Voters to politicians: love god but shut up
• Wearisome Bedfellows
I used to be involved in survey research. Much of it about crotch spray, popcorn and banking services. I did a few political polls as well and got 'bisexual' added to a list of sexual orientations in a San Francisco political poll.
There are two key elements to polling. The first is writing the questions. You'd be surprised how often polls are put together by incompetents. I'll never forget one question asked of members of college activities committees: What activities are you active in?. Dead ears aside the ability to write questionnaires without accidental bias is a skill even when you are just asking people how they feel about colostomy bags (a surprising number wanted them available in a wide range of colors).
Of course many political polls are written in a way to insure obtaining a desired result.
Interpreting polls is probably an even rarer knack. Especially discerning how the don't knows and no answers may fall. The researchers whose surveys decide the fate of products, corporations and just politicians do their best to be clear and honest. At least until they talk to the popular press.
Interested parties grab on to a poll's findings and do their damnest to spin the results their way:
The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press said its finding "marks a clear shift" in sentiment from a year ago. Whereas 41 percent of respondents in 2003 said politicians discussed their faith too little, only 31 percent felt that way in the latest survey - and the number who said there was too much rose from 21 percent to 27 percent.
Poll suggests public has grown weary of politicians talking religion
At the very least three-quarters of the American electorate is composed of morons:
Nearly three-quarters of Americans (72 per cent) believe that it is important for a president to have strong religious beliefs, according to a new poll. ...
Some 24 per cent of Americans felt that Bush shows his faith too much, however, while 10 per cent said the same for Kerry.
Majority of Americans want a religious president: Poll
A tiny hooray for science:
A majority of American voters now support embryonic stem cell research, according to a new poll released Tuesday (Aug. 24), including 56 percent of "swing voters" who could be wooed by John Kerry's embrace of the research.
Stem Cell Research Emerges as Key Issue in New Poll
There's still a vestigal sense of propriety and privacy:
The survey found that 65 percent of Americans oppose church endorsement of political candidates, 69 percent think it improper for political parties to ask congregations for their membership lists and 64 percent oppose the idea of Catholic bishops denying communion to politicians who fail to support church teachings on abortion and related issues.
Americans Oppose Partisan Politics At Houses Of Worship, Pew Poll Finds
The fundagelicals, wanting to be more Catholic than the Pope, feel more strongly about this than do the American Roman Catholics themselves.
A new survey about religion and politics shows that Americans disapprove of Catholic Church leaders withholding Holy Communion from pro-choice Catholic politicians by almost a three-to-one ratio, or 64 percent to 22 percent.
Denial of Communion disapproved
As explained in an article in The Nation back in November the gay marriage issue was contrived to motivate the fundagelical voters who didn't turn out in great numbers in 2000.
Another possible piece of good news for Bush and the Republicans is that 67 percent of voters, according to the poll, are paying at least some attention to the gay marriage controversy. While the survey also shows that the issue is not a high priority for most voters, it could help energize religious conservatives, who overwhelmingly support GOP candidates. As already noted, the Democrats can take heart that a majority of voters (52 percent) now favor embryonic stem cell research, up from 43 percent just two years ago. Moreover, the poll shows increasing awareness of the issue, with 42 percent of voters now focused on the stem cell debate, compared to 27 percent in 2002.