Some random Neoconese polling analysis over the past year, not comprehensive, just some of the bits the dangerous software pulled up in a quick search. Concise summary: Polls mean something when you want them to, but otherwise they don't mean anything. You should especially enjoy the bold one in this context, Neocon. Plus Bush and Dole winning straw polls, weren't those the days? Personally, I prefer the polls that take place on election days.
Wednesday, Feb 10 1999 11:53PM ET
B:) There is a reason that we do not run the country by plebiscite--- voters delegate to
elected officials the responsibility to investigate and debate matters of public importance,
precisely because the public doesn't have the time, means, or inclination to follow it all
itself, except in the broadest terms. To govern on the basis of polls is not democratic,
but a self- serving abdication of responsibility.
Wednesday, Mar 10 1999 8:49AM ET
By the way, Senator Rudman is a windbag. Traditionally, presidents have had a
substantial amount of leeway in the conduct of foreign policy, including the use of force.
The constitutionality of the Boland Amendment was doubtful. And although the people
have the right to be wrong, the reason that we are a representative rather than direct
democracy is that we expect those who are in a position of authority to study matters
and be directly responsible for decisions made on the basis of their best judgment, not
opinion polls. The people have a right to call them to account through elections, and
therefore can exert pressure prior to elections. But the people should not, and do not,
expect them to adhere to every fleeting expression of public opinion. In fact, it is
generally looked upon as a character flaw if a politician is too worried about polls.
Wednesday, Mar 17 1999 2:35AM ET
From a Washington Post column by the liberal Richard Cohen:
Ah, the brilliance of the American people. The polls, various and no doubt true, tell us
that most people (57 percent) looked at Monica Lewinsky and found her less
sympathetic after her Barbara Walters interview than before. They found her -- if I may
humbly extrapolate from the raw data -- a vapid, self-centered blabbermouth, totally
lacking in dignity or consideration of others. She is not, it turns out, merely President
Clinton's former mistress. She is his virtual twin.
Thursday, Mar 18 1999 3:29AM ET
Another interesting article from the LATimes:
THE TIMES POLL
Crossover Support Lifts Bush, Dole as Favorites for 2000
Thursday, Apr 1 1999 3:14PM ET
The public is exhausted with this ham- bone, which is why people with names like Bush
and Dole are winning the straw polls...
Tuesday, Apr 6 1999 1:09PM ET
It has harmed the presidency.
No argument, but I do not believe irreparably...
You are right to be exasperated with the return of Clinton to office, but I look at it in the
context of the general cynicism about politicians. I still don't think most of them realized
that something quite different than the usual fudging was going on here.
I have argued many times about the superficiality of those polls. . . .
Wednesday, Apr 7 1999 1:48AM ET
Bob-- Very true, but there are times when the symptoms are severest just before the
fever breaks, and the mending begins. I think that there is a strong distaste among the
populace and the elite, both, for what this fellow has put the country through, and that it
begins to show in the standing of the Republican front- runners in the polls: Bush and
Dole both beat Gore, the perceived successor to Bubba.I do not think that the response
to their surnames is accidental!
Friday, Apr 2, 1999 10:58 AM ET
Both he and Blair are conducting the war like an election campaign. They watch the polls to see what the public wants and do
only so much to keep their poll numbers up. When something goes wrong, they go into spin control mode.
Thursday, Apr 8 1999 10:24AM ET
Although the force in the Korean peninsula eats money, it would not be a bad precedent
for this operation. There are certainly worse alternatives.I haven't seen the latest polls,
but salvaging NATO's reputation may make a ground invasion necessary, and in any
case we never should have ruled it out if we were going to go forward...
Monday, Apr 19 1999 11:46PM ET
People who believe "vox populi, vox dei" are the morons. The consent of the governed
is an important principle, but actual authority is delegated to representatives, who have
the time to study issues, and who should act according to their best judgement
consistent with a reasonable concern for their constituents' opinions, not by polls...
Tuesday, May 18 1999 9:07AM ET
JLA--- I don't know what to say if you are dismissive of polls, rather than taking them
with the proverbial "grain of salt"...There is no way that your limited experience could
suffice to tell you what was generally happening in the country. When you invoke your
experience, you are merely citing a skewed poll with a very limited sampling:-)...
Friday, Jul 16 1999 1:15PM ET
I knew that the party had not done well in state elections, of course. The focus on the
exit polls had to do with the question of why. Maybe you are just dumb...
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