[Edit35]

I don’t believe in the Bradley effect.

Rather, I believe when a Democrat is called by a pollster, he or she is more afraid to admit they are voting for McCain than they are to admit they will not vote for Obama.

Because in the back of their minds, they fear the person on the other end KNOWS they are a Democrat and thus will put them on the black list, so to speak, if they admit to supporting McCain.

Make sense?

[ClaudiusI]

Why would they be afraid to answer truthfully to the pollster?
I could understand this sort of reaction if they were being polled on the street, but not anonymously over the phone.

[rgboomers]

You bet. Your hypothesis makes a lot of sense to me.

[taildragger]

don’t believe in the Bradley effect. Rather, I believe when a Democrat is called by a pollster, he or she is more afraid to admit they are voting for McCain than they are to admit they will not vote for Obama. Because in the back of their minds, they fear the person on the other end KNOWS they are a Democrat and thus will put them on the black list, so to speak, if they admit to supporting McCain. Make sense?

Bingo Edit....

Especially if they work in a Federal Job, Municipality, or belong to a Union. Talk to someone who works for Uncle Sugar and the political correctness crap they deal with, say something wrong your life is a living hell. I never participate in polls anymore, With caller ID, any funny area codes show up I let it go. One time I got one and 3/4 of the way through was a question that didn't fit; do you have any guns? I told them goodbye at that point, never again, you don't know who truly is on the other end. Ditto that people coming around to your door, I had one recently, regret telling him the truth, who was he really (union doup for sure...).

[Dustoff45]

I believe when a Democrat is called by a pollster, he or she is more afraid to admit they are voting for McCain than they are to admit they will not vote for Obama. Because in the back of their minds, they fear the person on the other end KNOWS they are a Democrat and thus will put them on the black list, so to speak, if they admit to supporting McCain.

You are so right. If Obama wins, folks say we are headed for the most politically correct government ever.

We don't know the full agenda of pollsters. They are asking about some of our most private decisions. They have a record of our comments. We don't know how that record will be used after the call is finished.

Besides, a lot of us took a lesson from "Operation Chaos". The only poll that counts comes on the first Tuesday of November, every four years.

[Little Ray]

I believe in the “shy Tory” effect. When a pollster calls a liberal, he blabs his head off. When a pollster calls a conservative, he’s likely to hang up on him.

[Verbosus]

I personally would not tell a pollster my opinion.
I do not know who is calling, only who they say they are - and I don’t think that qualifies them to hear my opinion.

Additionally, I don’t know anyone that would answer questions.

I have seen people post here that would answer a poll, but I still consider myself part of the ‘Silent Majority’.