A Bitter Poll to Swallow

I don’t like public opinion polls. Never have. It’s not that polls don’t have their uses. When my town council starts thinkin’ about erecting a John J. Audubon Memorial Birdbath, it’d be kinda nice if they’d call me up to ask my opinion. Might save me the trouble of runnin’ down to their fancy-dancy chambers (second floor, east wing) in the new Municipal Government Complex (that they didn’t call me about) every other Tuesday night for the next three months.

What annoys me most about these “scientific polls” is that we let them drive the political conversation when they never actually present any valid opinions. The pollsters query a couple thousand people, if that, with vague questions about how you feel about things. These questions are usually presented in a yes/no or multiple choice type format that leaves the results wide open to interpretation. On top of that, no matter how “scientific” the pollsters are trying to be, respondents are still very much self-selecting. I wonder how many calls you have to make before you get 1,500 bored, lonely, or agenda-driven people to answer your hundred questions.

So when the New York Times comes out with its periodic Are You Happy? poll, right away everyone’s jabberin’ about the (fill-in-the-blank) percent of Americans who think the country’s heading in the wrong direction. The all-knowing talking heads across the land then sagely tell us what we’re upset about; usually that government isn’t doing enough for us, and what little they are doing, they’re doing wrong. Never mind that the poll results cannot possibly give any indication what, to the respondents, specifically constitutes going in the wrong direction.

POLLSTER: Do you feel things in this country are generally going in the right direction or do you feel things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?

POLLEE: Yes.

POLLSTER: Yes what? Going in the right direction?

POLLEE: No.

POLLSTER: So you feel things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?

POLLEE: Yes.

POLLSTER: Why?

POLLEE: Why what?

POLLSTER: Why do you feel things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?

POLLEE: You have to ask?

POLLSTER: Well…, yes I do.

POLLEE: Well if you don’t know, I sure as hell can’t tell you.

POLLSTER: Why not?

POLLEE: Why not what?

POLLSTER: Why can’t you tell me?

POLLEE: Why can’t I tell you what?

POLLSTER: Why can’t you tell me why you feel things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?

POLLEE: I never said that!

POLLSTER: Yes you did.

POLLEE: When?

POLLSTER: Just a minute ago.

POLLEE: Oh…. What was the question?

(click)

According to the March 28 - April 2 New York Times - Are You Happy? poll, 81 percent of the 1,368 respondents feel things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track. Fourteen percent feel things in this country are generally going in the right direction. I guess the other five percent feel we’re on the right track going in the wrong direction.

So what is causing this 81 percent, off on the wrong track, bitterness?

How about this: If you had to choose, would you rather have a smaller government providing fewer services, or a bigger government providing more services?

Smaller: 43%
Bigger: 43%
Depends: 4%
DK/NA: 10%

From a broad, general perspective, it looks like a pretty even split as to why people feel things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track. Half wants more government, half wants less. These are totally opposite positions. David Copperfield couldn’t pull a political consensus out of that hat?

This is the reported political breakdown of the respondents.

Democrat: 41%
Republican: 26%
Independent: 27%
DK/NA: 6%

I think we can safely assume most of the Democrats feel Bush has taken us down the wrong track. Can we also assume they want bigger government? That’s not so certain. One would think so but they’re a pretty whacky mix of the illogical and irrational.

Conversely, I think we can assume most of the Republicans would prefer a smaller government. Do they also feel we’re on the wrong track? Given their rhetoric, I’d like to think so. With a Republican in the White House, though, I’m guessing half said we’re going in the right direction.

That leaves the Independents. Once again, it’s hard to say, but if I’m right about the other two, then nearly all feel we’re on the wrong track, and at least half think government should be smaller.

So when Pauline Pundit starts telling you why so many Americans feel we’ve gotten off on the wrong track, you can throw your shoe at the telly and holler back: “You don’t know what in tarnation you’re talkin’ about.”

In conclusion, there are a couple numbers from this poll I personally find terribly depressing. When asked to name the most important problem facing this country today, only one percent said politicians/government. When asked to name the most important ECONOMIC problem facing the country today, a slightly better two percent said too much government. I bet those numbers would be a lot higher if we get a law passed that requires you to answer those hundred questions.

Phil