In comments a bunch of folks are asking questions about what is going on with polling this year. The best place to check out the polling issues is Donkey Rising which offers some good coverage of this cycles polling.
And Greg Blankenship suggests one should be skeptical of polling which is true–especially of any single poll. I have two big days coming up this week, but I hope to do a series on polling and how to intelligently consume them without getting too up or too down. I think the one safe result we have regardless is that Alan Keyes couldn’t be sinking any faster than if you tied him to a boulder and threw him in Lake Michigan–something I’m pretty sure a few folks have considered.
That said, Leader Loopers come to his defense: (passed along from Tim Sasse in mail)
I believe that the recently published “polls” that were referenced in the title of this thread are skewed, biased deceptions perpetrated on us to tamp down the sizable and enthusiastic Amb. Keyes vote.
I have to tell you that down here in Southern Illinois, the Amb. Keyes is catching fire and building a huge bulwark of support the likes of which I have never seen before in this state.
I believe that Dr. Keyes? support is growing with each passing week and I have heard rumors of internal polls showing the Amb. Keyes pulling within the margin of error of the opponent. These true and accurate polls that I have heard show the Amb. Keyes overtaking the opponent sometime in the next couple of weeks and riding this glorious momentum to power in Nov.
Renewal with Keyes in 04 and Beyond.
That’s delusional.
Here is the silver lining: I believe that this move
indicates some very favorable internal polling that I
have been hearing about for the Amb. Keyes. I have
heard from several sources that internal polls show
the Amb. Keyes as pulling within the margin of error
and gaining momentum fast. Therefore the campaign
probably recognized that the kind of outreach that
Fran was brought on to organize was largely already
achieved and thus unnecessary at this time.Amb. Keyes is coming on strong people and it is only a
matter of time before he overtakes his opponent.
Don?t pay attention to those skewed ludicrous and
liberal polls, Keyes is building a huge bulwark of
support and is going to be virtually unstoppable by
Nov.
[tie a boulder to him]… think the ILL-GOP would do it if only they could catch him?
I guess it’s really true after all. The Republican Party now officially believes that up is down, black is white (though wouldn’t that militate against having chosen Keyes to oppose Obama?), and right is….left!
(That noise you just heard is the sound of Goopers’ heads exploding all across Illinois…)
Dead on, Michael, dead on.
What’s that faint whirring sound I hear? Oh. Just George Orwell spinning in his grave.
“riding this glorious momentum” — that’s positively Maoist language.