We have different understandings here, and I’m not sure which of us is correct. But as I understand it, Zogby’s online respondents (I used to be one) go into a pool. Then they are randomly selected from this pool for specific polls, not solicited for every survey. Anecdotally, when I participated I was not contacted all that often.
Well, perhaps they don’t contact you for every survey, but I got e-mailed quite often for surveys, at least a couple of times a month. Maybe Zogby really needed Gore-voting Hispanic New Hampshire Democrats for his surveys. : )
Even if the participants are randomly selected from a pool of respondents (which I doubt, since Zogby always makes sure that his polls have a certain percentage of people from each demographic group), the pool of respondents is still self-selected and is thus not a cross-section of the electorate. And what do you figure the response rate is on these things? I know many people hang up when a pollster calls, but it’s even easier to delete Zogby’s e-mail or just leave it there “for later” and never answering (especially since it takes like 15 minutes to go through all those questions that you’ve already answered in every prior survey). There’s a reason why the Zogby on-line surveys often yield ridiculous results such as Kerry leading Bush in TN and Kerry winning the election with over 350 EVs.
I’ll consider a Zogby poll, and take it with a grain of salt, but the Zogby surveys are so unscientific that I don’t even look at them. How Zogby conned The Wall Street Journal into buying into that crap is beyond me.
Keep the faith. I’m not a big fan of Zimmer but we need to keep the Senate close at all cost. We CAN NOT afford for the left to win a veto proof Congress people on the ground need to wake the hell up. Here in Virginia damn liberal Mark Warner is still pulling a significant number of otherwise loyal GOPers. What in the hell is wrong with Republicans in my state? It is like they’ve been brainwashed. I’m getting out again this weekend. Gilmore had a good debate with Warner and the press is being more even handed. Gilmore more needs to show movement and close the gap here in Virginia. If Warner is riding high come election day McCain may very well lose Virginia.