Monday, October 27, 2008

Biased Independent Poll Data?

The polls are in and they say that Obama is in the lead by as much as 6 points. But are these polls truly accurate? In reality they are a best guess sampling. The election isn't over until the American people have voted and the votes have been counted; Don't let the media or any polls tell you otherwise!

I always gave the polls the benefit of the doubt and took them as a best guess sampling, but without bias or hidden agenda until I heard a caller on the Sean Hannity radio program last week. The caller was a woman from North Carolina. She said that the Gallup Poll center (verified by caller ID) in her area had just called. They began asking her questions: "Had she registered to vote? What issues were most important to her in this election?" When they asked if she had decided on a specific candidate for president, she said that she had "decided on John McCain." The pollster asked her to "hold for a moment please" and then hung up on her! Unbelievable?!

This story is very unnerving! It may be evidence that the polls are not truly representative of a RANDOM sampling and that they may, in fact, be biased. This is just one story? Are there more? There may be individuals who have a hidden agenda to bias the polling data -- in this specific case: the Gallup Polls.

So now we may not be able to trust the independent election poll data either? Who can you trust to give you give you accurate information about the candidates, the issues, and where the candidates stand with the rest of the country?

The answer: NO ONE!

You have to listen directly to the candidates themselves and take secondary news information as suspect, always looking for the bias or slant. You have to watch, read, and listen to a variety of news sources and play them off of one another to get to the truth. Voting in this day, and age of information and technology, is harder than ever and comes with greater responsibility to get to the TRUTH. This is the only way you can make an informed decision when you cast your ballot for the next president of the United States of America.

Remember the Presidential Election 2000? The media (CBS) claimed "It's over. Al Gore has won!" Then they had to go back on the air and admit that they were wrong, but at that point many Republicans had decided not to bother with voting. This could have affected the outcome of the election in favor of Al Gore. The point here is not whether a Democrat or a Republican would have won, but that the media had such a sway in the voting process!

The media influence (and yes, bias) is ever present in this Presidential Election 2008. This time we need to keep them in check and not let them have the sway that they held in 2004. We need to question their motives for reporting this story and not that story (e.g., for focusing on Sarah Palin's wardrobe cost and ignoring Obama's questionable associations). We need to take the polls with a grain of salt, realizing that there may in fact be bias in the independent poll data that is being reported. We need to send a clear message to the media, the pollsters, and groups and individuals that try to commit voter fraud that we, the American people, are going to: 1) hold them accountable for what they say and do; and that 2) we are going to be informed and decide for ourselves who we think the best president for our country will be.

Bottom Line: It's not over until the American People vote in a fair election and ALL of the votes are counted!

One more thing: Brave men and women have fought for, and are still fighting today, to protect our freedom and right to vote. Don't dishonor their valiant efforts by defrauding the election process with bogus voter registrations and voter fraud on election day, or by being too lazy to get out and vote on election day. You owe it to your country, and yourself, to be honest and fair in the voting process and to actually vote on election day. God Bless! Now go vote!

P.S. Another form of bias is seen in the media constantly pointing out what a great performer and orator Obama is. But you have to look deeper. Look to the issues and where the candidates stand. Look at their voting records. Look at their work experience. Then say to yourself: "Which candidate is going to do the best job for the country when the cameras are off and the real work begins?"

You may have a favorite actor on TV. They play politicians, surgeons, doctors, lawyers, and nuclear physicists. They may be brilliant actors worthy of your devotion, but would you want that actor to run the nuclear power plant down the road? Would you want them to perform brain surgery on you? Would you want them to represent you in court?

No comments: