Hanging around my RedState colleagues has given me a better understanding of polling. I still think some of it is more theoretical than data driven, but I now know why it is essential to dig deeper into the methodology used, why the margin of error matters so much, why the phrasing of questions and their respondent samples are important, and most importantly who is conducting the poll and why. That all of these outlets have an agenda is a given. However, it is those who work hard to suppress voters on one side of the aisle or another who muddy the waters and diminish the quality work done by outlets like Gallup, Rasmussen, and the Pew Research Center.