Take polls with a grain of salt

That’s what I always do. For examply, Ankle Biting Pundits has this to say about the new Ipsos-AP Poll, which is leading all the tv/radio news hours:

Take a gander at Questions 2 a. – d. in the toplines of the Ipsos poll (PDF). Of the 79% of respondents who are registered to vote, almost half (49%) describe themselves as “strongly Democrat” or “moderately Democrat,” whereas only 39% describe themselves as “strongly Republican” or “moderately Republican.”

As for the 21% of respondents who aren’t even registered to vote? Well, not to sound rude, but who really cares what they think?

Question D1c. demonstrates that Ipsos surveyed almost twice as many 18-34 year olds (31%) as they did 65-and-olders (17%). That’s not right.

Question D14 is curious, too. 14% of respondents make less that $15,000 per year?

Why didn’t they just survey the staff of the DNC?

You mean they didn’t? :-)

Polls are so easily manipulated, by anyone, on either side, who wants to do the manipulating, they are really not worth paying attention to, and they are certainly not a means by which anyone should govern.

If I were a pollster, though, I would want to do something objectively and statistically fair rather more often than less, for my own credibility. It helps, come an election year.