Phone polls of this nature are totally useless. The people contacted by the pollsters via phone are generally pretty ignorant about carbon dioxide, and likely the questions about coal-fired plants conjure up pictures in the respondents’ minds of smokestacks spewing clouds of black smoke. Thus they don’t have an informed response.
Um, how is the poll "totally useless"? I agree that the public is almost completely ignorant about the issue. I agree that the poll question likely conjures up images of dirty smokestacks. But how does that make the respondents any different than how voters think and cast ballots? Rasmussen uses a likely voter screen. These ARE likely voters and this is what they think. The poll is very useful. It tells people like us, other conservatives and any sane person who cares about this policy question, that the public is gullible on the issue of coal and we have our work cut out for us.