I know pollsters often contribute to stories but it seems like a conflict of interest to me that a pollster would actually write a blog for the Wall Street Journal, advocating on behalf of McCain.
Doesn't that pollute your sample? This confirms my belief that the only purpose of the polls right now is to influence the election, not reflect what voters are thinking.
The media has bought into this idea that Obama is even with McCain because of the polls. No way. No how. Have you noticed the polls all follow each other like a pack of dogs. Come September, the pollster pack will have to start doing their job correctly.
WSJ: Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, specializes in polling of electoral battleground states, including Ohio and Florida.
The conventional wisdom is that $4 gasoline raises the odds that Sen. Barack Obama will become the nation’s next president.
This may well turn out to be the case, since history suggests an ailing economy, in this case hurt by high energy prices, works to the advantage of the political party that does not hold the White House.
Yet, the American people are undergoing a change of opinion when it comes to all things energy that might actually provide a useful campaign opportunity for Sen. John McCain.
Simply put, this transformation offers the Republican presidential nominee a potential vehicle to turn around his largest problem – voters don’t think he can resurrect the nation’s slumping economy.
This pollster doesn't mention that McCain CANNOT lower gas prices with offshore drilling.
Here's more:
To be clear, the surveys found that Americans would still prefer that future energy needs be met by development of alternative energy sources such as solar, wind or biomass. They want the government to mandate better car mileage and also say they favor more conservation over more exploration.
However, what has changed is that high energy prices have apparently driven home the argument that the pro-drilling and nuclear power folks have been making for years: That renewable, alternative energy sources are decades from being able to significantly cut America’s need for fossil fuels. And the only way to bring down the high prices and avoid sending billions of dollars daily overseas is to increase domestic production of oil and natural gas.
Interestingly, the public’s support for drilling appears to override its distaste for President George W. Bush. While only roughly a quarter of Americans approve of the president’s job performance, strong majorities agree with him that Congress needs to follow his decision to allow drilling in previously closed offshore oil fields.
A
funny blog poking fun at pollsters.
