kid? Then they always accentuate his middle name.

[MonkeyFunk]

27. It doesn't strike me as suspicious...

it could well have come from Obama's campaign itself, trying to determine what people believe about him.

[DawgHouse]

29. "don't care" should have been an option too! nt

[illinoisprogressive]

31. Someone is commissioning this poll and it is a set up.

either republican or if a democrat, maybe Penn.
he is known to do stuff like this.

[CoffeeCat]

33. I can tell you this....

The poll asked me the "What best describes your approval-level of this
candidate...strongly approve, slightly approve, slightly disapprove, strongly
disapprove" question about all of the candidates.

I was asked specific questions about ONLY one candidate...Hillary Clinton. However,
she was the only candidate that I said picked "slightly disapprove."

I was asked specifically to list the things that I didn't like about Hillary Clinton
and the things that influenced me "slightly disapproving" of her.

The majority of the other questions--besides the Obama religion question were objective
and had all candidates on a level field.

I was asked...if you had to chose between Obama and Clinton, who would you chose?

I was also given a "statement sentence" on each candidate. I was asked to pick
which one I liked best. I felt that each statement accurately and positively reflected
each candidate (Clinton, Obama and Edwards). I didn't hear one being played up or
any being disparaged in that question.