Don't Buy The Lie

CNN has a new poll out, and frankly, it's a con job.

I won't waste your time with it's claims, but I will spell out the clues which flag it for a phoney:

[] No link to the actual results is presented. This is what someone does when they want you to accept their claim without looking at the facts;

[] The report is based on the GENERIC POLL, which has never been a useful barometer. For instance, in 2002 the Generic Poll projected Democrat gains, when in the actual result the GOP made gains;

[] CNN relies heavily on whether Americans are happy with how things are going. Dissatisfaction with the present condition often indicates that the voters would like stronger action, not a different direction;

[] CNN claims the poll has a margin of error of 4.5%. Since MOEs go in both directions, CNN is admitting they could be off by 9 percent, which is statistically high enough to invalidate any specific claim;

[] The poll was taken from Wednesday through Saturday, on a holiday weekend when many people would be away from home. This skews the respondent pool, making it unreliable;

[] The poll only queried "Americans", citing neither registered nor likely voters for most of its claims. Registered voters were queried for selected questions, but since the release ducks the results for most of the poll, that suggests CNN played around and only mentioned what they wanted to say.

It's a lie, folk. Total trash.