Bits & Pieces - Rasmussen Reports

Rasmussen Reports

Bits & Pieces

By Bob Robinson

Over the years I’ve expressed my opinions about polls… there are polls and there are polls and they seldom say the same thing.

The only “poll” that counts is the final vote after an election.

Polls are like statistics. You can pretty much make them say whatever you want them to say. With statistics, it’s how you choose the data (ie what’s important and what isn’t)… it depends on your agenda.

With polls, it’s how you ask the question, and of whom.

You can ask “is the president doing a good job for the country” and “will you vote for him in 2012” and get two different answers. Other question differences – much more subtle – can draw a significantly different result.

Also, as with statistics, you have to be wary of the sampling data. Have you ever wondered why an NBC or Newsweek poll will tell you a different story than a Fox News or CBS poll?

You may have noticed in many of my columns that I mention Rasmussen Reports. I started following it a few years ago and have come to believe that it gives the most accurate “picture” of public opinion available, outside of an election day vote.

When common sense tells you that the truth is somewhere between a 10 or 15 percent spread in two different polls, that is usually where you will find Rasmussen. The polling service often refers to campaign results that it predicted within one or two percentage points.

Rasmussen Reports sends out a weekly summary of the previous week every Saturday. If you are concerned about the trend in national politics, I believe it’s better than the comments of any pundit you will find… including me.

For your information – condolences offered if appropriate – here is a portion of this week’s report…

“The frustration that voters are expressing in 2010 goes much deeper than specific policies. Voters just don’t believe their elected officials are listening to them.

“Sixty-eight percent (68%), in fact, believe the nation’s Political Class doesn’t “care what most Americans think.

“A good example is Arizona’s new law aimed at reducing the illegal immigration that’s hurting the state financially and threatening public safety. Voters understand what the state is trying to do, and a majority support passage of similar legislation in their own state.

“But the Obama administration has chosen to attack Arizona’s law in court, and the president and many others in the Political Class have been critical of the state. Yet by a three-to-one margin, voters see the Political Class as a greater threat to the nation than laws like the one passed recently in Arizona.

“Fifty-three percent (53%) continue to favor repeal of the national health care bill, passed by Congress in March despite strong voter opposition. 

“This kind of disconnect helps explain why just 23% of voters believe the federal government today has the consent of the governed. 

“Meanwhile, the government insists the economy is showing signs of improvement, but many voters aren’t buying that either. Fifty percent (50%) now view President Obama’s handling of the economy as poor, the president’s highest negative rating in this area since he took office in January 2009. 

“Short- and long-term confidence is down when it comes to the housing market.  One-in-seven homeowners (14%) say they are at least somewhat likely to miss or be late with a mortgage payment in the next six months. 

“While concern about the economy runs high, most Americans also think the government should allow offshore and deepwater drilling to continue despite the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Support for both types of drilling is even higher in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, states that depend on the oil industry for revenue and jobs.”

Have a great day and feel safe and secure. Big Brother watches over us.

Watch for more Bits ‘n Pieces as they occur. Good stuff? Bad stuff? You decide.

Bob Robinson is the retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio. If you wish to receive notification of his comments, opinions and reports when they are posted, send your email address to: opinionsbybob@gmail.com. Feel free to express your views.