Poll Positions

The only poll that really counts is the one on Election Day.

   Polls are useful things, and when conducted by responsible agencies using proven techniques, they can show trends. But it's important to remember that a poll is only a sample, a brief survey of a small portion of the entire population.
   Moreover, the answers pollsters get can depend on how they phrase their questions, and the quality of an answer depends on who is being asked.
   For example, if the pool of respondents comprises only Republicans, the poll leaves out independents, who also may be able to vote in a primary election. If the poll includes those who are not likely to vote at all, you will get a different set of answers. Moreover, some will respond with the first name that comes to mind, and that could be the candidate who has been getting the most news coverage.
   Even the better pollsters, those unaffiliated with a political party or advocacy group, acknowledge a margin of error, which can mean any two leaders may be even, or trade places for the lead.
  Meanwhile, candidates can tout the results of one poll's numbers that favor them, and ignore others.
   Such a claim can be true, as far as it goes, except that it doesn't go very far, and this amounts to selective truth-telling. Moreover, if an opponent cites alternate polls, or an alternate reading of the same poll, or even mentions the margin of error in the touted poll, an aggrieved candidate will cry "foul!" and accuse the opponent of at least selective truth-telling, if not outright, under-handed manipulation.
   Thus, both sides will be guilty of the same charges they sling at each other.
   So what's a voter to do, hearing the poll cats snarl innuendo and duplicity, when it's clear that none of the candidates speak the full truth? That's when journalism steps in, reporting not only what each candidate claims, but also detailing facts that contradict the bluster. Last call comes on Election Day, when voters decide who speaks truth.