Dear Media, Stop

10:10 pm EST December 13th, 2006 | News | 11 Comments

Ever since the 2006 election ended, there has been a never-ending pile of polls about the 2008 election. These polls are worthless. Half the people in the polls haven’t even expressed their intent to form an exploratory committee, let alone declare their candidacy. It’s all name recognition at this point: the two “front runners” are a sitting U.S. senator (oh, and she’s a freaking former first lady) as well as the former mayor of the second biggest city in the country who was once named person of the year by Time. The next layer of candidates are U.S. Senators, one with a current bestseller and Time cover, the other with multiple bestsellers and an everlasting presence on Sunday talk. Household names, all.

At the very least, give us a breather. Stop trying to read the tea leaves with these polls and give the candidates a chance to declare their candidacy. We’ve got more than a year until the Iowa caucuses! Nothing’s begun!!! Stop!!!

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11 Responses to “Dear Media, Stop”

  1. Church Secretary says:
    December 13, 2006 at 10:49 pm

    If you think the polls are bad, wait until this kicks into high gear. The corporate media, at your service.

  2. Iggy says:
    December 13, 2006 at 10:51 pm

    You’re right, of course, but the media is addicted to elections and election horse races, so they start the next one as soon as the last is over.

    BTW, if you mean Giuliani, New York City is the biggest city in the country, by quite a large margin.

  3. Diamond LeGrande says:
    December 13, 2006 at 11:05 pm

    This is one topic about which even our conservative residents should agree.

  4. C.S.Strowbridge says:
    December 14, 2006 at 12:53 am

    I like polls. It’s one of the things about politics that I like the most.

  5. Oliver Willis says:
    December 14, 2006 at 2:15 am

    You’re right, for some reason in my head I thought LA was bigger than NYC.

  6. fd10801 says:
    December 14, 2006 at 8:08 am

    Polls are what the Media thinks everyone thinks for the moment.

    It’s like asking your friend how he feels today. It doesn’t tell you who he is, just how he’s feeling today.

    Viewed that way, polls have a limited, but not zero, usefulness.

    You should view each poll with two “Why” questions:
    1) Why the results?
    2) Why the poll?

  7. pseudonymous in nc says:
    December 14, 2006 at 8:14 am

    It always fascinates me, as an expat foreigner, that Americans demand election results within hours of the polls closing, and yet have campaigns that run for two damn years.

    Cablenews is doing this because it has to fill time, and nothing’s happening until January. The pollsters have to justify their existence.

    It would be nice if a few panel guests told Blitzer and company just to shut up.

  8. Dugger says:
    December 14, 2006 at 8:56 am

    I was against polls on this site when it wasn’t fashionable. Now look at all of OW’s me-too’ers. The only poll that counted was that d*mned one on election day.

  9. Wilbur says:
    December 14, 2006 at 10:10 am

    I was against polls on this site when it wasn’t fashionable.

    Do right-wingers on this site ever think before pushing the “post” button? Or is Dugger just desperate these days to find something he can claim to be right about?

    Dugger, Oliver isn’t talking about all polls, he’s talking about polls on how people will supposedly vote two years down the road.

    Polls on how a current officeholder (such as the president) is doing his job, and polls on how people will vote in an election that’s actually imminent are different kettles of fish entirely.

    Personally, I don’t see anything so terrible about the first type of poll. They may be meaningless, but no more meaningless than most of the jaw-flapping that transpires on cable news.

  10. Taylor says:
    December 14, 2006 at 1:24 pm

    THANK YOU. I’ve been screaming that for weeks now. It’s exhausting!

  11. Dr. Anatole Gavage-Huskanoy says:
    December 14, 2006 at 4:23 pm

    The most convincing Dugger ever gets is when he tells people how unfashionable he is. We believe you, buddy. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re actually Vincent Gallo posting under an alias. 5% chance, tops.