General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIf the "polls" were all wrong?
Then what about the "polls' that say Joe Biden is a very unpopular President?
Or the "polls" that say America is on the wrong track?
Can we believe that the other polls were wrong but the polls about Biden's popularity and "wrong track" are correct?
After all, if Joe Biden was as unpopular as Republicans hope he is, wouldn't that have shown up in the election results?
I suppose the issue is much more complicated than the politicians would have us believe?
Johnny2X2X
(19,193 posts)Is inflated because a ton of Dems think the country is on the wrong track because Republicans are trying so hard to turn our country into a dictatorship.
ProfessorGAC
(65,248 posts)That question gets negative responses from both sides, but for opposite reasons.
GreenWave
(6,777 posts)But to accept polls that skew against Biden when the person has no clue what Biden has done...?
underpants
(182,949 posts)I read something here a few days ago about how specific funding and message was. In some cases extra effort and in others just effort. We did really well deep deep down ballots.
D_Master81
(1,822 posts)I believe what happened was the GOP just thought they could trot out any candidates because of the economic conditions and theyd win. What we saw is that people can believe the country is on the wrong track but think the GOP as presented wasnt the answer to fix it. I think the Dems need to realize this and not feel like we dont have issues to fix ourselves
Elessar Zappa
(14,087 posts)They havent figured out a methodology that works, given that only 1% of people answer their phone to pollsters. So yes, Biden could very well be more popular than the polls suggest.
Septua
(2,263 posts)..is a huge factor. And there was purportedly, a lot of Republican biased election polls that skewed the overall numbers.
Trailrider1951
(3,415 posts)Could it be that the "polls" are just another tool to manipulate the voters?
The only poll that matters happens on election day.
sop
(10,274 posts)And voters believed Republicans are the ones taking the country down the wrong track.
hlthe2b
(102,419 posts)Prior to the election and with MAGATs resurgent, with House R's having been largely allowed to skate on 01/06 (in Congress and with Trump) I might very well have said we were on the wrong track. All my other answers would have reflected support and confidence in the economy and Biden, but that would not matter. It used to be that pollsters would validate their surveys and question wording just prior, with focus groups. They don't do so much anymore.
Both of the leading aggregators including 538 allowed a flood of last-minute Republican-commissioned polls to dramatically influence the last two weeks of polls. That was called out by at least one expert with whom Nate Silver promptly initiated a pissing match attacking him.
So, yeah, the favorability of Biden was largely a function of these last biased polls too.
And all that ignores the overwhelmingly impossible environment pollsters have to negotiate such that (even Dave Wasserman admits) only about 1% of the public will agree to participate or can be reached. So no matter how statistically significant and numerically-powered your poll, if you start with an unrepresentative sample, well, garbage IN, garbage OUT.
sunonmars
(8,656 posts)NoRethugFriends
(2,343 posts)niyad
(113,619 posts)spends so much time painting him that way. Psych warfare.
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)MiHale
(9,788 posts)From 1992 Mike Royko. Taught me polls are for suckers always have been.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-10-28-9204070637-story.html
'As I recall,'' the host said, ''Mike Royko once tried to get a campaign going to get people to lie to pollsters.''
That`s true. Some years ago, I became weary of countless pollsters telling 250 million people what they thought on the basis of the way 1,000 answered questions.
So I urged people to lie to the pollsters. Not that it would make any difference. If you lied to a pollster, then voted the way you intended, elections would still come out the way they would have if you told the truth. The only difference would be that the pollsters would have nervous breakdowns and be institutionalized, and we wouldn`t be assaulted by their silly numbers every election year.
After my lie-to-a-pollster plea was printed, a few people told me that they had followed my advice. But for all I know, they were lying to me. Human nature.
contd
Butterflylady
(3,553 posts)His overwhelming accomplishments aren't given any time. The media pundits need to downplay everything to keep their masters and repugs happy.
dchill
(38,562 posts)...are on the wrong track.
Bev54
(10,082 posts)blamed Biden for everything, that I think is what the pollsters and media are getting wrong.