Tom Fudge: Politicians have favorite lines that get used all the time. For instance, when polls show them behind their opponents during the campaign, they say, "The only poll I care about is the one we take when people cast their votes." Yeah, sure. Politicians obsess over polls a lot more than we do. But the fact that polls have become such a staple of electoral coverage is something to wonder about. For one thing, polls don't always get it right , if getting it right means predicting the election's outcome. Look at what happened in the New Hampshire primary. Polls showed Barack Obama ahead of Hillary Clinton by about ten points. Yet he lost.
But even when polls get it right, is this information voters really need to have? Polls may satisfy our curiosity. But do they help us make the right decision at the ballot box? Do they simply emphasize the horse race and cause us to disregard the candidates who don't catch fire early on?
Guests
- Daniel Yankelovich , founder and chairman of Viewpoint Learning and Public Agenda , he's monitored public opinion for more than 50 years.
- Dr. Gordon Clanton, professor of sociology at San Diego State University .
