Reply #3: Polls in general...

[RoyGBiv]

I agree with you on the college polls, generally speaking. Some universities have entire schools dedicated to this sort of thing, Michigan for instance, and their polls tend to be better. I was on the analysis end of polling a couple times in college, and it's really amazing how sloppy it got.

Anyway, I was reading some stuff last night, and I found this. I think we all might want to take note of it, especially now.

Reporting Sampling Error

How the Media Confuse and
Mislead Readers and Viewers

by Humphrey Taylor

On almost every occasion when we release a new survey, someone in the media will ask, "What is the margin of error for this survey?" There is only one honest and accurate answer to this question -- which I sometimes use to the great confusion of my audience -- and that is, "The possible margin of error is infinite."

http://www.pollingreport.com/sampling.htm