[FITZ]

So many people don't answer their phone anymore --- or only answer their cell phones, or especially they don't answer their phones when they are gone at work or if they think it might be a telemarketer calling. How could you get a decent poll even if you wanted to? How do you possibly find a good cross section of voters? I can't think of any way that isn't going to get skewed results one way or another.

[grellis]

...which is all true, but I think the third (unasked) question was "If the presidential election were held today, who would you vote for?" I was never asked the question because it was obvious what my answer would have been. The poll I took was being intentionally skewed. Why else wouldn't the pollster ask the question? I was on the phone, I didn't hurry him in any way.

[k omalley]

"So many people don't answer their phone anymore...how could you get a decent poll even if you wanted to?"

That is what I would like to know. We never answer our phone unless we recognize the caller on caller ID and actually want to talk to them. At work we are supposed to call patients scheduled for surgery with pre-op instructions and almost nobody answers the phone. So I don't understand how these polls can be in any way accurate.