Another Reason Why The National Polls Are All Over The Place
Posted Oct 15, 2008 at 10:08 AM by Maurice Berger
Another reason for the broad variations in polling results (beyond differences in polling models and methodology) is the unusually dramatic, indeed traumatic, news cycles of late. The economic meltdown has injected a big dose of uncertainty and fear into the emotional lives of voters. And nervous voters tend to make impulsive or tentative political decisions. As John McCain's pollster Bill McInturff observes: ""The
financial tsunami has produced one of the most difficult and volatile times to
conduct polling in modern times. During these uniquely volatile
last few weeks, I have seen as much day-to-day movement as I have witnessed in
my 20 plus year career as a pollster." The erratic polling engendered by the "financial tsunami" may persist as long as the economic crisis in first and foremost on the minds of voters.
