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To: COBOL2Java
nominating a lame Veep

Who do you want? I would love to see Michael Steele as VP.

195 posted on 08/20/2008 8:16:50 AM PDT by RightWingTeen (Caution: homeschooled teen with a Brain that works - LIBERALS you can't control me!!)
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To: All

One more time. About polls:

They come in 2 flavors. Constant party mix. Variable party mix.

Rasmussen has a constant party mix. His telephone robots are looking for XX Dems, YY GOP and ZZ Independents. They keep calling until they get that mix. When they do, the results are what they are. When you see movement in Rasmussen, it’s a real trend. People are indeed changing their minds.

Most other pollsters call randomly and ask the respondent what their party affiliation is. If they get 70% Dems, 20% GOP and 10% Independent, too bad. That’s what they report. The next week it might be 20% Dem, 70% GOP and 10% Independent. Randomness can do that. It’s much harder to spot trends in this style poll.

The problem with the constant mix variety is that the target mix may not be right (usually it’s whoever showed up last election). Party affiliation is a VERY powerful determinant of candidate preference. So the mix picked will determine the poll’s results. The numbers reported may be wrong, but a trend is REAL.

The problem with variable mix is that poll to poll you may see huge variation of party mix and this cannot reflect national opinion — because people just don’t change their party affiliation that frequently.


198 posted on 08/20/2008 8:28:11 AM PDT by Owen
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To: RightWingTeen
Who do you want? I would love to see Michael Steele as VP.

I'm less sure of who I want than of who I don't want. Hopefully McCain's gotten the message about choosing Lieberman or Ridge.

Michael Steele would be a good choice. I'd like to see him pick Palin.

200 posted on 08/20/2008 8:28:42 AM PDT by COBOL2Java ("It's not my fault if McCain loses - it's his own damn fault!" - Mark Levin)
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