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NEWS ABOUT: polling

God's Approval Rating: 52%

Almighty gets high marks for creation, but loses points on natural disasters

(Newser) - Forget presidential and congressional approval polls. The left-leaning Public Policy Polling has finally asked the big question : "If God exists, do you approve or disapprove of its performance?" Some 52% approve of the job God is doing; 9% disapprove; and 40% are unsure, reports the Atlantic Wire . By comparison,... More »

Come 2012, Follow These Polls

Quinnipiac, SurveyUSA tops for accuracy, finds Nate Silver

(Newser) - Now that the dust has settled, whose polls were the best predictors of the actual midterm results? Nate Silver ranks them by accuracy and party bias over the last 21 days of the election cycle. The most accurate, according to his calculations: Quinnipiac, which “showed little bias,” he... More »

How Dems Could Keep the House

Polling inaccuracies might surprise us today

(Newser) - We keep hearing doom and gloom for the Democrats, and there’s a good chance that’s accurate, writes Nate Silver in the New York Times . But thanks to a few potential polling flaws, things could turn out differently; the Dems might even hang onto the House. Here’s why:... More »

No Way to Predict Size of GOP Gains

'Strange election' offers wide range of outcomes, says Nate Silver

(Newser) - Polls are showing a huge range of possible results for tomorrow, with generic ballots suggesting anything from a 15-point Republican lead to a 3-point Democratic lead. “The fact is that there’s not really any way to say who’s right,” writes FiveThirtyEight polling guru Nate Silver in... More »

Tea Party Support Slips

Poll shows young voters, white Southerners less happy

(Newser) - A new poll from the Washington Post and ABC shows that support for the tea party movement appears to be slipping, reports the Right Now blog :
  • The percentage who hold an unfavorable view of the movement rose from 39% in March to 50%.
  • The decline is particularly sharp among 18-
... More »

Don't Trust Any Poll That Omits Cellphones

They're ignoring 25% of the populace

(Newser) - Yeah, it's expensive, but pollsters need to start calling cellphones. According to the latest CDC data, 23% of US adults, or 25% of US households are cellphone-only, writes Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com . Add in “cellphone-mostly” households and that jumps to 40%—and it could be even higher by... More »

Why Post Poll Matters —and Why It Doesn't

New survey shows more support for public option

(Newser) - A new Washington Post/ABC poll showing an uptick in support for the public option—it stands at 57%—has pundits weighing in on the impact:
  • George Stephanopoulos, ABC: It's likely "those numbers aren't strong enough—at least not yet—to shake enough swing senators off their opposition to the
... More »

Fear, Not Fraud, May Have Won Iranian Election

(Newser) - A pre-election poll of Iranian voters favoring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been held up as proof that the election was fair. Not so, writes Nate Silver on FiveThirtyEight.com. The poll, conducted by Terror Free Tomorrow, found that 33.8% of respondents intended to vote for Ahmadinejad, versus 13.6% for... More »

Poll: US on 'Right Track' for First Time in 5 Years

48% are optimistic, up eight points in two months

(AP) - For the first time in years, more Americans than not say the country is headed in the right direction, according to an AP poll. The percentage of Americans saying the country is headed in the right direction rose to 48%, up eight points from February, while 44% say the nation... More »

Sexting 'Craze' May Really Be Skewed Polling

'Internet cowboys and cowgirls' twist results of online surveys

(Newser) - One in five teenagers have shared naughty pictures of themselves over the phone or online—at least according to reports of the “sexting epidemic” that’s been causing hysteria lately. But the figure might be bogus, the Wall Street Journal reports, because it’s based on a voluntary online... More »

Obama Polling Machine Kicks Into Gear

White House relies on public opinion data to push agenda

(Newser) - President Obama is increasingly reliant on polling data as he fine-tunes his budget pitch, relying on Washington outsiders in an operation more involved than his predecessor’s but less comprehensive than President Clinton’s. The process, sources tell Politico, is almost completely focused on pushing policy and not on measuring... More »

Dem Strategists Hatched Plan to Target Limbaugh

Carville, Greenberg conspire to shine spotlight on Rush

(Newser) - Democrats think the hubbub surrounding Rush Limbaugh is solid political gold, and they didn’t strike it by accident. When operatives James Carville and Stanley Greenberg tossed Limbaugh’s name onto a poll last fall, they discovered that Americans can’t stand the conservative talk icon, reports Jonathan Martin in... More »

Don't Say 'Recession,' Say 'Recovery'

Obama uses focus groups, polls to sell stimulus package

(Newser) - It’s not “infrastructure,” it’s an “investment.” It’s not a “recession,” it’s a “recovery.” Such are the pearls of wisdom Team Obama is spreading to congressional allies, Bloomberg reports. Gleaned from focus-group research and polling, these linguistic tweaks are... More »

Polls: Obama Widens National Lead

Democrat opens up 5.8 point lead over John McCain

(Newser) - In the final hours, Barack Obama's national lead in the polls is still inching up, writes Nate Silver at Fivethirtyeight.com, to 5.8 points by late last night from 5.4 earlier in the afternoon. Silver's analysis of the latest polls also predicts that Obama stands to win more... More »

'Perfect Storm' of Problems Forecast for Missouri Polls

Close races plus potential voting chaos could make for a challenge

(Newser) - Missouri is one of several states anticipated to have voting problems next week, but nobody is sure just how big they might be, the Boston Globe reports. The potential is huge, though, in a sharply divided state where John McCain and Barack Obama are polling dead even and a legion... More »

Slim Poll Gap Looks Good for Mac, at First

Stumbles haven't hurt Republican, who's in similar polling spot to both Bushes

(Newser) - A new poll shows Barack Obama up just 3% on John McCain (from 15% a few weeks ago), and another has them tied—numbers that look fantastic for the presumptive Republican nominee at first blush, Chris Cillizza writes in the Washington Post. "Given the tilt of this electorate, it's... More »

Mugabe Expected to Declare Landslide Victory Today

Ink stain sought as protection against ruling party 'punishment'

(Newser) - Robert Mugabe is wasting little time. Zimbabwe is expected to announce today that he will win in a landslide and be sworn in to a new term as early as tomorrow, Reuters reports. That would allow him to attend Monday's summit of African Union nations with the election wrapped up.... More »

Outlook Dark for Britain's Brown

PM's ratings tank in new poll, prompting Labour worries party could go down with him

(Newser) - British PM Gordon Brown suffered his worst ratings yet today, falling behind Conservative Party leader David Cameron in every category in a new survey. The Labour leader is scrambling to win back public favor after three in four people said he was doing a bad job, with almost half calling... More »

No Bittergate Bounce in Polls

Obama loses a bit of Pennsylvania steam, but voters not deeply moved

(Newser) - Several new Pennsylvania polls confirm a slight shift in Hillary Clinton’s direction, but not one substantial enough to suggest Barack Obama’s “bitter” gaffe has deeply affected support. CNN’s poll of polls shows Clinton’s lead rising only two points (from a four- to six-point margin). Half... More »

Paul, Obama Score Highest in MTV Debate

Huckabee and Clinton win fewest youth votes in 'instant' polling

(Newser) - Four White House hopefuls were beamed in to MTV's "Closing Arguments" debate in New York tonight and one took first place in "instant" polling: Ron Paul. His stand for friendly foreign relations won over 73% of those polled, and roughly half promised him their vote. Barack Obama fared... More »

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