Monday, March 17, 2008

Will the Real "Gallup" Poll Please Stand UP?

I know that a lot of people believe in polls. They live and die by them. Well, if you look at this screen shot from todays Real Clear Politics Head-to-Head polling data, you might be left scratching your head.
(Note: Click on Chart to see enlarged view)

In a just release of a National USA Today/Gallup poll, Barack Obama has a 2 percentage point lead over John McCain. In a national daily tracking poll, also released as of today and also conducted by Gallup (sans USA Today), John McCain has an identical percentage point lead over Barack Obama. Go figure!

Please note that both the Gallup tracking poll and the USA Today/Gallup poll have 3-4% margin of error. So, technically, they are both saying the same thing: a virtual tie. I just like to point out that, sometimes, it "looks like" the right hand doesn't really know what the left hand is doing!

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