I was wrong I was half heartedly believeing the polls were cooked, BUT deep down inside I knew that McCain would not get the Undecideds & I’s that he needed He ran a HORRIBLE Campaign with a HUGE assist from ROVE & GWB

The number of posts about the poll conspiracy made me think I was surfing a Ron Paul forum.

It’s really simple, Rasmussen has proven to be a great pollster. He has a small MOE (generally 2% for a 95% level of confidence), and we was incredibly accurate and consistent. I’d like to see Redstate just endorse Rasmussen and be done with any debates on polls. If we are watching any races incredibly closely, just keep the Rasmussen data somewhere on the page, and take that as the next best thing to fact.

but you know, I just had to hold on to some hope.

Last night the last words I said to my husband were, “hey this is the media speculating….we won’t really know until tomorrow”. I knew they were empty words…but at that point the beer just was not doing enough.

Several of those had him up by obscene numbers, and it was so cleary, CLEARLY designed to influence, that it’s easy to ignore what is so clearly NOT designed to be accurate.

That they ended up pretty close to accurate is more a testimony to media thuggery than to real legitimate predictive powers.

You make a very valid point.

However, I am holding people like you and Zoot accountable now. Those of us “whiteys” aren’t going to be able to question one GD thing Barack does lest we be called RACIST! So, it is up to you, conservative men and women of color, to step up and challenge his nonsense. It’s also time for other conservatives of color to recruit at the grassroots level, publically help sell the brand and lastly, run for and win local, state and national office. The GOP has much to offer the black community, but we have to have help convincing them. I hope you are willing to step up to the plate.

Some polls were right … but many were wrong. This wasn’t the popular vote blowout of 10-15% that some polls were predicting, and the battleground states in the end were very close (even if Obama took more than expected).

The argument that the race is closer than expected and turnout were key I believe were both valid statements given the polls. And it’s better to fight to the end than to give in, regardless of the polls.

In the end, the campaigns themselves need to understand the polls – we, the voters and enthusiasts, can suffice to support the candidates and get out the vote in most cases. If you, as an individual, are happier ignoring the polls feel free (unless you’re also a candidate).

that the polls were skewed or wrong.

Dashed.

And we are not few. The majority of immigrants are Christians and Catholics, and the older generation cling to old world values that are more consistent with the GOP line. Prop 8 has already passed in California, and prop 4 (restricting minor’s abortion) looks like it’ll be narrowly defeated. The record number of blacks voters probably voted FOR prop 8 while also voting for BHO.

The Democrats have a hold on Latinos and Asians because they’re more lenient on illegal immigration and support sham minority empowerment measures like affirmative action. They coddle militant, anti semitic types who believe uncle Sam is a racist white establishment.

To be frank, I can’t really credit either party for doing much for immigrants. Of course, the democratic party is supposed to be sympathetic to minority’s, and that concept is good for a laugh.

I don’t have to imagine the BHO presidency will be like. It’s already happening in Dem dominated California. If you voted for BHO elsewhere, I guess those people could actually afford to live in places like San Francisco.

I wish BHO luck, but I’m not optimistic.

Fact Check.org Link

I’m pretty sure it’s going to end up being nothing.

None.

I disagree with your premise. I don’t think polls drive turnout to a significant degree. If they did, we would have had higher turnout. But I think that the bad polls did drive us to higher turnout than if they had been better.

What the poll obsessors usually do is not try and drive turnout, but, rather, tell us we CAN’T WIN NO MATTER WHAT. THAT IS THE PROBLEM.

Obsessing over gloom and doom depresses turnout for us.

Campaigns need to direct resources based on internal polls.

But most of the poll obsession here was to try and set up I told you so moments like this or try and get us to move left.

None have any bearing on trying to win. Time is better spent attacking the other side and touting our vision.

MAK, you seem to confuse the actual election with the talk about the election.

Of course, anyone can read polls and make predictions.

So what?

Trying to win is what I am about. Ever coached a team? Ever played for a team in which the coach told you that you were going to lose?

of course not.

You seem to think it vital that we all “be prepared” to lose and that if we all just accepted defeat sometime between defeat Nov 7, 2006 and Nov 4, 2008, that somehow “things” would be better?

Not getting it.

What I do get is analyzing why we lost. Polls are useful for that. But once we have our candidate, poll obsession is quite pathologically useless.

Love ya MAK.