Candidate Obama v. Governor Romney: Don't Believe the Polls | Eastern North Carolina Now

Romney v Obama reminds me much of Reagan v Carter

   A good many polls are being conducted about who is ahead, and as to which candidate could possibly win the upcoming presidential election. Our Advice: Don't believe anything you see or hear.

    Polling is a well-heeled industry that has little value to anyone except the candidates themselves, and if the pollsters were smart, or true patriots who understood how a republic truly functions, even they should not pay attention to them.

    The purpose of non-electing polls has now become two-fold as is exhibited below.

    First, polls offer to candidates and elected politicians, the snapshot of the mood of a sector of the electorate, which may influence what they do or say while campaigning, or worse, while governing. Former President Bill Clinton was a great believer in polls, and used them effectively to govern, and ultimately to stay in office after the Paula Jones / Monica Lewinsky / etc, etc, etc. sexual affairs blew up in his face and threatened to wreck his ambitions for a second term.

    Candidate Obama is very concerned about the polls, and largely has built his ongoing candidacy, and his presidency, around the polling influenced needs of his core constituency, which roundly explains why he embarked on his "Two Americas" tour over a year ago. The Candidate learned to use polls as a hedge to understand how he could do and say stuff to get elected, irrespective of the obvious needs of the nation. Polls are very important to candidate Obama.

    Second, polls are used to influence a public / electorate, that in some sectors, have a difficult time making up their minds, and in some cases, in gaining a rudimentary understanding of semi-complex issues. This is where it becomes most difficult to believe the evaluation of polls, since most are conducted by media based entities, and the polls that are conducted are skewed to represent the desired effect of the bias of the media outlet.

   All media outlets are clearly biased so all polling data will always be biased as well.

    Sadly, polls are now actually influencing the way the media covers campaigns, or the presidency of a favored candidate, and let's be very clear about this one inarguable fact, the vast media bias is skewed toward Candidate Obama, of which the overwhelming number of media personnel are still smitten by their beloved candidate, as if it were a high school crush that will never be resolved, unrequited and most profound.

    And while some of you may disagree with this immutable fact, or find this inarguable truth disturbing within the model of a fair press of journalistic integrity, get over it. It is what it is, and it has long been this way; it's just that the so-called journalists no longer feel called to hide it as well as they did in the past.

    What is one to do?

    First understand the obvious, and may I reiterate to the point of redundancy: Don't believe the polls. Most are flawed, and are bound to change, regardless of the extent you may wish there to be some sense of stability of opinion. In actuality, to gain some measure of understanding of the reality of the moment, one must pay attention, and be somewhat studied as to what is real, not pronounced as some profound and easily digested truth, and foremost in that awareness, stay away from the influence of the impossibly flawed poll and its data.

    To embellish this point, I leave you with this memorable fact: In 1980, three weeks before the election, unbelievably, Jimmy Carter led the late, great Ronald Reagan in at least one poll by 8 points, 47% to 39%, and for all who do not know or remember the history of that election, Jimmy Carter was defeated in a crushing landslide.

    That election was very similar to this one in two important respects: The economy was in a deep funk (remember the coined "Stagflation"), as bad as it is now, and the Middle East was in profound turmoil, very much as it is now. There was one other similarity with a slight twist - the elite media despised Ronald Reagan - made fun of him - but they were not as smitten with the President from plains Georgia as they are so deeply, and unreservedly in love with the Community-organizer-in-chief.

   I have no idea to what extent this will make a difference. We'll just have to see how it all plays out.

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