Do polls mean anything at this point?

[pstokely]

Do people even pay attention before Labor Day?

[sufrommich]

1. Pulls don't, but pushes do. nt

[slackmaster]

2. I think throws are more significant than pulls

So are drops.

[zipplewrath]

3. Good ones do

If it is well done it can indicate the depth and breadth of support for a candidate. However, "snapshot" polls don't have much predictive value in a stand alone sense. They are useful to people attempting to track trends.

[bemildred]

4. No. They are propaganda tools. nt

[Birthmark]

5. Probably not

Get enough of them from enough different sources all saying the same thing, though, and they are useful. But a single poll means very little.

[damntexdem]

6. Do points mean anything at this poll?

And, hey, where's the poll?

;-)

[Igel]

7. To whom?

The politicians running for office? Sure. A lot of people aren't paying attention, but a lot are. If you're running for office, if you're the campaign manager, then you're paying attention to the public polls and your internal polls.

To politicians not running for office? You bet. If a politician's numbers are down, opponents in a legislature or administration will be less willing to compromise. If they're up, they figure that there's no point waiting, the politician may be in a stronger position after the election.

To me? No.

But it's humorous that most people don't ask this question when the polls go in their favor. Then they're all "look how great this is!" The polls are only immaterial and inconsequential when they're negative and an excuse can be found. (I've even seen negative election-eve polls dismissed as inconsequential because, well, sometimes they're wrong, but positive election-eve polls are wonderful because, well, sometimes they're right.)

[RadiationTherapy]

8. Aren't phone polls 'landlines only'?

If so, they are very irrelevant.